My First Experience with Deer Meat

Well it's about time I update this blog! I'm pretty sure I had the flu a little over a week ago (maybe the piggie one, not sure) and it took about a whole week to fully recover. Sadly, when I got sick our fridge was empty and there was no way I was going grocery shopping in my condition. Finally I was able to hit the stores last week and am now ready to cook!

Dale and his buddy from work went hunting in the hills outside of Eugene about a month ago. His friend got a deer on their first day! We went over to his house the next night to have some of the venison for dinner. This was actually my first experience with deer meat! Growing up in Portland, I didn't know too many (if any) people who went hunting, so game meat was never on the menu. I'm not sure why, but I was a tad nervous about trying this. I kept thinking to myself, "What would Anthony Bourdain eat?". That actually really helped. And guess what? I loved it. The meat is kind of chewy (due to it coming from a wild animal, not farm raised), but I absolutely loved the flavor! It's different from the meats I'm used to: beef, pork, etc, but in a good way.

So we went home with four packages of back strap and tenderloin cuts. The wheels in my head were turning, trying to think of ways to cook this new meat. At Dale's buddy's house we had the venison simply dipped in egg, followed by bread crumbs, and cooked in oil in a pan. It was simple, but really good because there wasn't anything covering the flavor of the meat. The next day I came across an article about a Montana family who are on a quest to "eat off the land". They included a recipe for Venison Stew. Yes! It's pretty much the same as normal stew, just with venison meat. I made this on one of my days off because it calls for you to cook the stew for 2-3 hours in the oven, then add a few ingredients and return to the oven for another hour. It was definitely worth the work! I usually feel a little sad for animals that are hunted, but I felt really good making use of the deer meat like this.

The recipe notes that beef chuck, rump roast, or sirloin tip can be used as a substitute. The couple who wrote the article call this recipe "A hunter's version of beef burgundy".




Venison Stew
Recipe from Missoula resident, Greg Patent
Serves 8

2 1/2 lbs. Venison, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
1 Cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper
1/2 Cup vegetable oil
2 large yellow onions, peeled and diced
2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1 (12-oz.) bottle hard apple cider or 1 1/2 cups apple cider
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
3 Cups reduced-sodium beef or chicken broth, divided
1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 medium green or yellow bell pepper, cored and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium red bell pepper, cored and cut into 1-inch pieces

1. Pat meat chunks dry with paper towels. Combine flour, salt and pepper in a large plastic bag. Add meat; close the bag and toss to coat the meat with flour.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, remove about half the meat from the bag, shaking off excess flour and add to pan in a single layer without crowding. Brown on all sides, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove meat and set on paper towels to drain. Repeat with the remaining meat. Transfer to a large, oven-safe pot (I used a Dutch oven).

3. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

4. Add onions and carrots to the remaining oil in the pan and cook over med-high heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to caramelize, 6-8 minutes. Remove vegetables with a slotted spoon and add to meat. Add garlic, bay leaves, thyme, allspice, cider, Worcestershire sauce, and 2 Cups broth to the pot; stir. (The liquid should barely cover the meat) Bring to a simmer on top of the stove; cover the pot and place in oven. Cook 2-3 hours, until meat is barely tender

4. Bring remaining broth to a boil. Add to stew along with potatoes and bell peppers. Stir, cover pot, and return to oven to bake about 1 hour, until meat is completely tender and potatoes are cooked.