by Simon Lusk
The simplest way to ruin venison is to slice it up and fry medallions. It is near impossible not to over cook it, and overcooked venison is tough, dry and unpleasant.
A spiker taken with my 7mm08. Lucy likes deer hunting as she doesn’t get called a princess for not going into the thick stuff.
The second most common way to ruin venison is to put it on barbeque. Barbeques are rarely hot enough to cook venison steak properly, and slow cooked fried venison is usually tough. If it is going to be cooked on a BBQ make sure the BBQ is very hot to start with.
Frying steak should be left intact as a whole muscle.
1.Use a sharp knife to remove the fascia and any tendons.
2. Heat a pan until very hot.
3. Sear in oil, turning only once if possible.
4. Cook to medium rare or cooked through. Check regularly by poking with a pair of tongs. When it is as firm as the heel of your hand when your thumb is up against the side of your hand it will be cooked.
OR
4. Sear and place in preheated oven at 180 degrees until cooked. This is my preferred method.
5. Leave to stand.
6. While standing make a sauce using the pan the meat was fried in. I usually use something simple like some red wine or redcurrant jelly, sour cream and sliced mushrooms. The time it takes to make the sauce is about the time the meat needs to stand for.
7. Slice the meat and serve.
Identification: Frying meat is:
Rump: One white twistie
Backstrap: Two white twisties
Eye Fillet: One white and one blue twistie