Game On...Wild Game Preparation

Wild Game Preparation...R&D for a Buddy

Here in the West, a lot of people spend days if not weeks out of the year (usually in the Autumn months) camping out, hunting, and bonding with friends and family.  Not long ago, a friend approached me on the proper way to prepare wild game.  While I do have experience eating (and enjoying) everything from Caribou to Elk, Deer and Moose; and even wild boar and rattlesnake, my experience cleaning and dressing of the animal is somewhat limited.  The raw meat we have enjoyed had been prepared by someone with a lot more experience than I had, usually Julie’s grandfather or uncle.  To provide better feedback for my Buddy, I did some serious R&D at home, with my family and tried to come up with the best way to prep and serve Wild Game.  Here's what I came up with...

Wild deer lead unpredictable lives with widely varying diets. That means their meat can range from tender and veal-like to strong and gamey, which poses a problem for venison-loving cooks. Although a hint of gaminess is a welcome reminder that you're eating wild-caught meat, anything more than that quickly becomes a fault. Although much of the game, or gamey, taste of venison occurs during the cleaning and dressing of the deer. The more care that is taken during this process, the less gaminess the meat will have. Yet some older bucks and does will retain a game flavor, no matter how meticulous the cleaning process. Some venison has a stronger flavor than others primarily because deer eat a varied diet of weeds, acorn and wood bark. If their diet consists of more acorns than greens the venison will have a "gamier" taste.

Harvested during fall hunting seasons, venison is a lean meat that is lower in fat and calories than an equal-sized portion of beef or pork. Likewise, venison also has less cholesterol than other meats. Fortunately, there are several well-proven techniques to reduce or mask the musky gaminess of wild venison…

Diligent Trimming

With domestic meats such as beef or pork, seams of fat or connective tissue aren't necessarily a flaw in the meat. Both break down as the meat cooks, lending flavor, richness and juiciness to the finished meal. With venison the situation is rather different, because much of the undesirably gamey flavor is concentrated in precisely those tissues. Before cooking your venison, use a sharp knife to trim away any surface fat or large seams of fat between the muscles. If the cut has any observable connective tissue or "silverskin" -- the thin, silvery sheath that encloses some muscles -- trim those away, too.

Soak in Buttermilk

A good way to remove a lot of the gaminess is to soak the venison in milk or buttermilk, which -- like a brine -- leaches away some of the meat's own strong flavor. Food scientists have noted that possibly because of naturally occurring enzymes, dairy products also tenderize the sometimes-tough meat more effectively than traditional acidic marinades. Soaking the meat overnight in buttermilk will help remove the blood from the meat that may be causing a gamey taste.  Slice the fat and silver skin off the venison if there is any present. You want the buttermilk to be able to get into the meat. Rinse the venison in cold water. Place in a large enough bowl that you have enough room to cover it with the buttermilk. Poke holes in the venison with a fork to allow buttermilk to soak into the venison.  Pour enough buttermilk over the venison to cover it entirely. If you do not have buttermilk you can use whole milk and add 1 tbsp. of vinegar for each cup you use. This makes a buttermilk substitute. Let soak at least 90 minutes. You can soak overnight or up to 24 hours. Rinse the buttermilk off the venison. Cook using the recipe of your choice.

Quick Brining

Soaking meats in a concentrated salt solution is a centuries-old preservation method, used to prepare hams and corned beef, among other cuts. If you reduce the percentage of salt, and soak your venison for just hours instead of days, the brine will draw out a portion of the natural juices from your venison. The meat absorbs some of the brine as well, seasoning the meat deeply and diluting its gamey flavor. Brining has the added advantage of helping meat stay moist when cooked, a significant benefit with lean, easily overcooked venison. Rinse thoroughly after brining.

Using Marinades

Some venison and wild game recipes call for strongly flavored marinades to tame the wild-caught flavor. Traditional mixtures include ingredients such as red wine and red wine vinegar, garlic, onions and strong, woodsy-tasting herbs such as rosemary and juniper berries. These are all potent flavors in their own right, and counter the meat's gamey flavor by meeting it head-on and overpowering it. Marinade the meat in your favorite acid-based beef marinade for up to 24 hours before cooking. If you don't have a favorite marinade recipe, you can use oil and vinegar-based Italian salad dressing. When marinating venison, use a base of lemon juice, wine, vinegar or other acid. This will help draw out the gamey taste of the meat. Make a fresh batch of marinade to brush the meat while it is cooking.

Strong Seasoning

When a gamey flavor persists despite your best efforts, flavoring the dish generously is the final weapon in your arsenal. Deep, complex flavors like good curry or chili powders can mask a lot the gaminess of your meat. Earthy, smoky spices such as cumin, paprika and chipotle are especially good at this. Long, slow cooking in a flavorful sauce will usually subdue the meat's gaminess to a tolerable or even an enjoyable level. If the spiciness of curry or chili doesn't appeal to you, a rich tomato sauce or mushroom sauce has a similar effect without the heat.

Other Suggestions

Age the meat in the refrigerator for three to seven days. This will help to improve the flavor of the venison.

Never add salt to raw venison. The salt draws the natural juices out of the meat, making it dryer.

Venison is a very lean meat and as it is low in fat content, it tends to dry out rather quickly. Venison should not be overcooked. Venison should be cooked to no more than medium-rare for the best flavor. Overcooking can cause the meat to become tough and stringy.

You can wrap cuts of meat from older bucks and does in bacon to add moisture and flavor to these tougher venison steaks and roasts.

Ground Venison

Place the ground venison in a bowl. The size of the bowl is determined by the amount of meat that you will soak. Make sure the bowl is large enough to hold the milk as well. Pour milk or buttermilk over the ground venison until it is completely covered. The amount of ground venison and the size of the bowl determine the amount of milk used. Cover the bowl with a lid or plastic wrap and refrigerate for 12 hours or overnight. Drain the milk from the bowl and rinse the meat in cold water. Rinsing the meat ensures all milk and blood are removed from the meat, further removing the "gamey" taste.

Ground venison can be flavored with herbs and spices to help cut the gamey taste of the burger.  To prevent the venison from drying out during cooking, preheat the oven or grill and when pan frying, make sure the pan is hot before adding the meat.