What do you soak your venison in?
 

I know a lot of folks soak their venison in a "solution" prior to cooking it. I've heard of salt water to draw out the blood; milk to help tenderize, but my friend just dropped a first heard on me the other day.... gin. I guess he heard somewhere that some Germans soak their venison in gin prior to cooking. Has anyone heard of this? What are some other solutions being used out there?

Piney

RE: What do you soak your venison in?
 

I have refined my "solution" over the years.

I currently make a mix of the following:

Using a 48qt cooler...

-one half of a 26 oz container of mortons salt laid in the bottom of the cooler.

-fill the container about 1/4 full of warm water.

-swish it around untill the salt is desolved.

-fill the cooler with ice untill it is a little bit better than half full.

- dump a quartered deer into it. (never ever 'cure' a backsrap...just eat it or freeze it)

- if there is any meat left exposed...add about 50/50 ice and water untill it is all covered.

-stir it around every couple of hours.

You will need to do this several times...For me, my usuall routine goes something like this: mix up the first batch,,,change it in about six or eight hours. Mix up another batch and change it in about twelve hours. Mix up a third batch and dump it in about twenty four hours. (all these times are approximate) Then, clean off all of the 'silverskin' and whatever meat has turned gray. Then process as you normally would.

I tend to seperate the shoulders into muscle groups and freeze the hams whole so that I can cut them into steaks one ham at a time to prevent frost bite.

As far as using gin...I have never heard of that. I can not think of any redeeming value that it would provide to a piece of meat floating around in ice water. However...There are probably hundreds of ways to cure a piece of meat that I have not heard of.

I tried vinagar once...A couple of cups per cooler of ice water...After two days of changing ice and water and vinigar,,,I ended up with a bunch of pickled deer...It was one of the nastiest tasting creations that I ever had a hand in cooking[:'(] My advice is.....Stay away from the vinigar.:D

RE: What do you soak your venison in?
 

An old German chef I used to work with told that just plain old buttermilk was the best thing. Just soak the meat in the buttermilk for about 12 hours then rinse under cold water. It breaks the sinew down and takes away a lot of the wild taste.
But as Dave says, there are probably hundreds of different recipes that have been made over the years and I am sure there are more to follow this post.

Ron:D

RE: What do you soak your venison in?
 

venison gets soaked in nothing!!!!the key to good tasting venison is boning and removal of tallow. yummy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

RE: What do you soak your venison in?
 

same here

RE: What do you soak your venison in?
 

same here :)


As for soaking in gin it is probably the same as cooking with juniper berries, only more expensive.

RE: What do you soak your venison in?
 

I agree venison does not always require to be masked for excellent table fare. That being said I have had animals that required a bit of tenderizing for whatever reason or just a change in flavor. Buttermilk, Yogart, Beer, Wine, etc will all work as a merinade. Anytime you want to tenderize you need an acid, but not over powering, so you'll want to offset that acid with sugar, spice, etc. Another way to tenderize is minute steaks, I run minutes steaks every year of game, I simply run in one direction and 1/4 turn them through again. Any butcher shop or processor should be able to this for you for a small fee, however the ways to prepare minutes steaks is subject to the fry pan (so IMO limiting but a nice change of pace!!)

A Fan Favorite for Grilling of mine is as follows:

Venison Merinade

Cut meat into medallions or cubes (smaller the piece the less duration required in merinade. Not to small due to grilling)

1 Cup Olive Oil
6-8 Cloves of Chopped Fresh Garlic (can very depending on tastes)
1 TSP of the following:
Oregano, Seasoning Salt, Lemon Pepper, Garlic Pepper or Black, Thyme, Rosemary, Dried Chives, Parsley and Maggi's Oriental Seasoning(if desired.)
1/2 TSP Marjoram & Paprika
2 TBSP Soya Sauce
3 TBSP Lemon Juice (Fresh squeezed is my preference not bottled)
3 TBSP Pancake Syrup (Canadian Maple of course:D)

Put in stainless steel mixing bowl, pour merinade over top and mix. I like garlic so I sprinkle garlic powder overtop of the meat once mixed(not required if you don't favor GP). Cover and refridgerate. I will mix it every 4-6 hours up to 24 hours to ensure all pieces are coated.

RE: What do you soak your venison in?
 

Same here

RE: What do you soak your venison in?
 

I just season mine with lawyers seasoning , garlic powder , Cavanders , put into ziplock with 4 to 6 tablespoons of Zesty Italin salade dressing,leave for a few hrs. or overnight.remove flour and fry.

RE: What do you soak your venison in?
 

Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, garlic, onion, olive oil, and just a little water. I use this the most often. I have also used things like the beer, milk, and italian dressing, or nothing at all. It just depends on how I am going to use it.