What are the best ways to cook venison?

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:Hi all. We found a few packages of ground venison in the back of the freezer. It's probably 3 years old. No sign of freezer burn.

I was thinking about browning it in an oily pan first, with onion and garlic, to see if it smells fresh enough to eat. No salt. If it seems edible, I'll use it as a base for something in a sauce. If not, the hounds will get a little extra on their meals (hence no salt).

What do you think?

I think your plan is sound. I wouldn't hesitate to eat it.

Sounds like the base for a great stew.

People love my venison enchiladas - if the meat is a bit dried out or has a hint of freezer burn, the enchilada sauce and cheese will likely cover many signs of age.

Kate Downham wrote:What are your favorite ways to cook venison?

Medium rare, more on the rare side.

Thanks for the comments! It's been hard frozen the whole time so I know it's safe to eat bacteria-wise, but if it smells old or rancid I want a Plan B so it's not wasted. I've cooked up ancient beef and stuff and while it was safe to eat the tallow was old enough that I burped it for half a day (bleah). Venison of course is super lean and this looks well trimmed, so I'm hoping for a win.

I have read that adding acid like apple cider vinegar cuts the gaminess of wild meats. Anything to this?

I would cook it. We've eaten 3 year old venison out of the deep freeze and it was fine.

For ground venison we often do tacos, enchiladas, shepherd's pie or perhaps stroganoff.

Another option is to make pattys out of it and fry them up in butter then add a slice of good cheese to melt on top. We use citric salt and McCormicks Montreal Steak seasoning on them (the same on steaks to grill plus add olive oil and red wine vinegar then let it marinate in that for a short time).

Most of the venison gets frozen but we may can some. The canned venison works great in stroganoff, pepper steak and similar recipes. The canning process will tenderize it so it's a good option for the tougher cuts. It would probably be great in enchiladas but we've never tried it - something to put on the to-do list