"venison steaks"
i've googled and googled but all i've got is hunting sites and the odd unappealing recipe accompanied by disapproving soccer mum reviews.
what's the best way of cooking these? to retain as much of the, er, venison taste as possible?
preferably with a grill and not too crazy difficult:]


aussi, what does venison taste like? i've never had it before, not much of a meat person.

I think venison tastes almost exactly like beef, though it had a stronger, more pronounced flavor.

I've always had it cooked to medium rare over charcoal. Salt, pepper, some sides and you're set.

__________________
"That raccoon took our marshmallows!

Get him!"

Well to compare it to something you've had before, venison is most similiar to beef I guess. I eat it all the time, but the specific flavor depends on whether it was hunted in the wild, or if its from a farm (like beef cows are).

You want to know how to grill it?

Well, my advice is to season it properly, get the grill hot, then put the steaks on the grill.

Now you can just cook it like this until it charred and burnt (aka 'well done'), but you will enjoy it much more if you just sear it close to the heat source very briefly on each side, then move the steaks further away from the heating element, and cook them for a few minutes on each side depending on how thick they are.

The finished steaks should be bright red in the middle, very juicy, but not cool in the middle. The TEMPERATURE should be about the same all the way through ater they cool fo a couple of minutes.

If you tell us more about the size of the steaks and what kind of grill you are using (for example, I always cook steaks in a Weber smoker over peach wood or maple), etc etc.

I'm yoyobek would be able to help you more though since she is a grill line chef.

__________________
"Women and rhythm section first!" - sambob@gmail.com

i can probably handle cooking it, but season it with what?
gosh, what do you eat it with?!

i forgot that american grills are basically bbqs, the top bit is the grill i mean > http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/dyn_img...rge/184241.jpg
i could oven cook it or in a pan perhaps?

they're 5-6oz things from sainsburys

I don't know, on the palate I find them to taste VERY different. Though... generally speaking I find venison closer to veal if its wild game and not farm raised.

Also Isobutane, if you want to try something REALLY fantastic, and you live in the states, you MUST try some bison steaks. I think it has a MUCH better flavor than beef or venison. Much stronger and spicier, just excellent.

Try thick bison steaks with lots of ground and whole peppercorns, and a sauce made of cream, butter, tawny port, manchego cheese, and both roasted (the sweet Italian kind like your Italian grandmother used to can) red peppers, and also one chile that has been FRESHLY grilled (just do it before you grll the bison).

Absolutely fantastic.

I usually serve this with the sauce over the steak, garnished with super finely chopped parmesan. Goes well with mashed (not too finely mashed, but with hot cream butter and salt to make it creamier) red russet potatoes, and wild long grain rice cooked with roma tomatoes.


Of course the possibilities are endless, but its a great dish.

__________________
"Women and rhythm section first!" - sambob@gmail.com

Oh, well in america we call that a RANGE, not a grill.

So you want to cook it on a range in a sautee pan I presume.

WELL in that case I recommend sauteeing it in a shallow pan, that is filled with a fortified red wine (or a bordeaux would work fine), beef stock, yellow onions, bay leaves, rosemary (a fair amount), finely chopped parsley, etc etc. Cook on a low-medium heat with the pan COVERED.

Btw by season I mean salt it, thats what seasoning is.

After the steaks are cooked, take the bay leaves out, then pour the remaining liquid into a saucepan, and thicken it with flour or corn starch and reduce it a bit. I would serve the steaks with either potatoes or peferably dumplings and pour the thickened sauce over both. A vegetable like asparagus would go very well with this. Perhaps a baked brie or camembert to eat while things are cooking.

You COULD also bake the same mixture of sauce and steaks in a pan as well. 350 F.

OR you could cook the sauce spearately and then broil the steaks. Whatever floats your boat.

Also along with the asparagus I would personally go for something like collard greens (cooked with olive oil, garlic, and bay leaves), or beat greens cooked the same way..... but with the little baby beats still on the greens. So tasty.

And if you go for potatoes instead of dumplings, serve it with a good toasted frnch bread with butter.

__________________
"Women and rhythm section first!" - sambob@gmail.com

I typed veal initially, but when I thought about, the texture is significantly different IMO, which made me put beef. The taste is maybe a little closer to veal(I've only had hunted venison. I can't comment on farm raised), but the texture difference is significant IMO.

I agree with you about bison though. Getting an authentic bison steak was one of the best meals I've ever had.

__________________
"That raccoon took our marshmallows!

Get him!"

hmm, thr grill is the very top bit. it's like a wiggly tube that heat comes from with a tray under that you place meat on.

broil? i'm thinking i'd like to make the sauce seperately in case i really muck it up.
i don't cook meat often so i'm really erk about cocking it up because i can't see it for sauce in the way in the pan.

i'm in the uk, our meat seems comparatively.. shit. the only time i've heard of bison is a vodka brand.

What you're calling a grill is actually a broiler. A grill is a slotted grate that you actually place the meat on. There is usually a direct heat source(propane, charcoal, wood, etc...) directly beneath it.

It's great for meats like venison because I think the flavors imbued from the grill(charcoal or wood flavors) help bring out the gameyness of the venison.

I too usually cook the sauce on the side just in case I fuck things up.

__________________
"That raccoon took our marshmallows!

Get him!"

Bison are buffalo.

__________________
"Women and rhythm section first!" - sambob@gmail.com