Venison is meat from deer, as mostly everyone knows, but it is also meat from elk, antelope, moose, reindeer, and caribou. Currently, white-tail deer is the most hunted and most served type of venison in the United States.
What is found most often in markets is South Texas antelope, which is native to the Himalayan foothills. These antelope were brought to Texas a few decades ago, and now live on the range land of the largest ranch in the country, the King Ranch in South Texas. Large herds are regularly harvested from the ranch. They produce a very lean meat that tastes a little like veal.
Venison has very little fat, so it is necessary to make some simple adjustments to the way you normally cook beef, pork, or other various types of domestic meats.
When you are broiling or grilling a choice cut of tender venison, such as a backstrap, cook the meat rapidly, using a higher heat, then you would normally do with beef. What you want to accomplish is to sear the outside of the venison, while keeping the inside rare or medium rare. Baste the surface regularly while cooking, and let it rest for about 5 minutes after you take it from the heat. Slice the cooked meat against the grain.
Cooking less tender cuts of venison should be done in moisture, either by stewing or braising. Make sure and allow more time for cooking than you normally would for beef or another meat.
If the venison you are about to prepare comes frozen, thaw it in red wine or buttermilk, whichever one works best with the recipe you will be using. These liquids help take some of the "gameyness" out of meat, giving it a less-harsh taste.
Most hunters will grind all of their venison, except for maybe the backstrap and the round steak (hams), into sausage, hamburger, or chili meat. This is because the other cuts of meat tend to be a little stringy or too tough to cook whole.
When cooking a ground venison patty, brown it quickly in a frying pan over high heat, then reduce the heat to low. Add a little red wine or beef stock to the pan, and cook, covered, until the venison burger is rare to medium.
Do not leave cooked venison exposed to the air for long periods of time. If you will not be serving it right away, wrap it up in foil until just before serving. Then slice it right before serving.
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