Since the last article summarized the benefits of processing your own game meat, I wanted to dig a bit deeper into a couple of the cuts of venison I like most as well as how I like to process my venison. All of the examples I give here have been done with White Tail Deer, however, this can be applied to most big game animals. One of the most famous and sought-after cuts of any big game animal would have to be the backstrap. This is the equivalent of a striploin or strip steak with beef. This is one of the least worked muscles on an animal with little fat or connective tissue, especially with wild game…. resulting in a very tender cut of meat. It is also one of the easiest cuts to remove and process as well as cook, if done correctly. I pretty much only do two or three things with a backstrap. Once fully trimmed of all silver skin and fat, I like to cut into 1-inch-thick steaks and grill to medium rare or cut into chunks for steak tips/kabobs. I also like to slice steaks about half an inch thick, pound it out to a quarter inch and then bread and fry as country fried steak served with biscuits and gravy and fried taters. I call it my redneck benedict. It is important to not overcook the backstrap though. With the lack of fat and connective tissue, the meat will dry out quickly if cooked too long.
Another prized cut for me is the heart. This tends to not be as glamorous to the masses as the backstrap, but it is as good if not better in my opinion. Once trimmed, split in half and rinsed thoroughly, I like to simply season and grill it or chunk it and make stew. I will typically make stew with it for the first night’s dinner after the harvest. Aside from the tenderloin (which is located just behind the ribs up against the spine on the underneath side) every other piece of usable meat usually gets turned into ground or jerky meat. I will occasionally keep a roast, but we use more ground than anything else by far. I will note here though, it is important to treat the meat going into the grind pile as good as you would the back strap or tenderloin. I make sure to trim away all silver skin and fat from all meat before processing or cooking. This is one of the main reasons commercially processed game meat tastes “gamey” resulting in a not so enjoyable meal. That being said, when stripping the meat of all fat, the fat really needs to be replaced when grinding. It will result in a moister and more flavorful end product. It can definitely be done without doing so but I prefer to add some in. You can use most any fat of your choice…I like to use a good pork bacon, preferably from a farm raised (not commercial) hog. I will typically do a ratio of 4 lbs of venison to 1 lb of bacon. If it is a really old buck or the deer was not killed cleanly, I will do a 3/1 ratio. When grinding it’s important to cut the meat and fat into suitable size chunks for your grinder as well as keep it all very cold right up until running through the grinder. This will result in a much better grind and texture. Hopefully if you don’t already process your own game meat, you will decide to give it a try this upcoming season. It’s easier than you may think, and the effort is most certainly worth it! As always, any questions or comments shoot me an email epicchef424@gmail.com Good luck and Good eatin! EC
Another prized cut for me is the heart. This tends to not be as glamorous to the masses as the backstrap, but it is as good if not better in my opinion. Once trimmed, split in half and rinsed thoroughly, I like to simply season and grill it or chunk it and make stew. I will typically make stew with it for the first night’s dinner after the harvest. Aside from the tenderloin (which is located just behind the ribs up against the spine on the underneath side) every other piece of usable meat usually gets turned into ground or jerky meat. I will occasionally keep a roast, but we use more ground than anything else by far. I will note here though, it is important to treat the meat going into the grind pile as good as you would the back strap or tenderloin. I make sure to trim away all silver skin and fat from all meat before processing or cooking. This is one of the main reasons commercially processed game meat tastes “gamey” resulting in a not so enjoyable meal. That being said, when stripping the meat of all fat, the fat really needs to be replaced when grinding. It will result in a moister and more flavorful end product. It can definitely be done without doing so but I prefer to add some in. You can use most any fat of your choice…I like to use a good pork bacon, preferably from a farm raised (not commercial) hog. I will typically do a ratio of 4 lbs of venison to 1 lb of bacon. If it is a really old buck or the deer was not killed cleanly, I will do a 3/1 ratio. When grinding it’s important to cut the meat and fat into suitable size chunks for your grinder as well as keep it all very cold right up until running through the grinder. This will result in a much better grind and texture. Hopefully if you don’t already process your own game meat, you will decide to give it a try this upcoming season. It’s easier than you may think, and the effort is most certainly worth it! As always, any questions or comments shoot me an email epicchef424@gmail.com Good luck and Good eatin! EC