Book 2

Cooking Venison

Similar to other game meats, venison has a much stronger smell and flavour than grain-fed beef. The two main aims when cooking venison is to reduce its gamey flavour whilst enhancing its unique taste. This is done by venison marinating and cooking techniques.

Marinades in the Making There are three main types of marinade: Dried mixes, cooked and fresh marinades. Dry, ground mixes usually consist of herbs and spices like curry, coriander, chili and pepper.

Dy marinades are mixed through meats, such as jerky prior to drying or smoking and meat to be cooked. Cooked marinades are usually made to be mixed into meat or cooked with meat to infuse flavour.

With all marinades the meat is soaked in them prior to cooking or as with curries, fresh venison is fried or simmered in the sauces to infuse flavour.

Fresh marinades are similar to cooked ones except that a fresh marinade is mixed through meat prior to cooking to add flavour or during the cooking process.

One of the best examples of a fresh marinade are finely grated onions and garlic along with ground coriander seeds and pepper-corns that are added to satay meat a few days before skewering.

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Marinades and SaucesA cooked marinade of fresh galangal (white ginger) and chili.

Par cooking a marinade helps infuse flavour into the oil.

Adding oil, salt and brown sugar to this mix and letting it sit then roasting it over hot coals makes my favourite venison dish. Adding oil to marinades is important with venison because it has so little of its own natural fat.

Marinating GameGame meats such as venison have a much stronger smell and flavour than domesticated beef. Thus, there are two main aims when marinating game meat:

1. Reduce the gamey taste by omission and addition. This means cutting out odours by removing smelly glands and membranes and by adding fruit juices or brines.

2. Enhance the taste of the meat by adding certain flavours, such as onion, garlic, chilli or soy sauce. These flavours will influence the taste of the cooked or cured meat.

Reducing GaminessReducing the gaminess of game meat is determined by how the meat is butchered, and prepared, prior to cooking.

Cutting out the glands in the field, the connective tissue be-tween the body cavity and the membranes covering cuts of meat is crucial because these parts are most easily tainted by gaminess.

Water and BrineOther than cutting out glands and connective tissue and body cavity lining, meat can be soaked in brine (salt water) or in nor-mal water to reduce its gamey taste and smell.

If the meat is cut into thin strips, soaking it and rinsing it in wa-ter, then leaving it to drain in a colander will help get the gamey taste out. Note that this process can make the meat blander.

Marinating MethodsTo reduce the gamey taste of venison or any other game meat, and tenderise it naturally, natural fruit juices can also be used. For a sourer taste fresh lemon or lime juice works well. My pref-erence is limes because they are normally less sour and bitter.

TIP: Make sure that the meat is regularly turned so the marinade covers each piece of meat.

Fruit MarinadesFruits such as Kiwi fruit and Nashi apples or pears are other ten-derisers used in a marinade. Grate, grind up or blend the fruit into a paste that is used with other ingredients such as onion, gar-lic and chili. Pears and kiwi fruit both tenderise and add a unique flavour to the meat.

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TIP: Wherever possible, use freshly ground or minced roots, seeds or fruit to make marinades.

For example, the key to the popular Korean steak dish, Bulgogi, is marinating the meat in Nashi Pears, which gives this dish its uniquely sweet and sour taste, and tenderises the meat. Kiwi fruit, lemon or lime juice does a similar job.

Adding FlavourThe list of marinades that can add flavour to meats is almost endless. Here are some principles for marinades.

Marinades should flavour, not overpower the meat. Because most game meats and particularly venison, are lean, adding oil to your marinade helps flavour and prepare the meat for cooking.

Dark SaucesDark sauces, such as sweet and salty soy sauce, Worcester and barbecue sauces make great marinades for venison. Adding raw minced garlic and onion to the mix helps add flavour and aroma.

TIP: Cooking fresh herbs in oil infuses the oil with their flavour which then permeates the marinated meat.

Provided these ingredients are refined into a sauce using a mincer or blender, they add flavour and a coating when meat is cooked, for example to grilled satay.

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Mixing and turning a marinade regularly helps infuse the meat evenly with the flavours of the mixture.

Marinated venison needs to be regularly turned and mixed.

Red SaucesFresh chili or tomato along with minced onion and garlic add an-other flavour style. Using brown sugar and natural salt with these ingredients brings a unique taste and coating to the meat.

These ingredients can also be pre-cooked in oil then added to the meat for the final cooking stage. This adds another element of depth, style and colour to the meat.

TIP: Red wine works especially well with venison and is a great addition to a red sauce.

Spicy MarinadesAnother spicy addition, other than chili, are spices such as yel-low or white turmeric (galangal), pepper and coriander, cinnamon and candlenut. Simmering game meat that has been marinated in or coated with these spicy marinades then fried or grilled after-wards makes for a tasty meat dish.

TIP: Adding coconut milk to a spicy marinade gives it a uniquely nutty taste.

Preparing for Field Cooking Because these venison recipes are meant for cooking in the field as much as in the family home or for friends, amounts are broadly based on a pinch, a handful or a cup.

These amounts roughly translate into a teaspoon equalling a pinch through to a handful which equates to a couple of table-spoons to a cup being a basic three-quarter filled mug or glass.

Being a strong meat, you'll need much less venison to fill you up. These recipe ingredients are for one kilo of venison. Ingredients can be multiplied or divided easily based on these amounts.

Due to being so lean, oil or fat is a must when cooking venison. Marinating it for longer periods helps get the gaminess out of the meat as does soaking it in a brine then draining it well prior to cooking.

Starting on a low heat helps get the moisture out without tough-ening venison. To tenderise venison, use a meat tenderiser or score the meat with a sharp knife before marinating it.

TIP: When cooking a venison roast, before baking in the oven, simmer it on a low heat in a pot of water from fro-zen to minimise the gamey taste of the meat.

For a venison roast mix in your favoured herbs and spices and cook for at least half an hour. Drain this water off the roast be-fore putting in an oven.

Roast your venison as you would a piece of beef except baste it with butter regularly due to its lack of fat. Because of its lean-ness, slice venison more thinly than beef when serving.

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