Since venison is low in fat, over-cooking will cause toughness. Preheat the oven, grill or pan before cooking. Do not add salt to venison because it will draw out the meat juices, preventing browning, and resulting in dry meat. Brush the venison with oil to seal in the meat flavor and to prevent the meat from drying out. Spices and herbs can be used as well as marinades and wines.

Venison is very lean and therefore shrinkage is minimal. Less venison is needed because the meat is very dense. Portion sizes can be smaller than for other meats.

Some people add beef suet or pork lard to ground venison to add moisture. This will change the taste and add unnecessary fat to the meat. Instead, consider adding quick oatmeal, rice crispy cereal or steel-cut barley or oats – this will retain the flavor and moisture, but will not change the quality or taste of the product.

If you got your venison from the wild and it has a strong “gamey” taste to it, try the following:

• Soak the meat in salted water, milk, buttermilk or vinegar to remove blood from the flesh.
• Age the meat under refrigeration for 3 to 7 days to enhance tenderness.
• Soak meat in marinades containing wine or vinegar with the heavier flavors of soy or garlic.
• Serve the meat with sweet or spicy sauces as condiments to temper the wild taste.
• Trim fat from game meats to remove a major source of the wild flavor.

Nutritional information

Venison is lower in calories, fat and cholesterol than most meats. This is appealing to a growing number of consumers looking for alternatives to traditional beef and pork.

https://www.deerfarmer.org/index.php/venison/cooking