Fall Harvest and a Few Recipes

No, I’m not talking corn or wheat here. I’m talking deer! My mighty hunters bagged three more during the opening weekend. 2 really nice bucks and a doe. Today is processing day – lots of work, but definitely worth it! My freezer will be full tonight! Thank the Lord for providing the meat, Thank the Lord for my men for bringing it in!




Venison Recipes

So, what do I do with all that meat? My family really does love it! I’ve had a few ask for some recipes. I don’t know that I actually follow any recipes, per se…..but here are our some of our family favorites. These are all very forgiving dishes - I use up what I have on hand, and make do with what I have, making substitutions as needed.

Smothered Venison
Lay out your favorite cuts of meat (tenderloin is best, steak works great, roasts do ok) and pour a 15 oz can of tomato sauce all over the top. Sprinkle with a little seasoned salt and pepper and basil, lay slices of onion, green pepper on top. Add a can of sliced mushrooms (drained). Bake in a 300 oven for 2-3 hours (or in crockpot on low all day). Serve over rice.


Venison w/ Gravy
Pour one can of Cream of Mushroom soup into greased 9x13 baking pan. Lay out venison steaks (or tenderloin or roast) on top. Sprinkle with a packet of dry onion soup mix. Bake in 300 oven 3-4 hours. Meat is tender and make its own gravy! Serve with boiled or mashed potatoes.
You can also do this in the crockpot – put meat in first, then seasoning, then soup. Cook on low all day.

Pan Fried Venison Tenderloin
Pour a thin coat of oil (I use olive oil) in fry pan, med to med/hi heat.
In a shallow bowl, beat a couple eggs and 3 tablespoon milk.
In another shallow bowl, mix ¼ cup flour and ¼ cup corn meal. Add favorite seasonings (like seasoned salt, pepper, garlic powder, basil, etc)

Dip each piece of meat in egg mixture, then coat with flour mixture and place in heated oil in fry pan. Cook 5 minutes and turn, cook 5 more minutes.

Venison Stew
I cut steak into bite size pieces and layer in bottom of crockpot. Sprinkle favorite seasonings over meat (seasoned salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin, coriander, onion soup mix, basil, bay leaf are some ideas) – Add a layer of diced potatoes, sliced carrots, sliced celery, frozen peas. Pour 15 oz can of diced tomatoes over all. Spread can of Cream of Tomato soup and add water just to cover. You can add a can of cream of mushroom soup for added flavor and to thicken if you like. Or add a little flour dissolved in milk or water to thicken.


Most of our venison we process into burger. Generally, I use 1 part ground beef to 3 parts ground venison. We also make jerkey from our ground venison, using a gun-type thing-a-ma-jig that squirts out the cured ground meat onto the dehydrator.

OK – now I’m hungry! Let me know if you try any of these ideas and how they work for you, or how you have improved on them.