When is venison "done"?

[SimonKenton]

I keep hearing guys say that I should quit slow-cooking and stewing venison and start pan frying and grilling it. The problem is that most say it should be a little red inside. I avoid rare meat due to the instances of food poisoning attributed to undercooked meat.

Also, what about alternative cooking means like the George Foreman Grilling Machine or the Foreman Electric Indoor/Outdoor Grill? he latter is sort of an electric Weber grill which separates and collects grease.

[Steve]

I believe your chances of food poisoning due to rare meat are far less with venison that you have field dressed and properly cared for yourself. Many of the food poisoning cases come from ground meat which has exposed more than just the surface of the meat to baterias of all sorts.

[Salmonsmoker]

SimonKenton,

I have been eating rare game meat most of my life and never gotten sick. That is certainly not to say that it won't happen. I agree with Steve. It is very unlikely that you would ever get sick from rare venison. Again I agree, ground meat is another question. The conditions under which the meat was ground are always open to suspect. That is why I grind our burger meat at the time of use.

As for the Foreman Grill - it is designed to separate the fat from the meat (primarily a problem with beef and pork.) If trimmed properly, venison is noted for it's low fat content. That is why we wrap our roasts in bacon and baste our steaks it in olive oil. The fat content is so low that the meat would dry out if these steps are not taken.

Given all of that, and given that the meat is more tender and flavorfull when eaten rare, my wife will not touch any meat that is not well done. When cooking, I start her's well ahead of mine. That way they both get done at about the same time.

The choice is certainly one that you have to make, but I would never use the chance of getting sick as a basis for that decision.

ss

[SimonKenton]

Are marinades or other forms of preparation useful in keeping the venison from drying out on the grill? Are oven roasting bags any good with deer meat? I hear they work well with drier and tougher cuts of beef and mutton.

-Ray

[Salmonsmoker]

Simonkenton,

I have never tried the oven bags with venison. Usually, I use a Dutch Oven for my roasts and that works well - however, some form of oil is needed to keep the meat from drying out. Fat bacon works well. I cover the roast with strips of bacon then attach them with a toothpick. As the bacon fat is rendered from the strips, it automatically bastes the meat.

As for grilling, after removing the meat from the frig, I dust it with garlic powder (any salt - even garlic salt - will draw moisture out of the meat) and the let it warm up to room temperature. Then, I coat it with either olive oil (any cooking oil will work but extra virgin olive oil adds a nice flavor) or melted butter to keep it from drying out during the cooking process.

For most steaks on the grill, I use a very hot grill to cook the meat quickly. Also a nice taste variation is to put some hickory bark on the lava rocks prior to putting the meat on the grill.

ss

[SimonKenton]

Have a heart Salmon, you're making me drool on the keyboard!<G>

-Ray

[Salmonsmoker]

SimonKenton,

Hey, welcome to the Wild Game Food Preparation forum. I just noticed that you have made 3 posts, and all of them on this forum. We are honored.

We are also a long ways from the Bronx. Share a good word about our site with your friends. We are just a group of outdoor's people who like to talk about what we like to do. I like to cook outdoors - preferable over a campfire. Cooking wild game is something that I learned after marrying into a family of avid hunters 30 years ago.

We will look forward to some recipe's from your part of the country.

ss

[SimonKenton]

We just had a guy come into Grand Central this morning bragging about his heavy beamed and long-tined 3x3! CT starts a little sooner than NY.

-Ray

[bonasabuster]

agree agree and agree i like my venison rare and have never gottn sick from it however the longer you age or hang meat the more you up your chances of haveing a nasty bacteria make its home in your meat and eventually your stomach.but i never eat rare foul (grouse ducks or pheasent) salmonsmokeri must say it is nice to hear someone else raving about the ability of bacon to keep game meat moist.i have donre this for years just like grandma taught me and even when i get distracted and the meat gets to much cooking time the bacon can save the day.my favorite use for bacon is on grouse breasts cooked on top of fried apples with onion choped on top of it all 350 for abourt 40 mins and heaven awaits

[Salmonsmoker]

bonasabuster,

You make a good point on aging meat - if left go too long, bacteria can grow. However, freezing for at least 48 hours will eliminate the problem. (I have one Fish Recipe book that recommends that all fresh fish be frozen for 48 hours prior to cooking to kill any bacteria.) The other problem with aging too long is the taste and freezing will not eliminate bad flavor. 4 to 8 days for venison is good. Much more than that - particularly if the temperatuer gets above 50 degrees, and the meat starts to decompose - NOT GOOD.

Your Grouse Breast on Fried Apples sounds great. I don't have any Grouse but will give it a try with a game hen. I know - it's not the same, but that's as close as I can come right now. I know from experience that any recipe that makes a good game hen will make excellent Grouse.

Thanks for your ideas.

ss

[This message has been edited by Salmonsmoker (edited 10-18-2000).]

[bonasabuster]

salmonsmoker do you happen to live anywhere near i 75? maybe i could drop ya off a couple of breasts on my way done from the U P! man i must be crazy for putting that on a public board!!lol

[Salmonsmoker]

bonasabuster,

Thanks for the offer, but I-75 is two and a half hours East of here (if driving on I-94 at the speed limit.)

ss

[Salmonsmoker]

Making current

Salmonsmoker

[The Mutt]

When is venison done?

When it's brown on the outside and warm in the middle. 8-)

[WALLEYE MIKE]

Remember the longer you grill or fry meat the tougher it will get. Medium rare is the way to cook venison. OHHHHHHH so good!!!!!

Don't put a bunch of marinade or other crap seasonings on it, those just mask the wonderful natural taste.

I gave a lot of people venison under the impression they where being served beef. They liked it until they found out about being venison. All of a sudden it had a funny taste. Although some people said they didn't think venison would taste so good.

Main thing is DON'T OVER COOK IT.