I am surrounded by uncles, and cousins, and neighbors who all hunt. Venison, aka deer meat is a taste that I grew up with. My dad was never a hunter but we always had a friend or family member who was more than happy to share some of their spoils from their hunts with us (often in exchange for my father making some of his killer deer jerky for them ;) ).
Living in the "big" city, I got away from cooking and eating venison on a regular basis which is a shame because it is such a lean and healthy cut of meat. But you couldn't just walk into the local Whole Foods or Giant Eagle and pick up some deer tenderloins or a venison roast.
Sadly, I lost my taste for it.... until recently.
One of my sister-in-laws kindly brought us over some deer meat that her husband had procured for them in the fall. Among the vittles she brought me? Some beautiful venison tenderloins. The tenderloins are pretty much the best cut of the deer, if you ask me.
I decided to marinate them in a red wine marinade all day and then grill them on my electric grill for dinner that evening.
What you will need:
4 venison tenderloins or steaks (approx 6 oz each)
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup red wine
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp whole grain Dijon mustard
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
For the red wine cream sauce:
1 1/2 tbsp corn starch
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup beef broth
In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic, red wine, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, olive oil, vinegar, brown sugar, salt, & pepper. Pour into a gallon sized food storage bag.
Pierce your venison steaks on all sides with a fork. Add your steaks to the marinade in the food storage bag and massage the marinade into the meat a bit.
(By the way, how gorgeous is that venison??)
Place the meat and marinade in the bag in your fridge and marinate for 4-8 hours.
Grill your marinated venison steaks to your preferred temperature. I usually cook venison to a nice medium to medium-well.
Be sure to reserve the marinade in the bag- you will be using this to make the red wine cream sauce.
To make the red wine cream sauce, pour the leftover marinade in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. In a small bowl, combine the water and the cornstarch. Slowly pour and whisk the cornstarch mixture into the heated marinade. Then add in the heavy cream and beef broth. Continue to heat until thickened.
When you are ready to serve your venison, just ladle some of the red wine cream sauce over your steaks. Add a side of mashed potatoes or roasted new potatoes and you have a hearty meal! :)
Have you tried venison before?
How do you like to prepare it?
by Frugal Foodie Mama
Prep Time: 4-8 hours
Cook Time: 20-25 minutes
- For the marinade+
- 4 venison tenderloins or steaks (approx 6 oz each)
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup red wine
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp whole grain Dijon mustard
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
For the red wine cream sauce
- leftover marinade
- 1 1/2 tbsp corn starch
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1/2 cup beef broth
In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic, red wine, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, olive oil, vinegar, brown sugar, salt, & pepper. Pour into a gallon sized food storage bag.
Pierce your venison steaks on all sides with a fork. Add your steaks to the marinade in the food storage bag and massage the marinade into the meat a bit.
Place the meat and marinade in the bag in your fridge and marinate for 4-8 hours.
Grill your marinated venison steaks to your preferred temperature. I usually cook venison to a nice medium to medium-well.
Be sure to reserve the marinade in the bag- you will be using this to make the red wine cream sauce.
To make the red wine cream sauce, pour the leftover marinade in a small saucepan and heat over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. In a small bowl, combine the water and the cornstarch. Slowly pour and whisk the cornstarch mixture into the heated marinade. Then add in the heavy cream and beef broth. Continue to heat until thickened.
When you are ready to serve your venison, just ladle some of the red wine cream sauce over your steaks. Add a side of mashed potatoes or roasted new potatoes and you have a hearty meal!
