Best Cuts of Venison Guide
This illustrated diagram shows the 7 best cuts of venison. Chart made by nadiavanderdonk.deviantart.com
Venison Butchering Guide
Butchering your own deer is a huge part of harvesting the animal and many hunters look forward to cutting up and serving the most organic meat on the planet. That being said, knowing what you’re cutting up and how to properly do it is important to not only have the freshest meat, but also the tastiest. Here is a guide on the 7 best cuts of venison to help you get the most out of your animal this fall.
Stew Meat
Stew meat is essentially some scrap meat from the better cuts of an animal that isn’t used for hamburger. It’s usually not very tender, so it gets diced up into stew meat so that it can easily be cooked in a slow cooker. This moistens up the meat and brings out more flavor, especially with spices used.
Loins
The loins on any animal are very tasty and tender and are usually a preferred meat option. On a beef cow, the filet mignon is located here and there are some amazing venison tenderloin recipes available. One of my favorite ways to cook the tenderloin is with butter and frying or baking it while still leaving it very rare.
Roasts
Roasts are large cuts of meat that many people like because it is easy to cook in a slow cooker or oven over time. Personally, I prefer to cut roasts into steaks of small strips of meat for fajitas, but to each their own. The roast is what is taken from the rump or hindquarter of a deer. Roasting meat can make it very tender and flavorful and is great to cook all day while you’re at work.
Steak
Venison steak is my favorite part of the deer, obviously. The steak has so many recipes and can be fried, grilled or broiled. I love to marinate steaks and then grill them for a few minutes so that they’re tender and medium rare. To get the steaks, cut the meat perpendicular to the muscle fiber. You can cut them thin or thick, depending on your preference. On larger bucks, I like to have some larger, thicker steaks for summer grilling.
Ribs
Rib meat is a favorite for many people and can be cooked in several different ways. You can fry the meat, grill it, smoke it, roast it or braise it. Rib meat is tough to get at, especially on a smaller deer, but is definitely worth it. Many people see the ribs as the best meat on an animal (i disagree) but it’s a great meal!
Osso Buco
The Osso Buco part of the deer is a great tasting portion of meat. I like to braise this and it tastes awesome. This part of the deer includes a bone with a hole in it and that allows for even cooking throughout. The meat is usually 1.5 inches thick and provides a great dinner.
Heart
The heart is one of the largest and best tasting organs that you can eat from wild game. Deer heart is delicious and providing you didn’t shoot it, can be a hearty meal. When this meat is prepared right, it can be super good and very tender. You can grill, bake, broil or slow cook the meat.
Be on the lookout for some great new venison, wild game and fish recipes from MorningMoss.
You may also be interested in these 5 tips on how to grill the perfect venison steak.
