My husband has always been an avid hunter. Used to be, almost every weekend during deer and turkey season, he would be out hunting with someone. He was a bow hunter, rifle and black powder hunter. He’s given up the bow hunting now but he still hunts deer and turkey with a rifle and black powder (which seems like a lot of extra work to me–that’s why they made bullets). He’s never brought home a turkey, but generally, he does get a deer. Growing up, I ate squirrel and rabbit on occasion, but dad wasn’t a deer hunter so I had not eaten venison. Sometimes I still have a little problem eating venison although I think it is mostly the thought of eating Bambi that gets to me more than the taste. (I try not to think of those big brown eyes on the cows my grandpa used to raise).

Generally, we have most of our deer meat ground up and mixed with ¼ part beef and I use that mixture just as I would ground beef. My husband usually gets a very small part of the deer cut into loin and roasts and its just been in the last two years that I’ve gotten brave enough to try and cook this cut of meat. I’ve found a really good venison marinade that I’ve used several times with wonderful results. All deer are different and the age of the deer and other things can affect the taste of the meat. We’ve been lucky the last two deer he has gotten, the meat has tasted very “ungamey”. (Is that a word?) My husband used to use a milk recipe, but here’s the marinade I use:

Marinade

Adapted from Food.com/recipe/venison-steak-marinade-119158

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 -2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 (1 1/2 lb) package venison
1. Mix all marinade ingredients together in a small measuring cup.
2. Place venison in a large zip lock bag.
3. Pour marinade over meat and seal bag.
4. Place bag in a flat casserole dish so that the venison is in a single layer.
5. Refrigerate and marinate at least 4 hours, turning every half hour to marinate each side.
6. Drain marinade and cook meat as desired.
7. This recipe can be doubled or tripled depending on the amount of meat you have.

Venison Stew

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 pounds venison stew meat (I used loin)
• 1 large onion, coarsely chopped (feel free to add more if your family really likes onion–mine doesn’t)
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed (or 1/2 tsp. minced garlic)
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 3 cups water
• 7 potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 1 pound bag baby carrots
• 1/4 cup catsup
I also added some cut up tomatoes because I have plenty from my garden.

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large skillet. Cut meat into bite size pieces. Dip in flour and fry just until all sides are browned.

2. Peel and dice potatoes and put them along with the carrots in the bottom of the crockpot.

3. Add meat, onions, tomatoes (if you want), garlic, Worcestershire sauce, oregano, salt, pepper, catsup and water.
4. Stir just to mix.
5. Cook on high for 4 hours.
Originally published as Venison Stew in Taste of Home February/March 1993, p29