Venison The Family Way

I come from a solid meat & potatoes family. When I was a kid in Montana we ate a whole lot of venison because that is what my dad hunted. We weren’t the wealthiest folks so we really relied on what my dad brought back from his hunting trips and what my mom grew and/or canned. We ate venison stew, venison jerky, BBQ venison, venison burger – you get the idea. It was a pretty simple way of living but it is also exactly the ethos at the core of the localvore movement experiencing a major resurgence today. I have to give my parents major credit for starting me off right. It definitely shaped who I was, in particularly it taught us to value the food that ended up on our table.

When we moved to Minnesota and slowly settled into a slightly more urban existence our diet started including more store bought meats and less of the quality stuff my dad brought home. So, when he did bring back a deer from his yearly hunting trips back in Montana he made sure we savored it. While it still managed to make its way into the occasional pot of chili or meatloaf it was the flash fried preparation that became the center of our family venison tradition. We’d usually invite over the same small group of friends and family – mostly Montana transplants who shared our appreciation of the delicacy that is venison – threw some classic rock on the record player and broke out the hot plate. As most great food traditions half the fun is in the preparation and the hot-out-of-the-pan bites that are slyly stolen while the cook is looking the other way. Over the years these venison dinners became the most sought after invite from our friends and even served as the unofficial nod of approval for a lucky few new significant others. If you found yourself at the table for a venison dinner you knew you were in.

During my many years of vegetarianism -a lengthy story for another post – these venison dinners were akin to torture for me. Even though I swore not to eat meat those crispy flakes of peppery fried venison were so incredibly tempting. I finally set aside my veggie ways earlier this year and during my trip home last week was treated to my first venison dinner in nearly 15 years. It was heaven. Just as salty and crunchy and umami rich as I had remembered it. It was also, appropriately, the first meal we shared with my soon to be expanded family after Ryan proposed. In the hopes that you might be able to start your own similar tradition and with the blessing of my father I am offering up the family venison recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2-3 lb       Frozen venison tenderloin, just beginning to defrost
• 3 cup        AP flour
• Vegetable oil for frying
• Salt & Pepper grinders filled and at the ready

Directions:

1. Slice the still mostly solid venison into very thin strips. Each piece should be approximately 3″ x 3.” Set aside.
2. Prepared a cookie sheet with a layer of paper towel. Keep the roll handy as you may need to create more layers.
3. Pour the oil into an electric skillet (set at 350˚) or into a heavy bottomed sauce pan over medium heat. There should be 3/4″ oil.
4. Heat until the oil is shimmering.
5. While the oil is heating put the flour into a deep bowl and drop in a few of the venison shavings. Toss to coat them thoroughly in the flour.
6. Once the oil is ready place 4-5 pieces in the pan. Start out with a few, after you get the hang of it then you can up the number you cook at once. 
7. You’ll have to turn the pieces 3-4 times while it fries to maximize the crunch factor. When both sides have a nice golden brown crust remove from the oil and place on the prepared cookie sheet.
8. Immediately crank on some fresh pepper and sea salt – to taste.
9. Repeat steps 5-8 until all the slices of venison are cooked.