Wow, that smells bad
The first time I cooked venison I swore I would never cook it again. It smelled bad and tasted terrible. But, living with a family of hunters and having a freezer full of venison, I decided to investigate techniques to prepare the meat before cooking. As a result, venison is my preferred meat.
First, in order to remove the wild game taste, the meat should be drained of blood. How do you do that? I have found 2 effective ways:
- For a quick turn around: cover defrosted meat with milk, seal the container, and place it in the refrigerator overnight. Drain the milk that will now look pink, rinse with water, and cook as desired.
- Let the meat sit in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days (no milk needed). Drain the blood, rinse the meat with water, and cook as desired. (If meat is frozen it can sit in the refrigerator 3 to 4 days. If meat is not frozen reduce sit time to 2 days.)
Take the Chill off
Raw meat will cook more evenly at room temperature, especially thicker cuts. In fact, taking the chill off your roasts, chops and even fish fillets before cooking will produce juicier, more evenly cooked meat. You will find that more blood will come out when you take the chill out (Up to 30 minutes). Once you drain off the excess blood, cook it as desired. You should always take safety precautions when taking the chill off meat.
- Never refrigerate room temperature meat without cooking it first. Once it is out it should be cooked. Be sure to cook raw meat within 30 minutes of taking out of the refrigerator. If the room is 85 to 90 degrees, cook the meat immediately after taking it out of the refrigerator.
- Never thaw frozen meat at room temperature. It should always come from the freezer to the refrigerator for the thawing process.
- Always keep meat covered.
- Wash any cookware and/or cooking utensils with hot soapy water after using it with raw meat.
- Never use the same utensils that touched raw meat on other food before washing them.
- Always wipe counter-tops down with antibacterial cleaners if raw meat or blood touches it.
- Do the research on raw meat safety. I am not an expert in the matter.
One of my favorite venison recipes from Tony Chachere’s Cajun Country Cookbook. Venison Parmesan
Catherine Bares



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