Venison With Apple Cranberry Relish

Growing up my parents were not hunters and we didn’t eat wild game meat. Fast forward 34 years, I married a hunter, and in 2016 I went bow hunting for the first time. Although I came home empty-handed my husband brought home a deer. Since I’ve known him I’ve been able to try my hand at cooking venison but this is the first creation I’ve felt was blog-worthy. How did I come up with the recipe? There is 1 cookbook that I use more than others but it isn’t a traditional cookbook. It’s an alphabetical list of ingredients that lists which flavors the “experts” think go with that ingredient. The book that I use for many of my recipe ideas is called The Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity, Based on the Wisdom of America’s Most Imaginative Chefs. I look up whatever I’m cooking and then decide what I think sounds like it might taste good.

Venison Recipe

When I decided to create a venison recipe I thought a marinade might be a wise decision because the venison had been in the freezer for about 6 months and it wasn’t vacuum sealed. I’d eaten this deer before so I knew that it wasn’t gamey thanks to a well-placed shot but I worried about a freezer taste. Although I’m not sure my guess is that I used part of the hindquarter for this recipe. There were 3 or 4 pieces/strips of deer. Those that were about 2″ thick (in the picture above) had a better ratio of marinade flavor. The venison piece that was 5 or 6″ thick was well seasoned on the surface but not in the middle. It all depends on what you’re going for.

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Venison Marinade

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

23 hrs 55 mins

Total Time

1 d

 

24 hour marinade for venison

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp dry rosemary
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 tbsp juniper berries crushed
• 1/4 cup avocado oil
• 1 tbsp riesling

Instructions

1. Combine the ingredients in a gallon sized zip top bag

2. Add the venison and gently massage the bag until everything is coated

3. Refrigerate for 24 hours

4. Remove the venison from the marinade and sear it on all sides in a hot pan. 

Recipe Notes

I haven't tried the marinate for less than 24 hours but I'm sure that a little bit of marinade time is better than none. To crush the juniper berries I simply used a pot to roughly crush them on a cutting board.

I used Guntrum Riesling for this recipe. It's sweet but not overly sweet like a Muscato, nor is it minerally. You could also use a buttery Chardonnay.

Traditionally venison is cooked to medium but I like it somewhere between medium and medium-well. The strips that were 2″ in diameter cooked fairly quickly. When it was browned on one side I switched to another side. I ended up searing 3 sides and when it was done I let it rest for 5 minutes before cutting it into the pieces you see in the photo above.

Deciding what to pair with the venison I simply had a gut instinct that apples and cranberries might go well. It’s that instinct you have to pair apples with pork but not with beef; that’s the best way I can explain it. As it turned out I was correct. The apple cranberry relish balances out any hints of wild, gamey, or deer taste that some dislike. So if you’re going to feed someone deer for the first time I definitely recommend something slightly sweet and acidic to balance the wild game taste that most people aren’t used to.  This simple relish would also go well with turkey.

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Apple Cranberry Relish

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

30 mins

Total Time

35 mins

 

Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

• 1 cup cranberries
• 2 gala apples diced
• 2 tbsp grass fed butter or ghee
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup Riesling

Instructions

1. Over medium heat: Melt the butter in a skillet and saute the apples and cranberries with 1/4 tsp of salt for about 5 minutes. 

2. Add the white wine and occasionally stir the apples and cranberries over medium heat until the wine has evaporated. The apples should be softened and the cranberries should have all popped. 25-30 minutes

Recipe Notes

I used Guntrum Riesling for this recipe. It's sweet but not overly sweet like a Muscato, nor is it minerally. You could also use a buttery Chardonnay.

Originally posted on May 10, 2017 @ 14:15

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