Venison: making it up as you go along!

So, later today I'll be putting up a post about a dinner that I helped cook last night. A friend of mine shot a deer over Winter Break and brought back some steaks to cook. Living in a house with a kitchen, it seemed natural to do the steaks at my house, and I got to join in. I turned out to be great at trimming the steaks, and then I cooked them perfectly. I'll talk about this whole meal in more detail once I have the picture up- I didn't take pictures during the process because I was not planning on blogging about it, but I have a picture of the finished meal! So I'll be including recipes for Venison, some easy asparagus, and roasted potatoes- check back later!

Savor it!
love, rue

EDIT:

Easy Asparagus
-cleaned and trimmed asparagus (as much as you want)
-butter
-lemon juice
-salt and pepper
Put asparagus in a single layer in a glass pan (that can fit in your microwave), dot with butter, drizzle with lemon juice and sprinkle on your salt and pepper. Cover with wax paper (key).
Microwave in 1 minute to 30 second intervals until asparagus is crisp-tender- shouldn't take more than a few minutes!


Simple Roasted Potatoes
-potatoes, cut into bite-size chunks, unpeeled
-olive oil
-salt and pepper
Heat your oven to 375-400 F. Toss the potato pieces with the olive oil and salt and pepper to coat. Spread on baking sheet or in any other pan, single layer preferable.
Stick that pan in the oven and keep and eye on them for about 30-40 minutes, or until done when stuck with a fork- so delicious!


Rue's Venison (I've never even eaten venison before!)
-venison steaks (my friend told me they were the "filet mignon" of venison)
-2% milk
-dry rub (I made mine with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, parsley, and a sprinkle of chili powder)
-butter
-1/4 cup cooking wine
-Worcestershire sauce
My friend who shot the deer soaked the steaks in milk for 24 hours. I trimmed the steaks of all fat and of that silvery layer that ends up really chewy and tough if cooked. Then pat the steaks with the dry rub, feeling free to give it your own take and use whatever spices you feel like.
Heat a pan over medium, and add about 1/2 T of butter or so for each round of steaks. Add the steaks to the pan (usually 2 at a time) and cook for between 3 and 5 minutes per side, depending on the size of the steak. With this meat, you're going for something that looks more similar to tuna in terms of doneness and the look of the meat.
When the meat is done, deglaze the pan with the cooking wine, and add a few dashes of worcestershire while whisking. Use this to drizzle over the meat!


So, I've made asparagus and potatoes a million times, but the venison was my first time experience- I've never eaten or seen venison before that I can think of. But this just goes to show that in the world of food, you can conquer it, even if you've never given it a try before!! Just find a recipe, add your own touches, and go for it- chances are you'll get it right and have some delicious homecooked food on your hands!


Here's the meal, accompanied by a proper glass of sherry, brought by my friend from Spain!

Savor it!
love, rue