Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Slow Cooked Venison Steak

For anyone who lives in Wisconsin there is a holiday that is celebrated every fall. It starts the weekend before Thanksgiving and lasts for nine days, ending the Sunday after Thanksgiving. It is called “Deer Season” and men gather in the big woods of our beautiful state and hunt to put food on our tables. We were fortunate enough to get some venison for our freezer. For the most part, venison steak is sliced very thin and fried quickly in a hot pan and then smothered with fried onions and mushrooms. Anyway that’s how it is served under this roof.

But sometimes I need to shake it up a bit and make this version of venison steak. It cooks in a crock pot all day and will fall apart when served.

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I started out with a whole venison “ham” from the hind quarters. It was probably about 2-3 pounds. I sliced it about 1/4-1/2 inches thick.

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Dredge the pieces in flour, one at a time.

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And drop into a very hot skillet. Venison tends to be a dryer meat so you may need to add oil while frying. I used olive oil but adding a little butter really adds flavor.

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Salt and pepper the steaks.

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Fry until they are very browned.

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Flip to brown the other side

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Put the browned steaks into the crock pot and top with a layer of onions. I did put about a cup of water in the bottom of the crock pot for moisture.

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Add the rest of the steaks as they brown and top with another layer of onions.

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Deglaze the pan with about a half cup of white wine. You can use water also.

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Pour the pan drippings into the crock.

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Add a can of diced tomatoes

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I like to add about a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar for a kick.

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Now just pop on the lid, turn it on high and walk away for about 4 hours and then switch over to low for the last several hours.

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Serve with buttered noodles or mashed potatoes.

Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Psalm 62:8