Category: Recipes

This easy pasta sauce recipe is rich and satisfying, made with common ingredients you most likely have in your pantry!

With the Covid-19 stay-at-home orders I’ve searched for a new  recipe to try for the venison in the freezer and the ingredients available here without having to go to the grocery store. I discovered this Instant Pot recipe and modified it for venison and what was in the pantry.  If you don’t have an Instant Pot you can cook this in a crock pot/slow cooker for 8-10 hours on low. It’s now a family favorite and will be a regular recipe I cook!  Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1-1/2 cups diced yellow onion
• 1/2 cup diced carrots
• 1/2 cup diced celery
• 1 1/2 pounds ground venison
• 3-4 oz. diced Canadian Bacon
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 28 ounces crushed Great Value tomatoes, in purée
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 Tbs. dried parsley
• 1/4 cup whipping cream or whole milk
• pinch ground nutmeg (to taste, optional)
• salt and ground black pepper
• cooked pasta of your choice (larger, firmer pasta is better but use whatever you have as I did)
• Shredded Italian cheese for topping: parmesan, provolone, Romano

Instructions

1. Turn the Instant Pot on the Sauté setting.
2. Add olive oil and heat.
3. Add onions, carrots, and celery, and cook until softened, about 5-8 minutes.
4. Add ground venison and Canadian Bacon to the Instant Pot
5. Add 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper.
6. Cook the meat on the sauté function, breaking up meat with a spoon, until browned.
7. Add garlic to the Instant Pot, and cook for 1 minute, until fragrant.
8. Add the red wine, scraping the brown bits from the bottom so that nothing sticks to the bottom and all ingredients move freely, no sticking.
9. Simmer for 2-3 minutes, until most of the wine has evaporated.
10. Stir in crushed tomatoes in purée, water, and 1 Tbsp parsley. Bring to a simmer.
11. Put the lid on and seal the Instant Pot. Set the unit to HIGH pressure for 25 minutes. Quick release pressure and carefully lift lid when the float drops.
12. Switch the Instant Pot to the lowest heat sauté setting and bring to a bubble. Simmer, uncovered, for 5-10 minutes, frequently stirring. Allow the sauce to thicken.
13. Stir in whipping cream, remaining dried parsley, and ground nutmeg (if using). Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve over cooked pasta with plenty of  shredded/grated cheese and a sprinkling of parsley, if desired.

Notes:  This recipe works well with ground turkey, elk, pork…whatever you have in the freezer.  Above is the recipe as I changed it – the original recipe here must be even better if you have all the ingredients or want to modify it for your own use.

Ingredients:

Marinade (pick your favorite)
1 raccoon
Seasoning rub (onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper)
1 cup Allegro Hickory Smoke marinade
3 tablespoons of liquid smoke

Directions:

Season raccoon pieces with seasoning rub.
Pour hickory smoke marinade and liquid smoke into slow cooker.
Place meat on rack in slow cooker over liquid.
Cook on low for 10 hours.
Cool, pull off bone, and use as you wish.

The GrowingDeer Team would like to thank Shawn and Christina Taylor for sharing their recipe and techniques for cooking raccoon.

After you season the raccoon and place it in the slow cooker it will look like this:

When done the raccoon will be fall off the bone tender:

You can use the meat however you want.  We made tacos….

And sandwiches!

Patty Ingredients:

1 lb. ground Boston burger (a combo of ground beef and ground pork)
1 lb. ground venison
1 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/3 cup milk, or just enough to moisten breadcrumbs
1 egg, beaten
3 cloves garlic, grated with microplane grater
Dried oregano to taste
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Seasoned salt to taste

Toppings:

1 cup fresh tomato sauce
Shredded parmesan cheese
Shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1. Combine boston burger and venison together.
2. Mix in all other patty ingredients.
3. Shape into 8 oblong patties.
4. Place on parchment lined cooking sheet.
5. Cook in oven at 450 degrees for 30 minutes or until done (internal temperature of 165 degrees).
6. Top patties with fresh tomato sauce and cheese before serving.

Ingredients:

Venison loin
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon canola oil
Marinade (use your favorite or see below)
Dry red wine, about 1/3 cup or just enough to deglaze a pan

Marinade:

1/2 cup bbq sauce
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons steak sauce
1 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Montreal steak seasoning
2 cloves garlic, smashed open

Directions:

Combine all marinade ingredients.
Marinate venison loin for 8 hours.
Remove venison loin from marinade and place on wire rack to let excess marinade drip off.
Melt 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon canola oil in large ovenproof skillet.
Sear venison loin on each side over medium high heat.
Deglaze pan with red wine.
Place skillet in oven to finish cooking venison loin to desired doneness.

A tasty and easy Italian recipe for Venison. This Tuscan White Beans and Venison recipe can be prepared and ready to eat in an hour or less.

Ingredients

• 1 Venison Backstrap
• 2 Tbsp Mayo
• 1 Tbsp Powdered Garlic
• 1 tsp Thyme
• 1 tsp Basil
• 1 tsp Oregano
• 1 large Onion coarsely chopped
• 2 Tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 tsp. chopped Garlic
• 1 tsp. Basil
• 1 tsp. Oregano
• 2 medium Carrots
• 1 Red Bell Pepper
• 1 cup chopped Spinach
• 1 15.5 oz. can Cannellini Beans (white kidney beans)
• 1 15.5 oz. Diced Tomatoes
• 1 15.5 oz Tomato Sauce
• Pinch red pepper flakes
• ½ cup Red Wine
• ½ Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Directions

Slice the backstrap into thin, bite sized cubes (1/4” x  ½”). Place cubed venison in large bowl or gallon sized Ziplock bag. Add the mayo, powdered garlic, thyme, basil, and oregano then cover the bowl (or seal the bag) and “shake” to distribute the mayo mixture to coat all the meat well.  Put the meat in the refrigerator while the remainder of the food is prepped. (The meat can be prepped and refrigerated 24 – 48 hours prior.)

Coarsely chop the onion, carrots, and bell pepper, spinach.  In a large fry/sauté pan on medium heat, add the olive oil, spices and chopped vegetables. Stir and cook until the vegetables begin to soften on medium heat.

Move the vegetables to the outer edge of the pan then add the venison to the center. Cook the venison on medium heat, stirring frequently to ensure even and thorough cooking. Cook four to seven minutes until the venison is no longer red on the outside.

Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, cannellini beans (also known as white kidney beans), red pepper flakes, and wine.  Cook for 7 – 10 minutes until a low boil.  Simmer for 5 minutes on low heat. Stirring occasionally.

Serve over pasta of your choice topped with Parmesan Cheese.  We served it over Angel Hair pasta (shown in image).

Ingredients:

8 oz tube of refrigerated crescent rolls
1-pound ground venison
1/3 cup diced onion
1 package taco seasoning mix
16 ounces sour cream
2 cups shredded Mexican-style cheese blend
2 cups crushed Doritos

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Lay crescent dough flat on the bottom of a 13X9 inch pan that has been sprayed with PAM cooking spray, pressing dough together to close seams.
Bake for time specified on package directions.
Meanwhile, brown the ground venison and diced onion in a large skillet over medium high heat.
Add 1/4 cup water and taco seasoning to venison, simmer for a few minutes until the water has cooked off.
Remove dough from oven after cooking and layer on top of baked crust: 1 cup crushed Doritos, meat mixture, sour cream (spreading out to form one thin layer), shredded cheese, and remaining Doritos.
Return to oven and bake additional 10 minutes, or until cheese has melted.

An original version of this recipe can be found at Allrecipes.

Ingredients

2 lbs. Venison (Backstrap or Roast)
1 12 oz. bottle Louisiana style hot sauce

½ stick butter
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup water
1 beef bouillon cube

1/2 Tablespoon black pepper
1 Tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 Tablespoon garlic powder

Instructions:
Trim venison well, removing the connective tissue and “silver skin”. Cut venison into cubes, approx. 1 inch in size.

Crock pot: put all ingredients into a crock pot/slow cooker and cook on low for 8- 10 hours.

Instant Pot/Electric Pressure Cooker: Place the trivet in the bottom of the electric pressure cooker to prevent burning. Add 1 cup water, bouillon cube, meat, hot sauce, and remaining ingredients. Cook on high pressure for 40 minutes with natural pressure release. Do not stir until cooking is complete.

When cooking time ends, stir then remove venison from pot with a slotted spoon. Leave the “juice” in the pot. Coarsely chop or shred venison as you would BBQ meat. Place chopped/shredded meat in a bowl along with enough “juice” to moisten the meat.

Serving suggestions:  Sandwich style on Hawaiian or Ciabatta rolls. Top with cheese of your choice then toast in the oven followed by cole slow and onion slices.  ENJOY!

Ingredients:

4-pound venison roast
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon ground red pepper

Directions:

Combine salt, pepper, paprika, brown sugar, onion powder, garlic powder, and red pepper together to make a seasoning rub.
Rub venison roast with seasoning rub, be sure to get all sides of roast.
Wrap venison roast in a piece of parchment paper to encase the roast, with the seam at the top.
Wrap venison (second time) in a piece of aluminum foil to encase the roast, with the seam at the top.
Wrap venison (third time) in another piece of aluminum foil to encase the roast, with the seam at the top.
Cook roast, seam side up, at 250 degrees for 8 hours (2 hours per pound of venison).
Remove roast from oven (reserve any juices) and shred or cut venison into small pieces.
Place roast and juices back in oven for 10 – 15 minutes.

This recipe is based off of Chef John’s Paper Pork Shoulder recipe, my favorite way to roast pork.