Venison Recipes - Made with Whitetails from Florida and South Carolina

Hi everyone, just a background before we get started..

We have been hunting in Florida for years, I myself grew up in Mississippi where everyone hunts or fishes and at some point in your life you really start to appreciate the taste of fresh meat.. meat that you worked hard for, you sacrificed for.. meat that you earned. Or even just a homecooked meal in general!

I WILL ADMIT I have NOT always been the best cook! But, over the years (and after making the same dish over and over) I feel like I have mastered a few recipes that me and my family all love. The most popular recipes have Whitetail Deer that my husband has killed and that meat either came from South Carolina or Florida.

I have decided to share 2 of my most delicious Deer Meat Recipes. Even if you say "I don't like deer meat" (which we hear this every now and then).. If i never told you it had venison you'd never know it.. there's no game to this flame! 

I will also add little tips, tricks, and lessons learned for cooking venison at the end of each recipe for you. So that you can really play with these and adjust the recipes to make them your own!

Let's Get It!

 

The first recipe is a "Casserole".. I'm using quotation marks but it's not a standard pop everything in a pan.. forget it and it's done.

BUT! Your work will pay off and once you make it a few times you'll be slinging sauce all over the place whipping this up in a hurry. No Problem.

 

1) Deer & Zucchini Casserole

• Feeds: 4-5 people. Eat either all in one night or we like to eat half and save the rest for left overs the next day.
• Cook Time: 1 hour and 30 mins 
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Serve with: White Rice (I use extra virgin olive oil and add parsley to my rice)

Ingredients: 

(Original Recipe uses 9x9 dish.. I use 8x8.. see why below) 

• 1 lb ground deer
• 1 lb breakfast sausage
• 1 can condensed tomato soup
• 2 fresh, fine-chopped green onion
• 3 med-large zucchini
• 1/2 Tbsp butter
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp Louisiana
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp Worcestershire
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated (Brand: 4C)
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 8 oz sour cream

Before we start on the how-to .. I found this recipe in an old Church Recipe Cook Book that my Mamaw gave to me .. The date on the Recipe Book was 1964. So, this has been around for some time. I did make some changes to this original recipe, which I will post at the end. 

Directions:

1. Thaw Meat accordingly (I always forget this part)
2. Preheat Oven to 350 degrees
3. Heat skillet on high and brown meat, stirring constantly. **TIP: Do not overcook the meat at this stage! (You still have a lot of cooking to do in the oven.. As soon as the pink meat starts turning to brown I usually strain! 
4. Lower heat to Med - Return meat back to your skillet and add Tomato soup, salt, Louisiana, butter, sugar, chopped green onion and Worcestershire - Cook 5 mins. Stir a few times here.
5. Remove from heat after 5 mins.
6. Slice Zucchini into rounds that are a little less than 1/2" thick.. and that's not yummy.
7. Butter an aluminum or glass dish. 
8. In your dish layer meat mixture, then zucchini and repeat until you run out of meat.
9. In a mixing bowl add cream cheese and sour cream. Mix until well combined and spread on top of zucchini. 
10. Sprinkle Paprika on top to cover. Don't be scared to add a little Paprika! 
11. Top with parmesan cheese and cover with foil. 
12. Bake for 1 hour and 30 mins.. we like to turn on the broil after this is finished cooking just to get a brown crusty cheese on top

Expert Tips to Consider if you want to perfect this recipe:

1. TIP: My husband LOVES meat.. SO, this recipe originally calls for 1lb deer and 1lb sausage.. but I actually use 1.5 lb of each when I can.. You're welcome meat eaters!..
2. TIP: If you slice the zucchini too thick they will not cook all the way through, and if you didn't like zucchini before.. you definitely won't like it now.. make sure you're not making them too large and the time in the oven is plenty to have the vegetable cook well.
3. TIP: This recipe normally called for a 9x11 dish, but after making this a hundred or more times I started using an 8x8.. there is so much more concentration on flavor when you simply lower the size of your dish. When you use aluminum 8x8 dishes, just flip up the edges to make it taller so that your ingredients do not boil out of your baking dish.
4. TIP: I use my mixer to mix the cream cheese and sour cream because.. even though it takes more time.. It makes the cheese a lighter consistency when mixed on high speed and it helps evenly spread the cheese on top of the dish.
5. TIP: This recipe originally calls for you to mix sour cream with the cream cheese, but I recently adjusted to adding a splash of milk instead and I love it that way! It makes the cheese mixture on top so much lighter and doesn't weigh you down!
6. TIP: I use toothpick to prop up the aluminum foil on top by sticking picks in each corner, making sure the picks are in a zucchini.. the cheese will stick and you pull off most of the cheese if you do not keep the foil and cheese separated.

This Casserole takes a while in the oven, but everyone I've made this for loved it, it's so worth the wait!

Moving on! This is something I make for parties or just small get togethers at my house when I know there's going to be around 8-9 people at my house.

 

2) Deer Lasagna

• Feeds: 8-9 people. Eat either all in one night or we like to eat half and save the rest for left overs the next day.
• Cook Time: 1 hour 
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Serve with: Salad or soup

Ingredients:

(Use 9x9 dish)

• 1 lb deer meat
• 1 lb breakfast sausage
• 1 white onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 36 oz pasta sauce (we use one we love from Detweiler's.. it's a generic brand.. but... yum)
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• Durum Wheat Lasagna Noodles
• 4 cups mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated (Brand: 4C)
• Cheese Mixture: 2 cups Ricotta cheese, 1/4 cup bail and oregano (in a 1/4 measuring cup add half basil and half oregano), 1 egg (our farm fresh eggs are best for this recipe)

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Boil water and cook noodles and set aside.
• In a Med-Large Pot or Skillet use Medium heat to cook meat, onion and garlic. Drain once meat is finished. **TIP: Do not overcook the meat at this stage! (You still have a lot of cooking to do in the oven.. As soon as the pink meat starts turning to brown I usually strain! 
• Return meat back to pot / pan and add Pasta Sauce, Paste, and Italian seasoning. Cook for 5 mins. Stirring each min.
• To make the cheese mixture: In Medium sized bowl combine 1.5 cups mozzarella, 1/4 cups parmesan cheese, Ricotta, oregano/basil and egg. Mix until well combined. 
• In your 9x9 baking dish layer meat mixture, noodles, then cheese mixture and repeat until done. Usually this makes just 2 layers. 
• Cover with foil and bake 45 mins.
• Uncover. Add 2.5 cups Mozzarella, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. Bake 15 minutes to brown 

Expert Tips to Consider if you want to perfect this recipe:

1. TIP: I always use a mixer when mixing cheeses for layering.. When you mix on high speed you will get such a lighter consistency and not get overwhelmed by the cheese spread.
2. TIP: My husband LOVES meat.. SO, this recipe originally calls for 1lb deer and 1lb sausage.. but I actually use 1.5 lb of each when I can.. You're welcome meat eaters!..
3. TIP: This may be because I am from Mississippi.. but I always butter my pan! I hate when meat or noodles get glued to a dish. But you can obviously skip this.
4. TIP: Once this dish has baked the 45 mins I will uncover and continue to bake for an additional 15 mins, then I will set oven to broil and literally rotisserie style the lasagna, keeping it turning so that the cheese on top is evenly cooked. But this is preference as well!
5. TIP: Allow for at least 15 mins of rest time after Lasagna comes out of the oven before serving. 15-25 mins is enough.

This is great, like I mentioned, for if you're having a small group of people over. Always wait until after they finish their plate to tell them it's made with deer meat.. I always love a genuine reaction HA.

 

And there you have it!

Plan supper for the family at home or get your Lasagna on for a get-together!

You can always substitute these recipes to use beef instead of venison.. but who would?..

Remember to try and have fun with cooking.. It can be work, but take one of these recipes.. make it once and try to change something you didn't like about it the second time.. get creative and play with different seasonings or sauces.. 

I feel like people cook something one time and if it wasn't what they expected they give up on that recipe.. but you just need to adjust that recipe to make it fit your liking. I hope you got at least one take away from this blog and let me know how these turned out for you! I want to know if you added or changed anything to these recipes, I'd love to try it out!

If you're interested in Hunting in Florida feel free to jump over to My Blog that skims the Basics of Florida Deer Behaviors, Seasons, How to purchase a FL License and much more.