It was an exciting day in our household when my husband bagged a small buck. Since entertaining a hundred wedding guests this summer, our meat supply had dwindled. So the promise of a fresh, carnivore meal had my culinary senses roused and appetite ready.
Cabela’s, the sporting goods retailer, had a flyer on preparing and preserving big game. They explained that the heart, just like a roast from the hindquarter, is a muscle. It requires a little extra care, but it is rich in flavor and versatile in the kitchen.
The first step in preparing the heart is to rinse and purge the clotted blood. Squeeze the heart while running fresh, clean water into the large holes at the top of the organ. Then trim away all the tubes from the top of the heart, and the hard white fat. Next, make a long, clean cut lengthwise between the two largest holes, opening up the heart like a book. Remove any remaining web-like connective tissue.
Venison heart may be cooked three different ways: stuffed and roasted, marinated and grilled on a stick, and sliced into steaks. The recipe for Country-Fried Venison Heart is a traditional dredge and fry preparation. After cooking the steaks, the pan is deglazed and the drippings are used to make a delicious, country style gravy.
I served up our steaks with garlic-mashed potato, braised greens from the garden and roasted pumpkin puree. This autumn supper definitely was the finest kind.
COUNTRY – FRIED VENISON HEART
Ingredients
- 1 venison heart trimmed
- 1½ cups all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- 1 teaspoon cayenne powder
- ½ teaspoon Sea salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons milk
- bacon fat lard, or vegetable oil
For the Gravy:
- 2 tablespoons pan drippings or butter
- 2 tablespoon all purpose flour
- 2 cups milk or chicken stock
- sea salt and fresh pepper to taste
- Chopped fresh parsley to garnish
Instructions
- Slice the venison heart crosswise into 1/3 inch steaks. Place each steak between 2 pieces of waxed paper and pound into thin cutlets.
- Whisk the cayenne powder, sea salt, garlic powder, cornstarch and black pepper into 1 cup of flour and place in a shallow plate. Add 1 cup of flour to a second shallow plate. Whisk the eggs and milk together and transfer to a third shallow plate.
- Dredge each venison cutlet in the flour, then in the egg mixture, and then in the seasoned flour. Coat each side evenly.
- Heat about ½ inch of fat in a heavy skillet. Add the cutlets and fry 2 -3 minutes per side, until golden brown. Remove from the skillet to a platter and keep warm in a 200-degree oven.
- To prepare the gravy, lower the pan heat to medium. Add the flour to the pan drippings and stir and cook until a light brown roux has formed. Be sure to scrape up all the pan drippings. Add the milk, a small amount at a time, whisking to make a sauce. Season to taste with sea salt and fresh pepper. Simmer until thick.
- To serve: Spoon the gravy over the venison cutlets and garnish the plate with chopped fresh parsley.