The Nasty Bits: Venison Heart Tartare Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How long do you soak a venison heart? ›

heart with a damp cloth, soak overnight in salted water, and then drain.

Besides its reputation for the bold, tartare, like sushi, is simple, reasonably safe and quite possibly the purest expression of elk, deer or other cervid. With a few caveats, its very easy and is a surefire centerpiece for your next get-together.

Soaking: The most common soaking liquids are buttermilk, saltwater, white milk, vinegar, lemon juice and lime juice. While some hunters swear by certain soaking methods to take the “gamey” flavor away or bleed the meat after processing, others don't find it all that helpful.

Avoid venison cuts from those portions of a deer where heavy bone impacts have occurred. Trim tissue liberally around venison wound channels to minimize possible lead exposure. Lead fragments were found as far as 18 inches away from the wound channel in a Minnesota study.

Given that deer are leaner than cows, venison is generally healthier to eat than beef. An average cut of venison, in fact, has around half the calories and a sixth the saturated fats of a similarly sized cut of beef. It also has more proteins, vitamins and minerals than beef.

Venison meat is a perfect choice of protein for those who suffer from cardiovascular disease and are searching for low cholesterol and saturated fat protein choices. Much of the venison consumed in Pennsylvania is harvested annually through hunting.

You want them to be medium rare. If you cook them too much they will be rubbery and not nearly as delicious.

The heart is one of the leanest cuts of deer meat, making it ideal for quick-cooking methods such as pan-searing. While the heart may not be the most tender muscle on the deer, it is still possible to cook it so that it is juicy and flavorful.

Deer heart is best prepared as freshly as possible. This blood-rich organ oxidizes quickly compared to other muscles on a deer, and once that happens, livery flavors may become more prevalent. If you can't cook the heart right away, get it on ice, vacuum seal and freeze as soon as possible.

Deer hearts, as well as the hearts of other animals, are high in iron, zinc, selenium, and vitamins B2, B6, and B12. So, if you're feeling tired and run-down, or you have high blood pressure, eating heart regularly can help improve your health, and it can even boost your energy.

Does deer heart have to be fully cooked? ›

Deer hearts should be cooking medium-rare to medium, or for a very long time.

Avoid consuming internal organs, which can contain extra lead from heart-lung shots. Remind your meat processor, or if you process your venison, not to use deer with excessive shot damage.

I usually do it for 3-5 days.. make sure you drain out all the water daily, gets rid of all the blood water that the meat is soaking in.. Most of the time 3-6 days. I have gone longer but like to stay around 4.

Submerge venison roast in brine and refrigerate overnight, for a minimum of 12 hours, but no longer than 24 hours.

Let it sit in the refrigerator for at least four hours, and no more than 12, before proceeding to cook it as you normally would. The calcium in milk contains enzymes that will tenderize the meat, and the main protein in milk will neutralize the gamey flavor.