The simple pleasure of crumbed venison should be enjoyed by all hunters, their siblings and friends. Forget the chicken schnitty, get real and make 100% organic, low fat taste sensations.
Utilising sustainable wild venison in your everyday life is one of the simple pleasures of hunters and gatherers, be it juicy casserole on cold winter nights, curries to treat your taste buds with the spices of Asia, or more exotic treats such as venison carpaccio and venison tartare.
Peoples’ taste in food varies with many cultures and mostly is driven by the food they grew up with. Often partners of hunter gatherers have not had the delights of wild caught meat and seafood and it is our job to educate them to the ways in which they should be consumed and enjoyed.
This recipe is very basic and will be enjoyed by all carnivores. I have occasionally been delighted to feed people who do not as a rule eat meat, but because it is all organic they a happy to forgo their self-imposed denial of meat in their diet.
Step 1. Immobilise the venison of your choice
I for one prefer hog deer when the opportunity presents itself, followed by fallow, red deer, chital and sambar. I have not had much experience with rusa.
Having secured your deer, treat it with respect. Hang is as long as you can to allow it to tenderise through the natural aging process. This requires in refrigeration in warmer times but during the colder months it can be simply hung in a tree protected from flies and vermin with a bag. I prefer to hang my venison with the skin on as it prevents the outer layer from drying out and presents better when butchered.
Step 2. Select your cuts for schnitzel
My preferred option is eye fillets, followed by back steaks (scotch fillets). Then if for some reason you have to select another cut, I would elect the silverside. As with the back steak you need to run the knife along the underside of the cut to remove the chewy silver membrane that supports the tender part of the muscle. Now cut the muscle into small sizes 2 cm thick for back steak and silverside and portions 10cm long for the eye fillets.
Using a meat mallet flatten the portion on both sides with the coarse side of the mallet then only on one side of the fine mallet.
You are now ready to crumb the venison. At this time, it would be good in get the kids involved with the coating process. They will appreciate the cooked product and remember it all their life.
Step 3. Just prior to frying
Place six tablespoons of plain flour in a large plastic bag and 400g of breadcrumbs in another bag. Crack and beat four or five free range chicken eggs into a large dish.
Place the flattened venison portions five at a time into the flour bag and toss. Remove them from flour bag and drop them into the dish containing the beaten egg and coat completely with egg. Then place into the bread crumb bag and shake to cover with crumbs.
Remove the venison portions and place them on a clean plate that is covered with a thin bed of bread crumbs to stop the uncooked schnitzel from sticking.
Repeat this process until all portions are crumbed and plated, ready for cooking.
Step 4. Cooking to golden brown without overcooking (usually 2/3 minutes per side)
Using a large frying pan place enough olive oil to immerse the underside of the schnitzel in about 3mm of oil.
Heat the oil until it just starts talking to you (the oil will sizzle). Drop in the schnitzel and watch it cook until the underside is light brown. Turn and fry the other side for less time than the first as it will already be half cooked. Remove and serve up, or place on absorbent paper and place in the oven on 60 degrees.
Fry the next lot as per the first. You may have to add a bit more olive oil.
If you have to cook more, I would advise changing the oil and giving the frying pan a lite scrape to remove and stuck, overcooked crumbs
My mother used to squeeze lemon over the schnitzels while they were frying. I find this causes splattering on the cooktop which makes a lot cleaning necessary. Maybe fry the schnitzels on the burner of your BBQ outside to avoid this.
If you have cooked more that you can eat in one session place the excess in the fridge and microwave to heat next day. They come out just as good as when fresh cooked.
INGREDIENTS
Venison of choice 500 g feeds four
Plain flour 200 g
Breadcrumbs 500 g
Eggs 4/5 free range
Olive oil 200 ml
Lemons
Optional in crumbing mixture: salt and pepper. I let consumers add their own at the table.
This should be made at least half a day before serving the schnitzel
1 kg of firm potatoes, cut into even size pieces
Boil until just cooked but still firm (salt to taste)
Drain and run a knife through potatoes while still in the pot, cutting into small chunky pieces
Mix with the following while the potatoes are still hot:
400 g finely-chopped onion
400 g firm sweet and sour Polish gherkins
Thumb-thick bunch of chives (can be replaced by small green shallots)
French dressing to not quite cover the potato salad, as it will be absorbed into the potatoes
Cover and place in fridge to cool to pickle.
Do you want to get the last Australian Deer news, events, updates & competitions directly to your inbox?
Enter your name & email below and we'll make sure you're the first to know!
