Once the deer hunting season ends and the freezer holds a little something to show for the strain and hardship we forced ourselves to go through, while we so dedicatedly trying to provide food for the family table, my son and I start looking for a few new recipes that will allow us to take advantage of the venison we now have available.

Of course, we’ll eat up the tenderloins right off the bat, we always do, but there are a lot of packages of steak and venison burger to be used up before the next deer hunting season rolls around.

My family prefers venison over both beef and pork, and we usually have no problem using up our supply, but unless new recipes are tried, we have found that even a good thing can become tiring, so we are always watching for new ways to prepare the meat we were lucky enough to harvest each year.

We feel that straight venison burger, (that which has no beef suet or pork added to it at the time of processing), is a bit strong when used for making hamburgers or hamburger steaks, so we seldom use it in this way.

There are many ways to prepare steak and any of them that work well for beef or pork will work when using venison. Just remember, venison that has been properly trimmed when it was processed will have very little, if any fat, so it may take a little more cooking oil to keep the meat from drying out or sticking to the pan.

We eat a lot of our steak smothered in onions, covered with fresh or canned mushrooms, or any other way that my wife may think of when she is planning the meal, since she is the boss in the kitchen. We are allowed to make suggestions but that’s as far as it goes. One of the meals that is a big hit around our house is venison pepper steak.

Venison Pepper Steak

1 pound venison steak, thinly sliced and cut in strips

2 tablespoons of soy sauce

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

3 tablespoons cooking oil

2 large bell peppers (any colors) cut in strips

2 onions sliced and parted

1 large celery stalk cut in bite-sized pieces

1 cup of red wine

2 tablespoons of corn starch.

Place venison strips in a dish and add the soy sauce, wine, ginger and garlic and marinate it for about an hour.

Pour about half of the cooking oil in a frying pan, (or wok) and heat until pan begins to smoke. Add the venison strips and cook only until the meat is no longer red. Do not overcook. Mix cornstarch with 1/2 cup of water and pour combination over meat. Allow to simmer until it thickens. Add chopped vegetables and allow to cook slowly until vegetables are about half done. Remove from fire and serve while piping hot.

This recipe is a combination of several that we have found in the past, and this version is the result of trying and making changes as we felt they were needed.

You’ll find more recipes to prepare using the meat and fish that you’ve harvested yourself in every issue of MidWest Outdoors, available by subscribing on our website.