Chopped Venison Steak Sandwiches

The deer hunt was a success! Hubby came home with a doe already butchered and nicely packed in a cooler, but of course he had to bring the head home too and leave it lying by the back door for a few days. To his credit, he brought it back for the ND Game and Fish analysis of deer heads for wasting disease. I’m imagining a big refrigerator at the Game and Fish dept with hundreds of deer heads lining the shelves, staring at anyone who enters with those big black eyes and tongues hanging out. Freaky.

Fresh venison, such a delicacy, such a treat. How did we prepare it, you ask? Did we do a quick sauté with exotic mushrooms and envelop it in a velvety béarnaise sauce? Did we marinate it for a couple days and then grill it with baby potatoes and homemade bbq sauce? Did we go with steak tartare and serve it raw and still quivering on the plate with a big bottle of French bordeaux?

Nope. We chopped it up in the food processor, dumped it in a pot with some cheddar, slapped it on some bread and called it dinner. Because we’re classy like that.

I adapted this recipe out of Fine Cooking mag - a lovely publication, but I have yet to see a venison recipe in its pages. However, kudos to them on the latest issue where they do a spread of holiday goose and duck – until you get to the back page for ingredient sources where they recommend purchasing a goose for the low low price of $184.99. Pardon my French, but WTF? $200 for a goose? I'm not a NRA member or anything, nor a hunter myself, but if you are considering spending $200 for a goose this Christmas, may I suggest you man up, buy a gun, and get outside suburbia for once? See that low white cloud? Those are geese. Hundreds of geese. Fresher than anything you can buy for $184.99.


Where’s the picture of dinner? We ate it. No, not the picture, but we ate the dinner. All of it. It ‘twas inhaled before I even got a snapshot. Oops.

Chopped Venison Steak Sandwiches
For the sandwiches, use whatever carb you have on hand – crusty rolls, hamburger buns, serve it open-faced on toast, or use it as topping for pasta or rice.

2 Tbls. ketchup
1 Tbls. dijon mustard
2 Tbls. chopped banana peppers or pepperoncini
1 tsp. red wine vinegar
1 lb. venison steak (can substitute beef tips)
Salt and pepper
3 Tbls. olive oil
1 small onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 and 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Toasted crusty rolls, hamburger buns, or bread for serving

In a small bowl, mix ketchup, mustard, peppers, and vinegar and set aside.

In a food processor, pusle half the meat until just coarsely chopped. Transfer to a bowl and repeat with the other half. Toss beef with salt and pepper to season.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering hot. Add meat and cook, stirring occasionally, until it just loses its pink color, about 2 mins. Add onion and mushrooms and cook until onion and mushrooms soften, about 5 mins. Stir in ketchup mixture and cook until heated through, about 2 mins. Stir in the cheese until melted, about 1 min more.