There is something about venison and red wine that make them pair so well together, and I’m not just talking about drinking the red wind, although that is a great pairing also.
Both venison and red wine have deep, complex flavors that play well together, so it makes sense to use red wine as a marinade for venison.
This marinade will work well on any venison cut but works particularly well at tenderizing tougher cuts of venison.
When choosing a marinade for meat, you should consider, what tenderizing agents to use.
Acidic marinades unravel proteins leaving meat tenderized. Such marinades may include wine and citrus fruits. Salt tenderizes meat also, if used in appropriate quantities (1,4% in this particular recipe) and provides flavor.
Some fruits such as papaya, pineapple, or kiwi contain specific enzymes which break down muscle tissue.
Also, dairy products contain calcium, which is believed to activate specific enzymes in meat, which in turn break down muscle tissue and tenderize meat.
These are just a few examples of how to tenderize meat. In this particular marinade, kiwi for enzymatic properties will be used. Wine – as an acidic agent and flavor provider. Salt and herbs – for flavor.
Venison Red Wine Marinade
Ingredients
- 500 g of venison loin or steak (silver skin/connective tissue removed)
- 1 kiwi
- 1/2 cup (100g) of red wine
- 50ml of olive oil
- 6 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tablespoons (5g) of herbes de provence
- 1.4% of salt from overall weight (marinade plus meat, in this case: 8,4g)
- 2 tablespoons (30g) of honey or maple syrup
- 1 tsp of black pepper
Instructions
- Prepare the meat: if making venison skewers, cut it into cube sized pieces (silver skin removed). Otherwise, prepare venison as You wish.
- Prepare the marinade: remove skin from kiwi, cut it into thin slices, peel garlic and crush it with a side of a knife. Mix in a bowl all marinade ingredients using a whisk, add meat to a zip lock bag, add marinade, seal it so there is almost no air, massage marinade into meat and leave it to marinade from 2 to 6 hours.
- Once the meat is marinated, take it out of the marinade and cook according to Your preference - panfry, grill, etc. In this particular case I put meat onto skewers and grilled it for around 10 minutes. Do not discard the marinade, use it as a glaze for the meat, while it is cooking. Serve Your cooked meat with some roasted vegetables, a sauce of Your choice. Bon appetite!
Rusty enjoys connecting food and nature and has done so since a child. He was fortunate enough to explore cuisine worldwide and work at great European restaurants. He now enjoys thinking up new recipes that he can find around him in nature in North America.