Venison is a tender, low-fat meat that has a distinctive flavor. People often refer to venison as "gamey", a term used to describe the earthy flavor associated with meat from wild animals. Some venison has a stronger flavor than others primarily because deer eat a varied diet of weeds, acorn and wood bark. If their diet consists of more acorns than greens the venison will have a "gamier" taste. If you want to lessen this flavor, soaking the venison in buttermilk is the answer.
Things You'll Need
Knife
Large bowl
Fork
Salt and pepper
Step 1
Slice the silver skin off the venison if there is any present. You want the buttermilk to be able to get into the meat.
Step 2
Rinse the venison in cold water. Place in a large enough bowl that you have enough room to cover it with the buttermilk.
Step 3
Poke holes in the venison with a fork to allow buttermilk to soak into the venison. Season with salt and pepper.
Step 4
Pour enough buttermilk over the venison to cover it entirely. If you do not have buttermilk you can use whole milk and add 1 tbsp. of vinegar for each cup you use. This makes a buttermilk substitute.
Step 5
Let soak at least 90 minutes. You can soak overnight or up to 24 hours.
Step 6
Rinse the buttermilk off the venison. Cook using the recipe of your choice.