People often think that venison is "tough" and "gamy". This actually isn't true if the venison was cooked properly. You increase your chances of the venison meat being tender or if the meat was prepared right away instead of stuck in the freezer for months. However, with the right recipe and the right marinade, the steaks will come out tender no matter what.

Venison Steak Marinade Recipe

1/2 cup red wine

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 teaspoon oregano

pinch of red pepper

salt and pepper to taste

4 venison steaks

Instructions:

Whisk together wine, garlic, oregano, red pepper, and salt and pepper in a small dish. Place 4 venison steaks into a large plastic bag. Pour in marinade, seal, and let set for at least an hour (overnight is best, however). Remove steaks from bag and prepare as usual. You can grill it, sear it, or even bake or broil it. But to make it as tender as possible you'll either want to grill it or sear it on the stove.

Venison Steak Marinade  Recipe Variations

You can change the original recipe slightly to give the marinade a different flavor.

• Use 1/2 cup light soy sauce instead of the wine for an Asian inspired venison steak.

• Substitute the wine for lemon juice for a Mediterranean inspired steak. After letting the marinade sit, transfer it to a sauce pan and add 1/4 cup halved grape tomatoes, 2 tablespoons white wine, and 1/8 cup chopped kalamata olives. Spoon mixture over cooked steak before serving.

• Add 1/2 cup of fresh squeezed orange juice instead of wine and substitute the red pepper for a pinch of cumin and the oregano for 1 tbs fresh chopped parsley.

User your imagination when coming up with variations. These are just some suggestions to get you started. Also, feel free to garnish the cooked steaks with things like herb butter and chopped fresh herbs. Venison doesn't need to be gamy, flavorless, and tough. In fact, with the right marinade it can be quite delicious.