I saw this several years ago on the internet that if you have a cut of beef, you can stick it in a blender or food processor to turn it into ground beef. I used sliced venison to make this ground venison. My venison was also completely thawed. Many recipes tell you to use frozen meat for this because your meat will come out more grain-like and less mushy. I can say that it did come out a bit mushy for me, but thankfully I wasn’t using it for burgers or meatloaf, so the texture was really no problem since i was just browning it to put into a recipe. If you are using this meat for one of the above mentioned items, I would freeze the meat or half freeze it to get clean cuts, but if you use it in something else like me, it won’t make a big difference.
Turn out frozen or half frozen meat into a blender or food processor. Secure the lid.
Pulse until all large chunks are gone, and the meat has a consistent small chunk appearance.
You can then either re-freeze, or begin cooking your dish.
I did a lot of research before starting this recipe. I was interested in how people usually make roux based soups at home. I use mushroom soup in my Tuna Noodle recipe and since everyone says it was easy, I thought I could make other classic bases for recipes, such as cream of chicken or cream of celery. I was looking through my freezer for what meat I could put in this casserole, and by far, I had many packets of Venison Minute steaks. This was steaks that were sliced on a meat slicer. You could easily use cubed up meat instead or even ground burger, but I liked the idea of a steak casserole. I was thinking of making a gravy base sauce, but I didn’t know what that would do to the potatoes, and dark stained potatoes didn’t seem very appealing to me. Thinking of soups, I thought of onions. Steak and onions go well together. So the roux base is done like any other cream soup. Instead of adding minced onion, I could have added sliced onions and onion powder, and 2 cups of milk to get a condensed onion soup (which is similar to cream of celery, chicken, and mushroom made at home). I wanted to reheat the meat a bit before baking, so I did that while the soup was getting up to temperature. I really enjoyed this dish. I served it without waiting and it wasn’t as good as it was a few minutes later, so let it rest a bit. The meat became super tender and just fell apart as you ate it, and the potatoes were done for me by the 50 minute mark.
Wash 6 medium potatoes (4 cups), dice and place in a 9×13 pan. Peel an onion, half and slice into ringlets. Separate and add to potatoes. Mix and set aside.
In a large skillet, begin heating it over medium high heat. If you have minute steaks, you have nothing to do. If you have a whole piece of meat, slice into thin slices only 1/4 inch thick or make 1/2 inch cubes. Add 2 Tbsp of oil to pan. Add meat to pan and cook each side for only 1-2 minutes, until browned. Once cooked, add to side plate for the time being.
Heat oven to 350F. Turn down heat to medium low. Melt 2 Tbsp of butter into the pan, but do not brown butter. Once just melted, add 3 Tbsp flour. Whisk flour into butter, and cook until butter and flour is bubbly. Add 2 Tbsp dried minced onion, and 1 packet of Onion soup mix. Add 4 cups of milk and stir.
Add meat back to skillet and coat. Mix in 2 tsp of garlic powder and 1 Tbsp Onion powder. Heat to a simmer and cook for another 2-3 minutes, then pour over potatoes and onion, even out meat distribution, and add to oven for 50 minutes.
After time, stab a potato with a fork to assure they are done. Let it rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Grilling is a science that I have very little experience with. Grilling has always been one of those things that work good in concept, but bad in execution, at least for me. I used to grill with the top open and without a working thermometer, and since learning the way a grill works, it has been remarkably easier to grill. Temperatures are just as important as they are for ovens. They tell you if you are hot enough to cook your food. The lid also helps maintain the oven aspect of the grill, maintaining a temperature for reliable cooking time. The lid is also a quick and easy way to drop the temperature if it’s getting too hot. If you want to smoke on your grill, which I will be doing this summer, you’ll want the temperature to be low, the low 200 F range. One way to keep it that low is to prop the door open slightly. I wasn’t able to get my grill as hot as I wanted because of wind and outdoor temperature, so I had to cook them a bit longer. I also had to rotate them when I flipped them on the grill, since the back of my grill was hotter than the front. If you aren’t sure about if it is done, use a thermometer and take into account the temperature will continue to climb another 5-10 degrees after you remove it from the flame.
Heat your grill and get it to stay around 430 – 450 F. Prepare your steaks, thaw, and place each on it’s own piece of foil.
Once the grill is heated, place the steaks and foil onto the hottest part of the grill. Cook the steaks with the lid closed. Once it gets back up to temperature, cook for 6 minutes.
Flip your steaks. Add 1/2 Tbsp of butter to each. Close the lid, let it get back up to temperature, cook for an additional 6 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.
The last couple of days I have been feeling sick, and I’ve found that nothing is better than homemade soup. This broth is so tasty that I could drink it all day! The fresh potatoes and carrots also add wonderful flavor and great nutrients. Take your time when making it, other than that, it’s so easy!
Take your cubed venison and brown it in a dutch oven or stock pot with 1 Tbsp oil. Add 1 medium onion diced and 1 Tbsp butter. Cook until the onion is sweating or translucent to your preference.
Add 5 cups of beef broth and 2 Tbsp horseradish. Bring to a boil.
Dice up 3-4 potatoes (about 2 cups) after rinsing and scrubbing clean. Also cut up 2-3 carrots or cut in half 10-15 baby carrots (about 1 cup). Once mixture is boiling, add potatoes and carrots. Cook for 15-20 minutes until potatoes and carrots are tender. Add more broth or water if too much boils off.
Once cooked, add additional 1 Tbsp horseradish, 1 Tbsp worcestershire sauce, and additional herbs as desired. Mix 3 Tbsp flour (or 1 beef gravy packet) with 1/2 cup water whisk until smooth, then add to stew. Cook for another 5 minutes. Transfer to serving bowls and let cool for 5 minutes before eating.
Shepherd’s pie is a large meal that is easy to make. I like making it when I have lots of leftovers I can use in it to clean out my fridge and to finish up some food. This time I used some of my leftover turkey stock from thanksgiving, but I recommend using beef or veggie stock. I also recommend stock or gravy, so you do not have to thicken it as much as broth.
Make your favorite mashed potatoes (find my recipe here). With a large dutch oven, begin browning 1 lb of ground beef or venison. Dice one small onion (1/2 cup) and add to browned meat. Cook your onions until translucent. Preheat oven to 450 F.
Add strained cans of sliced carrots, peas, and corn. (You can also use fresh or frozen. Add your fresh veggies with the onion, add frozen veggies with this step.) Add 2 cups of stock and 3 Tbsp flour, stir and simmer until everything is hot and bubbly.
Transfer into a 7×10 casserole dish, and bread pan if you have extra. Top with mashed potatoes, place in oven and cook for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool for 10 minutes, then serve.
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