Venison Steak Recipe: Perfectly Cooked Every Time

Venison steak recipe overview 

When done right, there’s nothing quite like a juicy and tender venison steak. I’ve learned quite a few tricks over the years as a professional chef, and if you follow a few key things, you should be able to achieve these results at home easily. 

Although people have different preferences around how cooked they like their steak, with venison you want to keep it rare or at most medium rare, so that the centre keeps its aroma and juiciness. Overcooked venison steak toughens the cut and alters the flavour to one that isn’t enjoyable, and that’s usually why people are a little afraid and unsure about how to cook venison, but after reading this recipe you’ll see how simple it is! 

Why venison steak is lean and flavourful 

Wild venison is some of the best steak you can get. Highland deer, where we source all our venison, feed off the land they live in which means their diets consists of berries, grasses, saplings, and heather. This is reflected in the taste through a slight sweetness and earthiness that you can’t get in other meats. Compared to farmed and industrial meat like beef that feed on a very rigid diet, wild venison is on another level. 

Ingredients for venison steak 

For the perfect steak, keep it simple:

• High-quality flakey sea salt.
• Good olive oil, i like to use Good Phats olive oil spray.
• The best venison you can buy, for me that's Noble & Wild Scottish centre-cut venison striploin - the same cuts I use when I cook for restaurants.

Preparing and seasoning venison steak 

The most essential part is getting your striploin out of the fridge and letting it rest for 1 hour so that the meat reaches room temperature. This will help the meat cook evenly and not have any cold spots. 

Once it’s reached room temperature, season it generously with sea salt on both sides. 

How to cook venison steak properly. 

The best tools to use to cook a nice steak is using a heavy, deep-set pan, along with a set of tongs to turn the meat often. This will help everything cook evenly. Let the pan heat up on medium heat so the meat sizzles once it hits the surface, the best way to test this is splash some water on the pan and it should fizz and steam off pretty quickly. 

Once hot enough, spray some oil on the pan and press down the striploin to ensure good contact. Leave it for a minute and the steak should pull away naturally. Once it does, keep turning it onto all sides so it caramelises nicely everywhere. You’ll know it’s done once the meat has a bit of resistance and bounces back when poked. Overall, the cooking time should be around 6-8 minutes. 

Resting and slicing venison steak 

Once the meat bounces back nicely, that means it’s cooked rare and ready to rest. Resting the meat after cooking is an important but often overlooked step. Take the meat off the heat and place it to the side, wait around 10-15 minutes before slicing it and digging in. This helps the steak finish cooking evenly throughout, and makes the final cut a lot juicier. 

Best sides for venison steak 

The best sides to go alongside a steak is a very subjective matter; but for me I personally love a classic steak and chips with a side salad using a home-made vinaigrette.  

I also tend to make a few different recipes with steak slices being at the core of them. Some that always go down well with the family are my steak salads, steak sandwiches, and steak tacos. 

Pan, grill and cooking tips 

The secret for the best results with such a high-quality cut of steak is a little bit of patience. Letting the steak get to room temperature before cooking and letting it rest for 10 minutes after will make all the difference.  

I’d also suggest not being shy with the salt, several generous pinches per side will make the flavour pop. 

The last thing I see quite a few people do wrong, is having their cooking temperature set too high. This will dry out the outside and undercook the inside, and as you’ve probably gathered by now – it's all about even cooking for the best results. So keep it on medium heat throughout, and ensure you give the pan enough time to be heated through before getting into contact with the meat.