Venison Cheesesteaks Recipe

Venison Cheesesteaks

Invest in a meat slicer – it’s worth the tenderness

For this recipe, it’s imperative the meat is sliced thinly for two reasons. First, it helps the meat cook very quickly. But as a bonus, thinly shaving the venison also serves to offset any toughness. Toughness is generally measured by how much force we need to use to bite down on food – the thinner the piece of meat, the less work we need to do EVEN if that meat was tough to start with. So, thinly slicing meats is a GREAT way to offset toughness that can often be an issue with game meats like venison. I use and recommend this slicer from LEM (but they have others starting at under $100!). It also comes in handy for other recipes like this French Dip and is fantastic for roast beef and sandwich-friendly slices of home-smoked turkey too.

INGREDIENTS

• Feeds 2
• 1 lb x fresh venison backstrap or top round
• 1/2 yellow onion, sliced
• 1 bell pepper, seeded and sliced
• 6 slices provolone cheese
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 hoagie buns

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Place the venison into the freezer for 15-20 minutes to allow it to firm up for slicing. Once meat is firm, use a meat slicer to shave the meat into thin strips.
2. Place a large skillet over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of oil. Once hot, add the sliced onions and cook for 5 minutes until they have softened. Add peppers and cook a further 2 minutes.
3. Use a spoon to push peppers and onions to one side of your pan/grill, then add the remaining oil to the bare side, keeping the heat on high. 
4. Add the meat to the bare side of the pan, spreading the pieces out and leaving them to sear for a minute. Cook a further 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally so the meat can develop a crust. Remember to keep stirring the onions and peppers to avoid burning.
5. Stir the peppers, onions and meat together in one mixture. Cook a further 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently. Split the mixture into two even piles roughly the length of the buns, then layer slices of cheese over each pile.
6. Toast the cut side of the buns until golden under a broiler.
7. Use a spatula or burger flipper to scoop an entire pile into each bun, serve immediately.

About The Author - Jess Pryles

Jess Pryles is a full fledged Hardcore Carnivore. She's a live fire cook, author, meat specialist and Meat Science grad student. She's also a respected authority on Texas style barbecue. Australian born and raised, she now lives in Texas. Find a ton more great recipes from Jess on her website!