A lot of people who aren’t used to it complain that deer meat is dry. Because it is so lean, (no fat marbling through the meat like good beef) it can turn out dry if you try to cook it the same way you cook beef.
I was taught with deer meat to always sear the outside before cooking, to keep more juices inside. So I get a frying pan with some oil in it smokin’ hot and completely sear the outside of the piece of meat, then proceed to cook it. Even things like neck roast gets seared first then put in the oven and cooked slowly. Same with deer steaks.
I’m with Hypnopompia as far as preferring my steaks bloody, especially deer, moose or elk, and also with cooking slow.
For organ meat especially liver and kidneys I soak them in cold salt water, (pretty heavy on the salt) overnight before cooking and it takes care of some of the strong flavor they can have. Heart, I cook slow. We usually have the heart and kidneys the day after I kill a deer.
Wild turkey can be awesome, or like eating a rubber boot.
I made the mistake of quartering one and cooking it too fast once. I ended up taking it and pressure cooking it for taco meat after trying to eat that rubbery tough meat that I had cooked too fast.
I cook them whole like a thanksgiving turkey but I cook them all day at about 250, and they come out great.
Here’s how I do my jerky. First I use the good meat. A lot of people use the sinewy stuff left over after they cut the steaks and roasts. I often dedicate a deer to making jerky and I use the backstraps and hind quarters.
Slice it as thin as you can get it. Then soak it in 50/50 soy sauce and water over night. Soy sauce is too salty to use straight, which is why I dillute it with water. I add garlic and chili powder or whatever strikes my fancy at the time. Next day I smoke it in my smoke house with alder wood. It goes pretty fast if it’s sliced thin. If you don’t have a smoking set up you can dry it in an oven on low heat, but the smoked stuff is killer.
