Food

The Best Ways to Store and Defrost Venison

April 21, 2020

Learn the best ways to store and defrost venison so that your meat stays fresh for a long time and is safe to cook and eat.

sliced smokey venison meatloaf on a wood platter with a knife

You just brought home a bunch of deer meat and it’s time to stock the freezer. But, what are the best ways to store and defrost venison so you can have some in the months (and maybe years) to come?

Storing and defrosting venison is very easy, but there are a few simple tips and tricks that will make your life a lot easier and result in fresher meat when it’s cooked. If stored properly, venison can last up to 2-3 years!

How to properly prep and store venison in the freezer:

There are a few tools that I find most handy when storing meat in the freezer. They make the process more streamlined and there’s less guesswork when you find yourself wanting to cook some meat.

These are the tools I find most helpful when preparing venison for the freezer:

Vacuum sealer
Kitchen scale
Permanent marker

While your first thought might be – do I really need a vacuum sealer, it depends on your goals.

When my husband and I primarily got ground meat from his deer, we used to eyeball portions out and store them in zip top freezer bags. Storing meat in freezer bags only preserves them for about 6 months-1 year.

If you’re savings precious cuts like tenderloins, back-straps and roasts, you’re going to get a lot more freezer burn if you don’t use a sealed bag.

Using a vacuum sealer prolongs the life of venison in the freezer by at least a year (less food waste!). If you’ve ever had dried out, freezer burnt meat…you know how important it is to properly store your meat and vacuum sealing is the best way to do that.

Before I seal my bags I like to weigh them on a kitchen scale and write down exactly what is in each bag. This way, I know how long to cook roasts, I can easily grab 1 lb. portions of ground meat for burgers or meatloaf, and I know how much meat I need to serve the crowd I’m feeding.

That’s where the permanent marker comes in hand…I use it to write on the bags after their weighed.

All of this may seem pretty self-explanatory, but I guarantee you that it will make your life MUCH easier in the long run.

How to best defrost venison for cooking:

The BEST way to defrost venison is to plan ahead and let it thaw out in the fridge. For a pound of meat, this usually takes about 2 days for me. I always place a paper towel under the meat in the fridge to collect any water (or sometimes blood) that comes off the package during freezing.

If you’re in more of a hurry, you can defrost venison safely by submerging it in cool/cold water. Be sure to use cool/cold water to prevent the temperature of the meat from spiking, potentially resulting in food-borne illness.

You may need to change the water ever 30 minutes or so (like when you defrost your Thanksgiving turkey) to make sure the meat and water doesn’t start to climb to room temp.

I don’t recommend thawing meat in the microwave. While this is technically safe to do, I have never been able to do so effectively. The edges of the meat always thaw first and they start to toughen up and cook. This isn’t ideal, especially because you’re working with a leaner animal that can easily toughen up if it isn’t handled properly. However, if you’re really in a bind, use your microwave on low power and do this as gradually as you can.

I hope you’ve found these tips for storing and thawing venison helpful! Make sure you head to THIS PAGE to check out my top healthy venison recipes and grab a copy of my FREE guide full of Venison Cooking Tips and Tricks!

Easy Eggs Benedict Casserole

April 9, 2020

Everything you love about Eggs Benedict without the hassle of poaching eggs and assembling. This Eggs Benedict Casserole is the easiest breakfast ever.

eggs Benedict casserole on a blue plate with fruit and a glass of orange juice

This post is sponsored by ALDI USA. All thoughts and opinions remain my own and I am proud to partner with brands I love. Thanks for supporting the growth of Miss AK!

I. Love. Eggs. Benedict. But, I honestly never think to make it at home. This Eggs Benedict Casserole is the best of both worlds, without all of the complicated assembling and egg poaching.

I still remember the first time I had Eggs Benedict. It was springtime, around Easter, and I was probably around 10. I was walking around a glorious brunch buffet with everything from danishes to prime rib to made-to-order omelets. I passed by this curious station with buttered English muffins (hello, lover), poached eggs, ham slices, and a thick, yellow, creamy sauce.

I’ve always been an overly adventurous eater, so I stuck out my plate and the chef assembled a neat little stack of muffin, ham, egg, and sauce. I went to my seat and cut in. Gooey egg yolk and hollandaise ran all over the plate, which I sopped up with the English muffin and ham. DELICIOUS! I was hooked.

However, I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve tried to make Eggs Benedict at home. Can I tell you why…I sort of hate poaching eggs. And I feel like making it for more than one person turns into a big hassle. But, I just can’t get those flavors out of my head!

ham, spinach, english muffins and eggs in a bowl

THAT’S WHEN I TURN TO MY FAVORITE HACK – EGGS BENEDICT CASSEROLE!

These days, with a baby coming, a garage addition underway, numerous house projects, and a cookbook to write, I’m all about making life simpler.

Every Monday, I place an online, Instacart order from ALDI USA I log on and order my favorite things/staples – organic whole milk, organic yogurt, organic produce (the hubs loves blackberries), organic cheese puffs (SO GOOD), organic eggs, coffee, and organic, free-range chicken. They literally have everything I need!

I also go through my weekly schedule and plan out any meals we’re having at home. On holidays and special weeks, I always add a few extra things to make brunch at home. It’s something special we like to do in our home whenever we can. With all of the extra time spent at home lately (a blessing in disguise if you ask me) we have been brunching it up every week, haha! ALDI USA always has everything I need, and when I shop there, I save so much money without giving up on quality, organic ingredients.

eggs benedict casserole fresh out of the oven

THIS RECIPE IS PERFECT FOR USING UP LEFTOVER HAM

This time of year, I always see big hams at the store. I’m always wanting to buy them for easy dinners for family, ham and bean soup, and ham stock. But, I ALWAYS have leftovers. So, I couldn’t stop thinking about my favorite breakfast that uses ham – Eggs Benedict.

You’ll see that the recipe below uses 2 cups of diced ham – I call for exactly the type I used. But, you can use leftover ham, lunchmeat, ham steak– and you’ll find all of that at ALDI USA.

blender sauce being poured over an egg bake

HOW DO YOU MAKE EGGS BENEDICT CASSEROLE

This all brings me to the important part – making the Eggs Benedict Casserole. All you need to do is fold diced ham and English muffins into whisked eggs. I add chopped spinach because I like something green in there. You know, health.

The hollandaise sauce comes together in 2 minutes in the blender. When the casserole is all finished baking, you just drizzle the sauce on top and voila! Brunch in a flash (and you didn’t have to poach an egg!).

eggs Benedict casserole on a blue plate with fruit

LOVE EASY BREAKFAST/BRUNCH RECIPES? TRY MY SOURDOUGH WAFFLES OUT, TOO!

Easy Eggs Benedict Casserole

★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

Author: Miss AK
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Yield: 6–8 servings 1x

Print Recipe

Description

Everything you love about Eggs Benedict without the hassle of poaching eggs and assembling. This Eggs Benedict Casserole is the easiest breakfast ever.

Scale

Ingredients

For the egg bake:

10 Simply Nature Cage Free Organic Eggs
1 cup Friendly Farms Organic Whole Milk (you can use 2% or skim, but I prefer whole)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
about heaping 2 cups diced Appleton Farms Brown Sugar Glazed Ham
about 2 heaping cups roughly chopped Simply Nature Organic Baby Spinach
2 L’oven Fresh Plain English Muffins, diced

For the blender hollandaise sauce:

4 Simply Nature Cage Free Organic Eggs
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 pinch paprika (or smoked paprika)
1/2 cup melted Simply Nature Organic Salted Butter
salt, to taste, if needed

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a 9×11 inch casserole dish.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt and pepper until well combined.
Then, fold in the ham, spinach and English muffins.
Pour the egg bake mixture into the casserole dish and bake for about 40-45 minutes, or until the eggs are totally set and the edges of the casserole are golden brown.
Let this cool slightly while you make the hollandaise.
In a blender, add the egg yolks, lemon juice and paprika.
Turn the blender on and SLOWLY stream in the melted butter until incorporated. You’ll be able to hear the mixture thicken. Taste to see the seasoning level of the hollandaise and add a bit more salt if needed. I find I don’t need to with the salted butter.
Slice and serve the eggs Benedict bake with a drizzle of the hollandaise. I love this with a side of fresh fruit and orange juice!

Category: Breakfast
Method: Oven
Cuisine: American

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1 slice
Calories: 315
Sugar: 3 g
Sodium: 833 mg
Fat: 22 g
Saturated Fat: 11 g
Unsaturated Fat: 4 g
Trans Fat: 0 g
Carbohydrates: 10 g
Fiber: 1 g
Protein: 19 g
Cholesterol: 392 mg

Keywords: eggs Benedict, casserole, breakfast, brunch

Best Ever Bear Roast | Fall-Apart Tender Recipe

April 7, 2020

This is the best bear roast you will ever make. The meat braises in a delicious and healthy cooking liquid that makes it fall-apart tender…and simple to do.

bear roast being torn apart with forks on a black serving platter

The first time I ever had bear roast I was really skeptical. I mean, can you even eat bear? I thought it would be fatty and weird…boy, I couldn’t have been more wrong. If you’re skeptical of wild game, but love beef, bear is probably the most palatable type of meat for you to try!

I’ve mentioned before that I didn’t grow up eating wild game. When I met my husband, Jared, I suddenly found myself with pounds and pounds of venison on hand each year and I had no idea how to work with it. Fast forward 5 years and I now work with venison, elk and bear meat more than beef and pork and I’m publishing my first cookbook – all about cooking with venison (click here to get on my waitlist to get the book!).

Anyway, if you have a freezer full of bear meat like we do…I’m sure you’re wondering what to do with all of that meat. This bear roast recipe is the PERFECT cozy staple to add to your meal rotation. It feeds a crowd, makes great leftovers, and surprisingly – everyone loves it. My dad even served some at his office and it was gone in seconds!

How do you cook bear meat?

There are a lot of rumors that go around about cooking with bear. Some people think you can’t cook with it because it isn’t food safe, some people think it tastes fishy and others think it’s tough. Here’s the scoop:

Bear is perfectly safe to cook with, it just needs to be handled with care in the field, frozen quickly and cooked to 165F.

The best way to put it – work with bear meat like you work with poultry. Bears do consume other animals and grub, so it is possible for them to carry parasites. So, you want to make sure you have a nice, clean shot on the animal and that it’s quickly moved from processing to vacuum sealed freezer bags and frozen as soon as possible.

When you cook it, it needs to internally reach 165F (like chicken and pork) to ensure food safety. But really, it’s just like woking with a chicken breast, so there’s nothing out of the ordinary to worry about.

Bear meat isn’t tough, but it isn’t good for steaks

Cooking bear so that it’s well-done brings me to another point. A lot of people think bear meat is tough because they’ve had well-done bear seaks. If you ask me, no steak is good well done. It’s tough, rubbery and dry.

Bear meat is best for roasts and braised dishes (like spicy pulled taco meat – YUM!) or making into ground meat. Game like venison and elk are safe to eat rare (or even raw for carpaccio or tartare if really fresh) so it’s common for people to assume the same about bear. But, because bear meat needs to be well done it’s best to get a lot of ground meat and roasts.

roast in a slow cooker with braising liquid

Is it hard to get bear roast tender?

No! Because bear is a fattier meat, it just takes a longer cooking time to melt fat and sinew to result in a fall-apart tender roast. I think the slow cooker actually does the best job, so that’s what I’m using below.

You can, of course, use your oven to roast bear. You can follow the recipe below but roast the bear in a covered dish at 300F for about 4 hours.

You’ll know the meat is done when it shreds apart with a fork. If it isn’t there yet, be patient and let it cook more! I promise you’ll be blown away by this easy recipe and you’ll be making it all of the time!

Have lots of bear meat on hand? Make sure you try out my Bear Chili. I think it’s my favorite of all time!