How to cook venison steak that is lightly breaded, perfectly pan fried to tender. If you love deer steak this is how to cook it delicious in a pan on your stove.
Sliced, deer backstrap is wonderful and delish if you know how to cook them correctly. Tenderizing is key to perfection as well as seasoning. We love a bit of breading too so you get a bit of a crispy texture on the outside when cooked on the stove top. (affiliate links present)
How do you process deer into cube steak?
Meat pieces should ideally run through a tenderizer. If you do not have that machine or your butcher doesn’t either, do like we do our Pork Cube Steak where you pound the pieces in between parchmet paper until about 1/4″ thick. Another way is to score the top sliced horizontally and vertically.
When we made this venison cube steak recipe we chose to slice it about halfway thru to get the end result to be fork tender. You can also use a mallet to pound between two pieces of plastic wrap of parchment.
What part of a deer is best for cube steak?
Deer shoulder is tougher, better for Venison Stew. Tenderloin or back straps are best for this, or sliced roasts. The term cubed means tenderized in some way. Many times you can get the butcher to do it or it is already done in the meat department. If so it is fabulous because their big machine can punch small holes around it making thinner spots in the meat which is ideal.
Ingredient Notes
You want a few venison steaks cube steaks. There are many meat cuts on a deer that can be sliced into steak, backstraps and tenderloins are smallest and most tender. Typically you cook them like our pork steak recipe really
All purpose flour will help to create a coating on the outside for a sort of breading but not as thick as that.
You will want a whisked Egg in order to stick the coating nicely. Make sure you dry the meat with paper towels before submerging or it will slide right off with the moisture on the outsides.
I like to add some light pieces of Panko breadcrumbs to coat, with some seasonings like salt and pepper but you definitely want to add something to cut the gamey flavor, same goes for bear meat.
Some olive oil is needed to sear on the stovetop in a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Avocado oil is a substiute to this.
Variations
Either season lightly with a few of your favorite seasonings or you could choose marinated venison steak, tenderized as described below with a knife and then sit in a pan of your favorite Asian Steak Marinade.
Can you cook frozen deer steak?
Now we have talked before about How to Cook Frozen Steak, that won’t work for this method since it’s rock hard and you can’t pound it out. I never bread anything that is frozen either because it won’t stick and the outside will burn by the time the insides are defrosted and cooked to the proper internal temperature.
Venison Cube Steak Recipe
Equipment
- 1 pan
- 1 shallow bowl
Ingredients
- 2 venison steaks, cube steaks
- 4 tbsp all purpose flour
- 1 egg wash, whisked
- 4 tbsp Panko breadcrumbs
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1/3 tsp salt and pepper
Instructions
- To make more tender slice the top of each about halfway thru with a sharp knife 4-5 times, then turn 90 degrees and slice the other direction 4-5 times to tenderize.
- Blot outside of steaks dry with paper towels. Season venison cube steaks with salt and pepper on both sides.
- Coat the steaks on both sides in all-purpose flour. In a bowl, beat the egg and dip the steak on both sides.
- In a pan over medium heat add the olive oil to warm.
- Coat the steaks in panko breadcrumbs on both sides and place in the hot oil in the frying pan. Fry on low heat for 4 minutes. Flip the steaks to the other side and fry, covered, for another 3-4 minutes.
- Internal temperature is as follows for venison steaks; 130–135°F (54–57°C) for medium rare and 135–145°F (57–63°C) for medium. Then take them off the pan to rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How to Tenderize Game Meat
Make wild game more tender by slicing the top of each about halfway thru with a sharp knife 4-5 times, then turn 90 degrees and slice the other direction 4-5 times for tenderizing the meat. Alternatively with deer meat you can pound with a meat mallet in between 2 pieces of parchment paper until 3/4 inches thick. Now if this is ground instead of left whole, you could make our Venison Meatloaf out of it.
Ideal Internal Temperature
Ideal Internal meat temperature is as follows; 130–135°F (54–57°C) for medium rare or you could cook to 135–145°F (57–63°C) for medium. Then you want to take them off the pan to rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing.
If you have leftovers save in airtight bags in the fridge for up to 3 days. Slice, pan fry to warm again or air. fry to crisp again. Now if you have ground meat after butchering our Venison Chili is another winner you should make with that!!
Oven Option
If you did not use the breading you could Steak in Oven. I mean you could coat with bread crumbs and spray with olive oil to get some crisp but in a pan gets you the best texture overall. With these same instructions using a meat thermometer so it doesn’t get too done and dried out, that is key.
Air Fryer Option
You can enjoy Air fryer cube steak recipe too if you prefer that method. With this one the outsides will get much crispier with just a spray of oil necessary. A great choice on top of mashed potatoes.
