Easy Venison Recipes: How to Cook a Deer Heart

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Learn how to cook a deer heart with these easy venison recipes that utilize often-overlooked cuts of deer.

by Bruce and Elaine Ingram

My wife Elaine and I strive to eat organic and wild foods as much as possible, which is why I try to harvest 10 deer annually in Virginia and West Virginia, where I hunt and we own land. So, we’re very committed to using parts of a whitetail for food that many people discard.

The Heart

The heart is our favorite “often-overlooked” part of a whitetail. Rich in vitamins B1, B12, and E, chromium, selenium, and choline, deer hearts also offer Omega-3 fatty acids and CoQ10, an antioxidant. The term “superfood” is overused, but the expression is quite accurate in the case of deer heart.

When I deer hunt, I always keep a plastic bag and a cooler in case I tag a whitetail. I like to put the heart and tongue on ice immediately afterward. The liver can be similarly stored but in a separate bag.

To prepare a heart for cooking, remove the covering membrane, any visible fat, and the aorta. The most common way Elaine prepares a heart (or tongue) is to place it in a slow cooker and simmer on low for four hours in either water or cream of mushroom soup.

Venison Heart Casserole

Yield: 4 servings

Deer heart sandwiches with cheese and spinach are sublime workday lunches, and this organ goes great in soups, salads, and egg dishes. But the heart can also be the main attraction in a company’s coming repast as in the following recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 venison hearts, cleaned and cut into half-inch cubes
• 1 cup peas
• 1 cup peeled diced potato
• 1 cup sliced fresh carrots
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup mushrooms — we often use chicken of the woods
• 1 can condensed cream of celery soup
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Grease or oil a 2-quart baking dish that has a lid.
3. In a large bowl, combine venison, peas, potato, carrots, onion, and mushrooms. In a separate bowl, mix cream of celery soup, water, soy sauce, and garlic powder.
4. Pour soup mixture over vegetables and heart, then stir to combine.
5. Pour into a greased casserole dish. Cover with lid.
6. Bake until vegetables, especial­ly potatoes and carrots, are tender — about 1 hour 45 minutes. Check about halfway through to make sure there’s adequate liquid so the con­tents don’t bake dry. Add a little water or broth if needed.

The Tongue

The tongue is our second favorite organ meat. It contains impressive amounts of iron, zinc, potassium, and B12. After cooking the tongue, allow it to cool in a refrigerator for several hours. This will make peeling the rather tough membrane covering this organ much easier.

Tongues can be used in a variety of ways in very simple dishes. Cut two tongues into small bits and in­clude them in your favorite salad, egg dish, or workday sandwich.

The Liver

Of the three organs covered here, the liver is the most challenging to prepare. We tried preparing livers in numerous ways — all failures — before finally settling on the one way we could satisfactorily cook them. First, only use livers from young does. Second, soak this organ in milk for 12 or so hours in a covered, refrigerated container. Then, mince the liver into small bits and use it in a favorite egg dish.

For example, we enjoy a half-cup of minced liver paired with ­three eggs, cheese, asparagus, mild white onions, and any other vegetable of your choice. Scramble this concoction in a stovetop skil­let, and you’ll likely have a new favorite breakfast dish, plus one high in Vitamins A and B12.

Deer Ribs

As with the liver, we experi­enced several false starts in learn­ing how to prepare ribs. Whereas livers from young deer seem to taste better, ribs from yearling whitetails are too lacking in flesh to justify their preparation. So we only use ribs from does or bucks three years of age or older. Our standard preparation methods are grilled barbecued ribs and baked or smoked ribs with a dry rub.

Deer Bone Broth

When we butcher a deer, we sometimes save the upper sections of the two hind legs. Later, after the meat is packaged and stored in the freezer, it’s time to extract more nourishment from our harvest.

First, we sever the bones into lengths that fit inside a stove pot. Next, cover the bones with water, boil for several minutes, and then discard this liquid as doing so will eliminate any remaining debris from the butchering process. Then again, place bones in the pot, cov­er with water, and bring to a boil. Add three tablespoons of salt, two tablespoons of vinegar, onions, cel­ery, carrots, parsley, bay leaf, and a half-dozen or so peppercorns. Slow boil for 2 to 3 hours; add water if necessary.

If the broth tastes fine after that time, cool, strain, pour into containers, and freeze. If it’s too strong, add water. If it’s too weak, boil it a while longer until more water evaporates. Two of our favorite ways to use bone broth are with egg noodles or with a variety of vegetables, especially onions, potatoes, carrots, and peas. Below is another recipe of Elaine’s that has become one of our favorites.

Venison Burger with Venison Broth Mushroom Sauce

Yield: 4 Servings

Ingredients:

• 1 pound ground venison
• 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons avocado oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 cup thinly sliced onions
• 1/2 cup wild (or store-bought) mushrooms — we prefer chicken-of-the-woods
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup venison broth
• 1 tablespoon cooking sherry
• 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt, or to taste

Directions:

1. Combine the first eight ingredients. Mix gently and shape into six patties.
2. Heat skillet over medium. Add oil, then onions. Cook onions 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Place patties on top of onions. Cook patties about three minutes per side. Remove patties from pan.
4. Add mushrooms and butter, and cook until butter melts.
5. Sprinkle flour over mushrooms and onions. Cook about two minutes. Then, gently pour venison broth over the contents of the pan.
6. Add cooking sherry. Once mixture is bubbly, place meat patties back into pan. Reduce heat to low and cook 15 minutes, until meat is cooked through. Mixture will thicken into sauce as it cooks.
7. Add salt to taste.

This goes well over rice or noodles. Serve with sauce on top of the patties.

Cottage Pie

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 pounds gold potatoes
• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt, divided, plus more to taste
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• Scant 1/4 teaspoon pepper, plus more to taste
• 1 tablespoon olive oil or vegetable oil
• 1 pound ground venison
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1-1/2 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash
• 1/2 cup peas
• 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup diced carrots

Directions:

1. Peel and slice potatoes. Place in a large saucepan and cover with cold water. Add 1 teaspoon salt to cook­ing water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook potatoes until tender, about 15 minutes.
2. Drain potatoes. Mash or run through a food processor. Combine potatoes with melted butter. Stir in milk, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper. Set mashed potatoes aside.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
4. Heat a Dutch oven on stovetop over medium heat. Add oil. Add venison and onions and cook until venison is browned, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce, stirring to mix.
5. Sprinkle with flour and stir to com­bine. Cook 1 minute then add broth and remaining vegetables. Bring to a boil, and reduce heat. Simmer for 5 minutes. Taste broth and add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Spoon mashed potatoes over meat and vegetable mix in Dutch oven. Place dish uncovered in oven and bake 40 to 45 minutes. If potato top­ping isn’t golden, change oven setting to broil and allow another minute or two of cooking time. Watch closely to prevent overcooking.
7. Remove from oven and let cool 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Venison Roast

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup red wine
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 pounds venison roast
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Vegetable oil
• 1/2 yellow onion, sliced
• 1 carrot, sliced
• 1/4 cup peeled celeriac, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 cups broth, divided

Directions:

1. Combine red wine, soy sauce, and olive oil to make marinade. Pour over venison roast. Cover and refrigerate for 2 to 12 hours.
2. In a dish large enough to hold roast, combine rosemary, thyme, onion pow­der, garlic powder, and salt. Remove roast from marinade and roll in sea­soning mix to coat. Discard marinade. Let roast come to room temperature.
3. Coat a cast-iron Dutch oven with vegetable oil. Heat over medium heat. When oil is shimmering, add roast. Sear on all sides for 1 to 2 minutes per side.
4. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
5. Remove roast from Dutch oven, and add onion, carrot, and celeriac. Sauté for 3 to 4 minutes. Pour 1 cup broth into Dutch oven, scraping any pan bits to incorporate into the broth. Place roast on top of vegetables and add remaining broth.
6. Place lid on Dutch oven and trans­fer to oven. Cook 15 minutes and reduce heat to 300 degrees F. Cook additional 2-1/2 to 3 hours, or until roast is tender. Check periodically and add water or broth as needed.

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Bruce and Elaine Ingram are authors of Living the Locavore Lifestyle, a book on hunting, fishing, and gathering for food, including recipes. For more information, contact them at BruceIngramOutdoors@gmail.com.

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Originally published in the November/December 2024 issue of Countryside and Small Stock Journal and regularly vetted for accuracy.