How thick are your venison steaks?

[jimh406]

I'm thinking about trying a different thickness for my Mule Deer. What thickness do you make/have your steaks cut?

 

[Soj51hopeful]

I vary between 3/4” to 1-1/2. Just depends on my mood when I’m cutting.

 

[HiMtnHntr]

I like to cook whole muscle to temp and slice thin. I generally smoke, reverse sear, rest, slice.

 

[Montana Slim]

Pretty much never cut steaks anymore. Cook larger cuts and cut portions from those

 

[Pdzoller]

I’m a huge fan of schnitzel and cooking venison on sticks when we have company over. The people that don’t get to do that sort of thing really enjoy it, especially the kids. I cut everything into medallions that are about 3/4-1” X 2-3”. Everything else becomes burger.

 

[DiabeticKripple]

I only eat the back straps and tenderloins as steaks.

I cut the back straps into 3.5” steaks. I find them too small and don’t like cutting medallions. I like a nice 6-8oz chunk of meat.

 

[butcherboy]

Depends. I like to leave them as 2-3 lb roasts and cook to medium rare. Rest and then slice however thick you want. Other steaks I like to slice 1/2” and run them through the tenderizer about 3-4 times. Makes fantastic country fried steaks, steak fingers, or steak burgers.

 

[Macintosh]

I chose greater than 2”—I dont ever cut steaks, I leave the muscle whole and cut into “full meal for 2 people” sized pieces, i.e. 1lb , and package it that way. Then I’ll cook however I want and only after cooking cut into slices or medallions or whatever. The only time I cut before cooking is if Im using a whole muscle cut for a stir fry or something like that. I generally grind very little, I put a lot of what many people grind into stew meat and slow-cooking type stuff.
I like my steak to look like this, you dont generally get that cutting it thinner than a whole muscle on a deer.

 

[Rich M]

I like to cube the steaks, so 1 inch fits in the cuber.

 

[rcook10]

I never cut steaks until I'm cooking (i leave the roasts whole for storage) and then i'm typically doing an inch or so. Hate whole roasts and the lack of sear surface area.

 

[MallardSX2]

We do 1.5" thick steaks, and my wife is a vampire, so I cook them very rare.

Blood is on her fangs during steak night dinner. lol

 

[EdP]

1/2" thick medallions is my favorite way.

 

[Macintosh]

We do 1.5" thick steaks, and my wife is a vampire, so I cook them very rare.

Blood is on her fangs during steak night dinner. lol

At our wedding, my brother stood up and told a story about first meeting my wife while we were dating. We were grilling steaks, and in the story he described her as a “ravenous carnivore” and said he knew immediately we’d get married. Sounds like our wives would get along.

 

[Roofer1]

This is elk, but same concept. About this thick

 

[Zdub02]

1/2 inch. Pan sear and eat 'em up

 

[highwall]

2” is what I like. More of problem for me is that I can never remember what cut the “steaks” came from lol. Even after 12 years of butchering things myself I’m still confizzled when I dive into the hind quarters

 

[pirogue]

Whatever thickness the backstrap is. Hindquarters go to jerky.

 

[TreeDux]

I freeze as whole muscle cuts then do whatever when I’m ready to cook. That might be thin steaks to bread and fry or 1” + to grill or sear in a hot cast iron. Or whole roasts to carve after cooking. Freezing whole cuts, in my mind, preserves meat quality and limits freezer burn and leaves a lot of options when it’s time to cook. I don’t like to cut an actual venison steak much thicker than 1 1/2” because it just seems to be awkward to cook evenly.

 

[Laramie]

I chose greater than 2”—I dont ever cut steaks, I leave the muscle whole and cut into “full meal for 2 people” sized pieces, i.e. 1lb , and package it that way. Then I’ll cook however I want and only after cooking cut into slices or medallions or whatever. The only time I cut before cooking is if Im using a whole muscle cut for a stir fry or something like that. I generally grind very little, I put a lot of what many people grind into stew meat and slow-cooking type stuff.
I like my steak to look like this, you dont generally get that cutting it thinner than a whole muscle on a deer.
View attachment 618781

This is the ticket! So much easier to control exact internal temperature to achieve perfectly cooked steak. I stopped slicing in the 90s. I use my pellet smoker most of the year but have a good sized counter top grill that can do a 2-3lb piece if the weather is too bad outside. I bring mine up to 130 internal and pull and let it rest while I heat up the grill to 500. Takes about 10 minutes so perfect resting time. Then sear on all sides for 30 seconds to a minute depending on size. Rest again, then slice and enjoy.

I will say we typically do a test steak on deer before deciding how to process. Some are mild, tender and great for steaks while some others are more suitable for other things like burger, sausage, jerky, etc. We typically shoot 2-3 deer a year so we always have 1-2 that make the cut for steaks.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

These bone in rear quarter steaks are super easy with a portable band saw or band saw in a butcher shop. Cook em rare on the smoker on high heat and they turn out nice for having guests for bbq.



Back strap and tenderloin I butcher about this thick.