Fried Deer Meat and Gravy

One of my favorite meals of all time is fried deer meat and gravy! So if you’re looking for one of the best ways to cook deer meat, this is a recipe you have to try!

My husband and I are both hunters but before he and I met, I had never had fried deer meat. I had only had it cooked on the BBQ or made into jerky.

I remember when we were first dating, watching him fry up the meat and thinking it would just be “okay” but it ended up being the most delicious comfort meal of all time!

And to this day he and I joke about how sad I feel that I didn’t get to eat it that way my entire life. So now whenever we cook deer meat, this is always our favorite way!

How to Make Fried Deer Meat and Gravy

I love cooking all kinds of recipes but I especially love simple and old-fashioned recipes.

Making this recipe always makes me feel like I’m cooking back in the day alongside Ma Ingalls in Little House on the Prairie. There is just something about frying up deer meat in a cast iron pan that fills me with complete happiness.

So I hope whenever you make this recipe you enjoy it just as much!

Choose Your Cut of Meat

The best part about fried deer meat is that just about any cut of meat you want to use will taste great.

We fry backstrap, tenderloins, shoulder meat, hindquarter, and any other random chunks we have in the freezer and so you can use just about any cut of the deer that you want.

Just keep in mind that the backstrap and tenderloins are more tender and so if you use other cuts it’s important to tenderize them.

You can also make this recipe with other types of game meat such as elk, antelope, caribou, etc. and it’s just as good!

Prepare and Fry the Meat

This first step to cooking wild game meat is trimming off any fat and sinew that’s still attached. Unlike different types of meat like beef and pork where the fat adds flavor and tastes good, it’s the opposite with wild game such as deer, elk, and antelope.

If you’ve ever tried wild game meat in the past that you didn’t like there’s a good chance that it was processed with all of the fat which can make it taste terrible.

After the meat is trimmed, use a sharp knife to cut the meat into thin pieces about 1/4 inch thick and pound it out on both sides with a meat tenderizer. Then sprinkle one side of the meat with garlic salt.

Mix together flour, salt, and pepper in a small container, and then coat each piece of meat on both sides.

Melt butter in a cast iron pan and then start frying the meat in batches over medium heat. Wait until you see blood start coming through and then flip the meat and cook it on the other side for a couple of minutes.

Continue the process until all of the meat is finished. Continue to add butter to the pan if the meat starts to stick or if the butter starts to cook away.

After the last batch of meat is finished remove it from the pan and start making the gravy.

Gravy Instructions

Turn the heat to low and add 2-4 tablespoons of flour to the remaining butter and meat drippings. If most of the butter has cooked away prior, you can add a couple of extra tablespoons of butter.

Stir with a fork or whisk until all of the flour absorbs the butter mixture and add more flour if needed.

Then add 2 cups of milk and continue stirring until it starts to simmer and thicken. If it’s too thick add more milk or if you like the consistency remove it from the heat.

Then serve the fried deer meat topped with gravy and season with salt and pepper to taste!

More Venison Recipes to Try

This fried deer meat and gravy recipe is by far our favorite but if you’re looking for a few other great venison recipes to add to your meal list be sure to check out a few of our other favorites below.

• Cheesy Venison Helper – This is definitely one of our favorite ground venison recipes. It is creamy, comforting, and comes together in one pan, making it the perfect quick dinner for a weeknight meal.
• Venison Burgers – You can never beat a good burger and these are one for the books. They are simple to make and cooked to perfection in a cast iron skillet, topped with caramelized onions, bacon and cheese!
• Venison Chili – When it comes to a hearty, flavorful chili, venison chili is a perfect choice if you’re looking for something a little different from the usual beef.  And if you have a freezer full of venison, this chili recipe is a great one to add to your weeknight dinner list!

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