Coffee & Juniper Brined Venison
Serves 2-4 people depending on how hungry you are
I’ve mentioned before, brining venison can release some of the gamey flavor, but it’s also an opportunity to get creative and infuse it with flavor. Just hear me out on the coffee thing—coffee is a meat tenderizer and when used as a salty brine, your filet or backstrap will have taken on the essences of the aromatics that you use. It is really something special. You can use any kind of coffee. I used my husband’s leftover coffee grounds and did a 2nd brewing and the deer meat came out perfectly. Feel free to experiment with aromatics like cedar berries or wild ginger. I’m working on a theory that wild game always tastes better when it’s paired with the aromatics of the forest.
Ingredients
1-1.25 pounds of venison filet
2 cups of warm coffee
1 tbsp maple sugar
1/4 cup of juniper berries, lightly crushed
several bay leaves
1.5 tbsp salt
black pepper
2 tbsp high-temperature oil like avocado oil
Instructions
Combine coffee, maple sugar, juniper berries, bay leaves and salt in a ziplock bag, allow brine to cool if the coffee was hot.
Add venison to brine and leave in the refrigerator overnight.
Bring venison to room temperature before cooking, season with pepper on all sides (you shouldn’t need to use any salt because it’s been brining in salt overnight)
Preheat oven to 400
Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat until very hot, searing 1 minute on each side
Transfer pan to oven and cook for 6-8 minutes until meat is 130 degrees, remove venison to rest on a cutting board for 5 minutes, tented with foil before serving.
