Venison Stir Fry Recipe

This venison stir fry recipe is cooked hot and fast. Hot and fast retains the juices in the meat and prevents your venison from drying out. Choice cuts of venison are great with stir fry, but they are also great for many other recipes so you might want to save those backstraps and tenderloins for other recipes. If you have ever tried to fry small portions of venison you may have noticed how dry and tough they can become. There is a way to make those “ less than choice” cuts more tender for your stir fry. It is a technique called velveting.

Velveting is a process that preserves moisture of meat while cooking and provides a softer texture to your venison stir fry recipe.

Velveting meat is a great way to tenderize thin slices of venison, but it also creates a silky smooth texture and helps make your stir fry a hit with family and friends. There are several ways to velvet meat. I like to use the oil method for red meat but you can use the water method as well. Water velveting is often used for white meats like chicken or wild turkey breast. Especially if you can’t have the oil in your diet.

Recipe Ingredients

• 1 lb venison cut in ¼ inch slivers- all sinew removed
• 1 bunch cilantro- chopped
• 2 garlic cloves- chopped
• 1 yellow bell pepper- sliced
• 1 red bell pepper- sliced
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 cups vegetable oil

Velveting Marinade Recipe

• 1 tablespoon dry sherry 
• 1 tablespoon corn starch 
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil 
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 1 egg white

Recipe Instructions

Prepare The Stir Fry

1. Incorporate the velveting marinade ingredients slowly in a  medium mixing bowl. You must mix slowly to keep the egg white from frothing. If the  egg white becomes frothy it will not adhere to the meat properly and will disintegrate  when cooked. Place your thinly sliced venison into the marinade and again mix slowly  to coat all the meat evenly. Cover the venison and set aside while preparing your stir fry  ingredients. 
2. Prepare the peppers by cleaning and cutting them into strips. If you do not like big  bites of bell peppers then cut them to your desired size. You can use just a green bell  pepper but yellow and red bell peppers add some more color to your dish and with the  chopped cilantro there is already some green.  
3. Peel and crush your garlic. Chop your garlic to your desired size. You can sliver  the garlic for a more powerful garlic taste if you like big chunks of garlic in your dish. If  this is the case then add another clove so the bigger pieces will distribute throughout the  stir fry and give you more pieces in the dish. You can use minced garlic in a jar and the  flavor is great but I enjoy preparing fresh ingredients when time allows. 
4. The cilantro is one herb that I always use fresh. Fresh chopped cilantro has much more flavor. Chop a bunch of  cilantro for your stir fry. A single bunch of cilantro may seem like too much. I only use the best part of the bunch. Cut the  top off your bunch of cilantro and discard the lower stems. The upper stems are OK to  use but I like to pick them out as well so that my chopped cilantro is free of stems. 

Velveting Your Venison

Now that all the ingredients are prepared for your stir fry you  can begin the velveting process. Using your wok heat enough oil to cover a third of your  marinaded venison completely to medium temperature or around 275 degrees. Add a  third of your venison to the heated oil and separate each piece so they are evenly coated  with hot oil. You don’t want the meat to sizzle so turn down the heat if it starts to sizzle.  After 30 seconds or so remove the meat and set aside on a paper towel and add the  remaining venison a third at a time until all your meat has been velveted for your stir fry.  Pour all but about 3 tablespoons of the oil from the wok and turn up the heat. 

The Stir-Fry

Heat the 3 tablespoons of oil in the wok until very hot. This is just when  the oil begins to smoke. Be ready to add the ingredients as they will reduce the heat and  keep the oil from burning. When the oil reaches this temp add the chiles and peppers and  continuously stir for 60 to 90 seconds then add the garlic and continue to stir fry for  another 30 to 60 seconds. Now add the venison and stir fry for 90 seconds. Next add the  cilantro and the soy sauce and cook another 30 seconds. Turn off the heat now and add  the sesame oil for flavor. Stir fry venison can be served with rice or chow mein noodles  but for a southern twist sometimes I serve mine over mashed potatoes. 

Note: Stir frying, if done properly, can really cause a lot of smoke in the house so I  prefer using an outside burner to do my stir fry. A wok is also great for stir frying but you can definitely use a skillet. Stir fry can absolutely be done indoors without a  problem, because it is cooked so fast the smoke will be brief just have the range hood fan on high. This stir fry is great over rice. 

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