Foodie Friday: Savory Venison Ribs

If organ meats are the least-utilized venison components, ribs have to be a close second. I know all too many hunters who — if they’re feeling motivated — consider rib meat as “scrap,” and throw it into the pot for burger or sausage. And, gasp, a lot of guys and gals don’t even utilize it all. That’s right, they pitch it with the rest of the carcass, claiming, “the coyotes gotta eat” nonsense.

Yes, venison purists know that is pure nonsense. But what seemingly few folks realize is that venison rib meat is among the easiest to prepare … and equally as tasty as any other cut of meat. The process is super simple.

Simply fillet each rib bone of all the meat for an easier process. Photo by Dan Schmidt.

Simply take a sharp fillet knife and do just that — fillet — between each and every rib. Don’t worry about the fat and skin — take it all. Processing a deer by yourself can be tedious. That’s why I simply fillet each rib bone of all the meat. From there, I’m a few simple steps away from one helluva meal.

Ingredients:

2 racks-worth of rib meat, boneless.

1 medium onion

3 cloves garlic

Quarter-stick of butter

Directions:

This is my down-and-dirty way of doing it. Simply fillet the rib meat and place (clean) in a large glass bowl. In a full-sized slow cooker (or Nesco® roaster), turn heat to low. Add butter, caramelized onion slices and crushed garlic. Layer in the strips of rib meat. It will look like long pieces of bacon. Depending on where you get your deer (and its age), there might be a lot of fat on the meat. Don’t worry about that now. The slow-cooker process is simply for cooking the meat and infusing the onion and garlic flavors deeper into the meat.

Cook ribs on low setting for 4 or 5 hours (depends on the temperature of your particular slow cooker). It won’t take long to cook the meat, because these pieces are thin and the fat will help bring the temperature up.

When the ribs are cooked through, they should look somewhat like this. Photo by Dan Schmidt.

When done (taste test), allow the meat to cool. Discard most (but not all) of the fat and serve the meat “as is” or with preferred barbecue sauce. I usually prepare my rib meat the day I process my deer, so the meat is usually allowed to cool in the fridge until the next day when it is prepared with a green side (steamed broccoli, collards, beans, etc.) coleslaw or sweet corn.

I’d highly recommend sharing this meal with someone who has never eaten venison before, because you will immediately convert them to a venison lover. Beverage? Can’t go wrong with lemonade, sweet tea, white wine, or my all-time — an ice-cold Leinenkugel’s® Original.