Venison on Weck
Bring a little Western New York into your kitchen this fall with this Venison on Weck recipe, a play on the classic Buffalo dish, Beef on Weck. Traditionally, the sandwich is made with roast beef and horseradish piled high on a toasted Kummelweck roll — a hard roll topped with caraway seeds and kosher salt — and is served with au jus for dipping.
Preserving our hunting heritage has always been one of the NWTF’s goals, and, for many people, a huge part of that is learning how to cook meat harvested from the field. For me, incorporating my Buffalonian heritage into my harvest represents my hunting heritage. I called upon my aunt for help, since she’s been cooking venison since before I was even born.
She offered me tips and tricks for properly defrosting frozen steaks and cooking bacon in the cast-iron pan before the venison because of the low-fat content of venison steaks. As we prepared everything, she told me stories about cooking venison all those years ago when my uncle was hunting more frequently.
New York’s deer season and fall turkey season overlap perfectly with football season, and creating fun recipes to bring to your next Buffalo Bills tailgates is important. Next to the folding table-divers and Josh Allen enthusiasts will be my venison on Weck and my friend’s venison chili, bringing our hunting heritage to the tailgate.
Ingredients
- 1 tenderloin venison steak, butterflied
- 2 tablespoons spice rub of your choice
- 4 Kummelweck rolls or 4 Kaiser rolls topped with melted butter, caraway seed and kosher salt
- Prepared horseradish
- 3 cups of beef au jus — you can purchase au jus at your local deli or make it by heating beef stock and adding Au Jus seasoning mix.
Instructions
- Mix the rub ingredients and evenly coat all surfaces of the venison. Preheat oil in your cast-iron pan and be sure to use a fatty oil — we used bacon fat by cooking bacon strips first and then searing the steaks in the grease.
- Cook the venison to an internal temperature of 130 degrees (roughly 4 or 5 minutes on each side).
- While the venison is cooking, place the rolls on a baking sheet and into a preheated 350-degree oven for five to 10 minutes, or until the tops are lightly toasted. If you’re using Kaiser rolls, brush the tops with melted butter and sprinkle them with kosher salt and caraway seeds.
- Transfer the cooked venison to a platter and loosely cover with foil. It will continue to cook as it rests, reaching about 145 degrees. Let it rest for 15 minutes before slicing.
- Using a sharp knife, slice the venison into the thinnest strips you can.
- Stack the venison strips on your Weck roll to your heart’s content and add as much horseradish as your body can handle. Local tip: be sure to spread it evenly, because a chunk of horseradish can be lethal!
- Dip your sandwich in Au Jus and enjoy! Go Bills!