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Do you know what the particular cuts are that you have?

As mentioned, chili is a great dish to make with venison. Jerky is a fantastic way to turn tough cuts of venison into a great snack. Gristly bits of venison can be ground up with pork and spices to make sausages or pate. Lean muscle from the loin can be cut into steaks and be gently roasted or sauteed. Wrapping these cuts in bacon, like above help to keep the meat from drying out too much.

If you have a whole front leg and shoulder, I would encourage you to cook it like I did here for an unbelievable, meltingly tender texture:

http://thepleasanthouse.com/2009/03/24/operation-unctuous-braised-front-leg-and-shoulder-of-venison/

Venison Stew is always good,

A co-worker made broiled venison medallions wrapped in bacon. It was one of the most delicious foods I have ever eaten. It was from the back strap of the deer (one of the best parts) and he cooked it in a toaster oven in our supervisors office. Yes this was in virginia.

I've never done it myself, but I hear critter-jerky is delicious.

awesome braising tips...thanks!

i don't know off the top of my head what cuts we have. i think some of it is ground though...i will have to check when i get home. they're all wrapped in 2 or 3 pound paper packages (they look like steaks). i'm loving the idea of jerky.

and lol @ cooking deer in your boss' toaster oven...that's priceless.

thanks for the link art...i'm pretty sure i don't have a whole shoulder, but i know my father in law would love me forever if i were to ask him for one. :D

I grew up eating venison (and other game) and just recently started cooking with it. Like everyone else says, venison stew is dee-lish! I make mine in a crock pot with your standard carrot-potato-onion mix, but add green peppers and use Greek-style seasonings with red wine.

My dad makes venison steaks. They’re tasty too, but while I eat other red meat cooked medium, I have to eat venison well-done.

--Grab an empty beer bottle and tenderize the meat using the part you drink out of.
--Season the steaks with salt, pepper and garlic powder.
--Pound it in using the beer bottle again.
--Pan-fry it in some vegetable oil (not olive oil.)

Venison is super lean meat, and free-range! Gotta love that.

Venison is a lean, red meat. You can do all the same things you would with similar cuts of beef. Some will need long cooking and braising, others will be best suited to grilling until only rare. Don't get caught up in the fact that it's venison... stews are far from the only possibility.

Venison Marinade

One bottle red wine
1 cup mild vinegar
whole cloves, 2 or 3
Ground peppercorns 1/2 tsp
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 of each large dice
carrots, onions
3 cloves (toes) of garlic
2 bay leaf
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 cup olive oil

Blend together wet ingredients, add the rest. Meat can and should be marinaded overnight. Will help tame any gamey taste and also help tenderize the meat. You then may roast the thicker cuts or grill the smaller more tender ones. Smaller uniform chunks make a great kebob.

If it's from an older animal, you may want to go with the basis "pot roast" braise with liquid.

One of the very best meatloaves I've ever eaten was made with venison by my dad. He used the recipe on the Lipton Onion Soup Mix box, substituting ground venison and bulk pork breakfast sausage for the ground beef -- about 2 parts venison to about 1 part sausage.

Venison is awesome, but it's really, really lean. I find we always have to add olive oil when we cook it up. I love it in spaghetti sauce, and my husband and his friend like it on top of nachos, especially if it's been fried up with Montreal Steak Spice.

Venison is a meat discussed a lot on the Nordic diet - sounds like a great burden to have.

my friend made a wonderfully spicy elk chili recently after his hunting trip!

oooh meatloaf! thanks for all the awesome ideas guys...i'm going to break some out this weekend and see what i can come up with. :)

deer jerky is the best jerky that exists.

my mother used to always make a deer pot roast. browned the meat, cut up some carrots, potatos, green onion, added some tomato juice...it was yummy.

You know, the only time I've ever eaten venison it was in tamales. It didn't taste terribly different to me, but I imagine it was in part because all that lard balances out the leanness.

We gave up buying commercial meat 2 years ago. All of our red meat comes either from elk or deer. In our experience, it's entirely interchangealbe with beef, except when it is ground (additional fat and binders are needed to make burgers, meatballs, etc). Marinated grilled venison is amazing. If you choose to panfry, dredge the meat first in flour and spices. This tempers the "gamey" taste that turn some people away from wild meat.