Korean Venison Tacos

With the fall just around the corner, it’s time to start thinking about hunting. My husband is already to go for the season. He’s picked up the new toys, he waited all season to add. Some duck decoys and a new cover for his deer stand. People who are into hunting are, usually, into it for a multitude of reasons. Our main one is that it puts additional food on the table and helps keep the constant growing cost of food down.
To start out our season on an interesting note, I found a yummy new venison recipe that can be substituted with beef or pork for the non-sporting people reading this. I came across this recipe in a Cooking Light Global Kitchen cookbook and gave it a try with some minor variations. When cooking venison one of the main complaints many people have is the gamey taste they always associate with it. The flavor is far from gamey and in fact, I dare you to say it is. I’ve used the marinade for the back straps which I then grill. You can use it for making Korean Taco’s which, is a light healthy meal in itself. The meat is cut into 1 to 1 ½ inch strips and is then placed in the following marinade for at least 1 hour.

Korean Venison Taco’s

Mix these first six ingredients together for your marinade.
1/3 cup sugar (I use brown sugar).
5 Tb’s Low-sodium soy sauce.
1 ½ Tb’s gochujang or (Korean chili paste).
1 Tb’s Fresh Lime juice (I, usually, use a fresh lime adding some of the zest to it as well).
4 cloves garlic minced.
1/8 tsp. salt
Combine these ingredients in a bowl and mix together.
1 to 2 lb.’s of Venison steaks or back straps.

Slice venison into 1 to ½ inch strips, place in a zip-lock bag and pour in marinade. Let this sit in your fridge for at least 1 hour. You can prepare this the night before and let it sit overnight as well. The marinade only gets better the longer you wait. When your ready grill the meat on skewers for around ten to fifteen minutes.
Now what to go with it? That is the question. You need to make a pickled cabbage to accompany the meat. This is for on top of your venison if you’re making the taco version. This recipe is too easy and can be made the night before as the cabbage is slower to absorb the ingredients.

Pickled Cabbage:
3 cups chopped cabbage.
2 garlic cloves minced
½ cup of rice vinegar
2 Tbs. Low-Sodium soy sauce
1 Tbs. Sugar
2 tsps. Korean chili paste.
Combine your ingredients in a bowl and mix. Put it in the fridge and let it sit for at least 30 minutes. I, usually, will make it either that morning or the night before you use it. Now I know what you’re probably thinking with all that chili paste this is a spicy hot dish. The truth is no it isn’t spicy at all; it has an incredible flavor that is sweet and tangy. Even my picky ten-year-old was impressed with this dish and couldn’t get enough. Serve it on soft tacos using the pickled cabbage on top of the meat. Enjoy a delicious, easy light dinner that will have them coming back for more and save you time in the kitchen.

If you choose to use this as a marinade only it goes well with rice pilaf and a good green veggie.

Groceries needed:
Soft tacos
Low sodium soy sauce
Rice vinegar
Korean or Chinese Chili paste
1 to 2 lbs. of steak, skirt or flank if not using venison.
1 head of cabbage or one small bag.
Lime juice or one small lime.
Sugar
Garlic or minced garlic.