Camp-Fried Venison Heart with Peppered Gravy
Heart, dredged and fried in a skillet, with a black pepper gravy built in the same pan.
- calories
- 520
- weight
- 9 oz
- cal / oz
- 58
- protein
- 38 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 30 min
- cook
- 20 min
- total time
- 50 min
- water
- 700 ml cold
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Campfire coals
- Grill grate
- Liquid fuel
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Actual cooking
Ingredients
| Venison heart | 1-2 hearts | trimmed of valves and silverskin, sliced 1/4 inch thick |
|---|---|---|
| Buttermilk powder | 1 cup total | 1/3 cup for the soak, the rest for the gravy |
| All-purpose flour | 1 3/4 cups | 1 cup dredge, 3/4 cup gravy |
| Salt | 2 tsp | |
| Black pepper | 3 tsp | coarse ground |
| Garlic powder | 1/2 tsp | |
| Cayenne | 1/2 tsp | |
| Whole milk powder | 1/3 cup | |
| Lard or oil | 1/2 cup | for frying |
| Red pepper flakes | a pinch |
Method
- At home or the night before, whisk 1/3 cup buttermilk powder into 1 cup cold water. Put the sliced heart in a zip bag with it and keep it in the cooler overnight.
- Mix 1 cup flour with 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper, the garlic powder, and the cayenne in a second bag.
- Get the skillet hot over the fire with 1/4 inch of lard in it. Medium heat, not roaring coals.
- Pull the slices out, shake off the soak, and drop them in the flour bag. Shake to coat.
- Fry in batches, two to three minutes a side, until the crust sets and browns. Move them to a plate.
- Pour off all but about 1/2 cup of fat. Stir in 3/4 cup flour and cook it a minute so it stops tasting raw.
- Whisk the remaining buttermilk powder and the milk powder into 600 ml cold water, then pour it into the pan a little at a time, whisking as it thickens.
- Add 2 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp salt, and the pepper flakes. Simmer until it coats a spoon. Pour over the heart or serve it alongside to dip.
Heart is a working muscle with almost no fat, which means it goes from tender to rubber in about a minute. Slicing it thin and frying hot is the whole trick: the crust forms before the inside overcooks. The overnight soak in reconstituted buttermilk softens it further and cuts the iron edge.
The fresh dairy is the only thing that would normally keep this off a camp menu, so both the soak and the gravy use powder mixed with cold water. Buttermilk powder is shelf-stable and rehydrates fine for this; you lose nothing but the trip to the store. The heart itself still needs a cooler, which is why this is a truck-camp or basecamp dinner rather than something you carry.
Packing
Dredge flour, gravy flour, and the powdered dairy each go in their own labeled bag. The heart travels in the marinade bag inside the cooler, double-bagged.
Variations
- Cut the gravy and eat the fried slices off a knife with hot sauce.
- Same dredge works for liver, though it wants a shorter fry.
- No cooler? Do this the night you take the animal and skip the soak.
https://realtree.com/timber-2-table-wild-game-recipes/pan-fried-venison-heart-with-black-pepper-buttermilk-gravy