Crispy Venison Taco Filling in a Skillet
Ground venison, tomato paste, and a chili-paprika blend, crisped in a pan and folded into corn tortillas.
- calories
- 540
- weight
- 9 oz
- cal / oz
- 60
- protein
- 34 g
- serves
- 4, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 20 min
- total time
- 30 min
- water
- 60 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
- Canister stove
- Car camping
- Basecamp
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Needs a cooler
- Basic
Ingredients
| Ground venison | 1 lb | frozen solid at home, thaws in the cooler by dinner |
|---|---|---|
| Water | 1 tbsp | worked into the meat with the baking soda |
| Baking soda | 1/2 tsp | keeps lean venison from drying out |
| Tomato paste | 2 tbsp | tube, not can, so leftovers reseal |
| Chili powder | 1 tbsp | |
| Smoked paprika | 1 tsp | |
| Paprika | 1 tsp | |
| Salt | 1 tsp | |
| Dried onion flakes | 2 tbsp | stands in for diced fresh onion |
| Corn tortillas | 12 small | |
| Vegetable oil | 3 tbsp |
Method
- At home, mix the chili powder, both paprikas, salt, and onion flakes into one small bag.
- In camp, work the tablespoon of water and the baking soda through the raw venison with your fingers. Let it sit ten minutes while you get the fire to coals.
- Heat 1 tbsp oil in the skillet and break the meat up as it browns. Venison is lean, so keep it moving.
- Stir in the spice bag and the tomato paste. Add a splash of water, maybe 60 ml total, and cook it down until the pan is nearly dry.
- Scrape the filling into a bowl or the pot lid. Wipe the skillet, add the rest of the oil, and lay a tortilla flat.
- Spoon filling onto half the tortilla, fold it over, and press. Fry two or three minutes a side until the shell stiffens and browns. Repeat.
- Eat them straight out of the pan. They go soft as they cool.
Venison is lean enough that a hot pan turns it to gravel. The baking soda trick is worth the ten minutes it costs: it raises the pH of the meat so it holds onto water while it browns, and dried onion rehydrated in the pan juices puts back some of the moisture a fresh onion would have carried.
The source deep-fried these in a pot of oil. That is a lot of fuel and a lot of hot oil to dispose of at a campsite, so this pan-fries them folded in a shallow film instead. You get the same stiff, browned shell without carrying a quart of oil in and a quart of used oil out. Keep the oil moving and the tortillas flat against the metal, and they crisp in about the same time.
Packing
Venison goes in the cooler frozen and doubles as an ice block for a day. Spice mix, baking soda, and tomato paste tube ride in the dry box. Tortillas travel in a hard container or they arrive as crumbs.
Variations
- Skip the folding and fry the tortillas flat as tostadas if the skillet is small.
- A packet of shelf-stable shredded cheese added before folding is closer to the original, but it costs you the dairy-free tag.
- Ground beef works identically if the freezer has no venison.
https://realtree.com/timber-2-table-wild-game-recipes/deep-fried-crispy-venison-tacos-recipe