Venison and Blackberry Skillet
Dried venison rehydrated in a sweet-hot blackberry sauce, thickened with powdered cream cheese.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 4.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 138
- protein
- 42 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 12 min
- total time
- 14 min
- water
- 400 ml boiled
- cost
- $$
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Dinner
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Backpacking
- Basecamp
- Car camping
- Gluten free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Dehydrate ahead
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| Dehydrated venison | 3 oz | lean roast or tenderloin, cooked and dried at home; shredded, not cubed |
|---|---|---|
| Freeze-dried blackberries | 1/3 cup | |
| Powdered cream cheese | 3 tbsp | sold for baking; sour cream powder works |
| Instant potato flakes | 1 tbsp | insurance if the sauce stays thin |
| Brown sugar | 2 tsp | |
| Ground cinnamon | 1/4 tsp | |
| Ground red pepper | 1/8 tsp | go light, it climbs as it sits |
| Salt and black pepper | 1/4 tsp each | |
| Olive oil | 1 tbsp |
Method
- Put the venison and blackberries in the pot with 400 ml of water. Bring it to a boil, then cut the flame to its lowest setting.
- Simmer ten minutes, stirring now and then. The berries collapse into the water and the meat drinks most of it back.
- Off the heat, stir in the brown sugar, cinnamon, red pepper, salt, and black pepper.
- Sprinkle the cream cheese powder over the top and stir until it stops clumping. If it is still loose, add potato flakes a pinch at a time.
- Pour the oil over and let it sit two minutes before eating. The venison keeps softening.
The original is a seared tenderloin under a pan sauce, which needs a hot skillet, a fridge, and a cutting board. None of that goes in a pack. What survives the translation is the pairing: lean, iron-heavy meat against tart fruit, with dairy fat smoothing the edge between them. Dehydrated venison and freeze-dried blackberries carry that same combination at a quarter of the weight.
The cream cheese powder is doing two jobs. It thickens the berry water into something that clings, and its fat keeps the venison from reading as dry — lean game has almost none of its own, which is why the oil is not optional either. Cinnamon and cayenne are small amounts on purpose. They are there to keep the sauce from tasting like jam.
Packing
Meat rides in its own bag; it is the one thing that spoils if it picked up moisture at home. Berries, sugar, and spices go in a second bag, cream cheese powder in a third, since it clumps against anything damp.
Variations
- Summer sausage cut into coins instead of dried venison. Faster, fattier, saltier.
- A splash of red wine from a plastic flask at the simmer stage, if you are carrying any.
- Swap blackberries for freeze-dried cherries and drop the sugar to 1 tsp.
https://www.huntingpa.com/threads/whats-your-favorite-venison-dish-recipe.5383