Venison Carne Asada Tacos

We said we'd do fish, but venison was in high demand at the BBQ last night. This carne asada dish was delicious! We even surprised ourselves. The picture does not do justice to how tender and flavorful the venison turned out. Just look at the ingredients and you'll understand. We even used a cut of venison that was actually intended to be made into jerky, but the lime and orange juice, along with the white wine vinegar helped to break it down.

Prep Time: 6.5 hours

Cook Time: <10 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

- 1 lb. venison roast

- Kosher salt, to taste

- freshly ground black pepper, to taste

- warm tortillas (the small kind for tacos, not burritos)

- Your favorite salsa/pico de gallo--It's ok if you buy it from the store. We won't tell. ;-)

- Other taco fixings

Marinade:

-  3 garlic cloves, minced

- 1/2 jalapeno chile pepper, seeded and minced

- 1/2 tsp. ground cumin

- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, stems and leaves finely chopped

- 1 lime, juiced

- half an orange, juiced

- 1 tbs. white wine vinegar

- 1/2 tsp. sugar

- 1/4 cup olive oil

1. Trim any silver skin and fat from venison. Slice the venison if it's too thick. This was actually one thick piece of steak. It should be the thickness of flank or skirt steak you find in stores, which is the typical cut of beef to use for carne asada. 

2. Sprinkle both sides with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. 

3. In a non-reactive bowl, combine all marinade ingredients with the venison.

4. Cover and refrigerate for 4-6 hours. 

We poured everything into a zip-lock bag to save space and for easy transport. 

5. Heat your grill to medium-high heat. Grill each side for a few minutes, or until medium-rare to medium. DO NOT OVERCOOK VENISON.

6. Let the steaks rest for a couple minutes after you take them off the grill. Then slice very thinly against the grain.

Serve with warm tortillas and your favorite taco fixings. Enjoy!