Tangy lemon and fresh cilantro add a nice summer flavor to venison steak and chops.  Keep getting the venison out of the freezer and cooking it up…fall is coming.

Lemony Summer Steak

Ingredients:

• 1.5 lb. venison steak or chops
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• Juice of one lemon, 2-4 Tbsp and a few slices of the peel
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro and/or parsley, chopped
• 1 tsp. coriander seed (optional)
• 2 cloves garlic, one crushed and one minced
• Fresh cracked pepper, to taste
• 2 Tbsp. salt for brining
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 qt. water for brining
• 4 pats of butter

Preparation:

1. Make a brine by mixing 2 Tbsp. salt (canning or kosher salt dissolves best), 1 Tbsp brown sugar, and 1 qt. of cool water.  Stir to dissolve salt and sugar. Add a few sprigs of fresh cilantro or parsley, a teaspoon of black peppercorns, 1 crushed garlic clove, and some lemon rind to the brining liquid.  Add steaks to the brine.  You can defrost steaks right from the freezer by covering in this brine at room temperature for an hour or two.  If you already have defrosted steaks, cover in brine and put back in the refrigerator for 30 minutes up to a few hours.
2. Preheat grill to medium high heat.
3. Make a lemon vinaigrette by mixing juice of one lemon (2-4 Tbsp), 3 Tbsp of good olive oil, minced garlic clove (~1tsp), chopped cilantro or parsley (~1/4 cup). Wisk the mixture together until well blended or put in a small mason jar with a lid and shake the mixture until well blended. Adjust seasoning to taste with a dash of salt, cracked pepper, and/or a pinch of sugar.  Reserve half of the vinaigrette to serve with steak and use half to brush on when grilling.
4. Remove steak from brine. Grill a few minutes per side and brush with the lemon vinaigrette while grilling until temp is medium rare (or however you like it…keep in mind it will get tougher the longer it is cooked).  Brush each steak with a pat of butter on final turn.
5. Drizzle remaining lemon vinaigrette on steaks, garnish with some chopped cilantro or parsley and a wedge of lemon, and serve immediately.