Test Kitchen Tuesday - Venison Steaks

Ok, I think we've been through my mortal fear of cooking meat.  Fortunately for me, I have had an opportunity to overcome my carniphobia due to the abundance of free venison in the freezer.  No, I have never cooked a steak on my own.  I always thought that was manly work.
So...here we goooooo...

I had several packages of venison steaks.  I spent quite a while on the internet reading up on marinades and cooking techniques and finally came up with the following situation (sorry, been a lot of Jersey Shore on).  This recipe made enough for 2 lbs of venison steaks in a covered bowl.

Marinade Recipe:
3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup red wine
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1 clove garlic (rough chop)
1 shallot (rough chop)

Instructions:
1.  Thaw vension (if frozen, duh).  Rinse off the steaks.
2.  Make marinade, place meat in it.
3.  When ready, place meat on grill and cook to desired doneness.  Venison only needs to be cooked to about 150 F.  If you over cook it, it will come out tougher than boiled owl shit*.

Note:  I made this in the morning and left it in the bowl OUT of the fridge all day.  Several articles I read on cooking venison stated that because venison is so lean, if you leave it out of the cold it absorbs the marinade better.  I have used this recipe twice in the last two weeks and both times we did not die from eating meat that had been out of the fridge for 8+ hours.

Another note:  The second time I made this recipe, I was a little empty in the wine department.  The meat was a lot less tender than the first time I made it (all other factors were the same, I mean the steaks came from the same deer).  So if you chose to make this, I highly recommend using the wine or some other form of alcohol.  I know that acid from the vinegar is also a tenderizer, but it just wasn't the same with out the wine.

*I'm not really sure how tough boiled owl shit is, but it is something that my father has referenced many times through out my life.  I'm assuming with all that mouse fur and bones, it gets pretty tough.

Red did say that this was maybe the best venison steaks he had ever had and LOVED the marinade.  So ladies, try this out on your hubbies.