A venison bottom round is one of my favorite chunks of meat in the kitchen and its shape is perfect to grill for fajitas. At our house fajitas are often a vehicle to use leftover venison roast, but what follows are instructions to make a bottom round venison steak into a smoky, spicy, tender fajita filling.
If you butcher your own animals, bone the hind leg into three pieces. (Or ask your butcher to bone the leg into three main muscles keeping the bottom round whole for fajitas.) Follow the seams between the three largest muscle groups and the bottom round will emerge as a mostly flat piece of muscle where the grain all goes one way––which makes for tender bites when cutting thin slices across the grain. This is just the kind of slice you want for fajitas.
This marinade is smoky, spicy and salty. Leave some marinade on the steak when grilling, it will add a nice spicy char to the final bite.
Cooking Equipment
- Cutting board
- Boning knife
- Chef’s knife
- Spoon or ounce Measures
- Gram scale
- Milligram scale
- Grill (Mine is a Broil King)
- 2 Lodge Skillets (one to cook onions and peppers and one to heat tortillas.)
- Paper towels
- Cutting board
- Garlic crusher
- Sealing bag (Zip-loc)
Venison Fajitas (serves four)
Prep time: 60 minutes total in 2–30-minute segments
Marinate 2-6 hours
Grill, final cook, and assembly 30 minutes
Marinade for Venison Fajitas
- 700 grams of venison steak, preferably the bottom round in one chunk
- 60 ml (4 tablespoons) oil (I used avocado because of its high smoke point)
- 30 ml (2 tablespoons) sherry vinegar
- 10.4 grams or about 2 teaspoons smoked salt
- 1 – 2 tablespoons chili pepper paste (see recipe for chili paste here or use pureed canned chipotle chilis in Adobo sauce.)
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 1 teaspoon whole cumin seed
- Smash the garlic into a paste. Combine garlic, oil, vinegar, chili paste, and salt until smooth.)
- Rinse steak in cold water, dry with paper towels and place in a plastic bag that can be easily sealed.
- Pour the marinade over the steak, seal the bag and place in the refrigerator for 2-6 hours.
- Turn every hour or so to keep the marinade evenly distributed around the steak.
Building the fajitas
- Four (or more) flour tortillas
- 1 red onion, peeled and sliced
- 1 red pepper, seeds and stem removed, and sliced thinly top to bottom
- 1 green pepper, seeds and stem removed, and sliced thinly top to bottom
- 1 jalapeno pepper sliced crosswise (Optional, for garnish)
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
Garnish
- Guacamole
- Sour cream
- Salsa
- Chopped cilantro
- Sliced jalapenos
- Lime wedges
Method
- To cook the fajitas, heat the grill to medium high.
- Meanwhile, slice peppers and onions.
- Once the grill is hot, place the steak on the grill and cook for two minutes, rotate 90 degrees and cook another two minutes. (Leave plenty of the marinade on the steak when grilling.)
- Turn the steak and repeat.
- When the steak hits in internal temperature of 135 F remove, cover and let rest.
- Heat a 12” skillet on medium-high, add one tablespoon of avocado oil to the pan, along with red and green peppers, and onions.
- Stir or toss until the onions start to color.
- Remove the pan from the heat.
- Slice the steak and add to the cooked peppers and onions.
- Warm the tortillas in a second skillet.
Set up the garnishes, pour the margaritas and ring the dinner bell.
Let guests dress their own tortillas how they like. Fajitas are party food and a great way to serve a crowd. Venison fajitas are the perfect meal to introduce friends and family who aren’t yet convinced that North America’s most popular game animal is delicious
