AUSTIN BROWN: Advice from a chef on preparing wild 
game [04 " ... and use brines."] ... ahead on Passport to Texas.

This is Passport to Texas

Hunters are beginning to fill their freezers with venison. 

07 -- Most people will make stew out of it or they'll grind up 
what's left over and they'll make sausage out of it.

Those traditional preparations are tasty, but Chef Austin 
Brown, owner of the Alcalde Grill in Gonzales challenges 
home cooks to get out of their comfort zones. And that 
means not using this common culinary crutch.

15 -- Get away from the Italian dressings and use brines. A 
heavily salted water with some sort of acid -- maybe a little 
flavored vinegar in it -- lemon juice, lime juices. Those things do 
the exact same thing as a marinade.

He says home cooks default to stews and sausages 
because those recipes mask the meat's perceived gamy 
flavor. But Chef Brown says a properly cooked venison 
back strap or leg filet, for example, is sublime. 

20 -- I would brine it in salt water and cut it into individual 
steaks; season it with just salt and pepper ... a little bit of garlic 
and a little bit of butter, and grill it on the grill. Or sear it in a 
pan, cooking it to about medium rare and eating it that way. 
Some of the best deer that you can eat is just seasoned with salt 
and pepper and seared in a pan.

Find a recipe from Chef Austin Brown at 
passporttotexas.org.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife ... I'm Cecilia Nasti.