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I have a piece of venison I want to cook. The package says "hind leg". It is a 1kg piece without bones, in a rather round shape.

I want to use sous vide on this piece, but I am not sure what time/temperature should be used. I have searched many sites, but answers seems to vary.

Some sites suggest treating it like tender beef; heating it up to around 57 degrees (time depending on thickness of course).

Other sites suggests treating it for really long cooking times, as one would with brisket or short ribs.

Does anyone have any experiences that I could replicate?

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  • How much is lean meat? How much is cartilage/sinew/silverskin/any of that tough stuff that is chewy when cooked for a short amount of time, but jelly after a long amount of time? How lean is the meat?
    – Ming
    Oct 20, 2014 at 7:02
  • I must admit I am not sure how to decide how much is lean. Is there a standard technique to figure this out? There is little cartilage/silverskin on it.
    – torkildl
    Oct 20, 2014 at 9:32
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    There isn't a very standard technique to find out if it's lean, just .. see how much of the meat has fat running through it or around it. If there's little cartilage/silverskin/tendon/whatever on it, then treating it like tender beef sounds about right. If you're particularly worried, or want to knuckle down a procedure for next time, I would probably cut and package it up into several bags, and keep taking a bag out after (1) it's just cooked to 57 degrees, if you are noticing lots of gristly bits, then (2) after 12 hours (3) after 24 hours (4) after 36 hours, until you are happy.
    – Ming
    Oct 23, 2014 at 1:01

1 Answer 1

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I always treat venison as low fat because it rarely has any. It is grass-fed (at least it is in the UK) and so cooking will be the same as for lamb. This may be a more useful for timing guide: Sous Vide Cooking Reference Guide

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  • Low fat, ok. But is "low fat" the same as tender?
    – torkildl
    Oct 29, 2014 at 18:21
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    "Low fat" is a statement about the quality of the meat. "Tender" is the a statement about the result of the cooking process. They are describing two different things entirely, so cannot be compared. As you have chosen this cooking method, it will not make a difference either way. What is potentially tough as old boots should end up "tender". Nobody can help you deciding on the quality without actually seeing the piece of meat in question, however I treat haunch of venison as I would roast leg of lamb. I do not think I would personally choose to slow cook it but YMMV.
    – user28908
    Oct 29, 2014 at 23:25
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    @Piglet "tender" is also a quality of the meat itself. if you disagree, how about i trade you some tri-tip for your fillet mignon?
    – rbp
    Jan 5, 2015 at 20:04
  • @But a lamb leg usually has lots of fat.
    – Daron
    Oct 28, 2020 at 11:40

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