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All my steak lovers are in for a treat today! I’m here to show you how to perfectly pan-fry the best deer steak of your life! Tender pieces of steak are cut into thin strips and seasoned to perfection. Then they are coated in egg and flour and dropped into a hot skillet of oil for the best golden crispy crust. Yes, it’s that simple. Yes, it’s that easy. And Yes, even you can fry a good steak! (Frying is the cooking method of the South.)

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My husband is an avid hunter. Specifically, he is a bow hunter. He doesn’t gun hunt anymore because doesn’t think it’s a big enough challenge. So, every year he typically sets his sights on a specific buck that will prove to be difficult to kill and will give him the thrill of the hunt.

Now, he doesn’t just hunt for horns, he has enough of those already.

But he hunts to supply our freezers with meat for the entire year. You see, we prefer deer meat over beef. It’s much leaner, has a great flavor (if cooked properly), and is a byproduct of his favorite sport. That makes it a win-win for all of us!.

Our children also enjoy this Southern pastime. They each take turns going with their dad to his many stands hoping to snag a buck every season. Sometimes they are successful at getting the horns, but getting a doe for our freezer is just as important to me and something to be proud of.

Sometimes, I go and sit with my younger kiddos. But I don’t do much hunting anymore. With four of the five people in our house helping to provide us with deer meat, we never have a shortage and I’m not needed.

(I’m just delegated to cook it in multiple delicious ways.)

I still remember the near miss I had as a teen in one of my uncle’s box stands. I was there, sitting all alone and waiting for a deer to step out. And after an hour or so a doe did just that. She was eating from the corn pile that my uncle had left out and she wasn’t very far from me at all. I nervously grabbed my gun and positioned it out of one of the boxstand windows. And that was the moment that it happened.

I had a block.

A block? You might ask. What is that? Well, I had a mental block. All of a sudden I was incredibly worried about the gun I was shooting. You see, I had shot the gun before but I was questioning whether or not I was shooting a single bullet or a spray of bullets. (What a ridiculous thing to wonder about, I know.)

I was shooting a rifle (single bullet) and I didn’t realize it at the time. And I was so concerned about my shot and the fact that I had no clue what type of bullets I was shooting that I froze. I was so afraid of making a mistake and if I’m being honest, I think I was worried about the gun “kicking” too.

I sat frozen in that box stand with my rifle pointed at this doe watching her through my scope for about 10 minutes. Then she just walked off.

I then pulled my gun back inside the stand and breathed a sigh of both relief and disappointment.

My uncle would later tell me that he saw the barrel of my gun come out of the window and that he just knew he was about to hear a shot, only to see me retreat later with no success. I told him about my dilemma and moved on.

Another time I was hunting with my dad and we walked into the woods with a climbing stand on our backs. You see, the plan was for me to climb onto my dad’s shoulders and hold this loaded gun while we climbed the tree.

(This is probably one of the most dangerous things we ever did.)

At the time, I didn’t know that this was not only not safe, but I’m sure very illegal.

Climbing stands are dangerous all on their own. (And keep in mind, I wasn’t a young kid, I was close to my teens.) Once we safely made it up that tree 15 – 20 feet, somehow we maneuvered where I could sit on the foot portion of the stand and my dad sat on the seat leaning against the tree. We killed a doe that morning, but she didn’t die instantly. So, we climbed down, walked away, and let her have her last moments in peace. It was too painful for us to watch.

I never went back hunting until I started dating my now husband and even then I only lasted a couple of times. It’s just not “my thing” and I’m okay with that. But I’m glad that my husband and children carry on the tradition of hunting and filling our freezers every year.

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I use deer meat for everything and rarely, if ever, buy beef. One of my favorite things to make with our stash is this pan-fried deer steak. (The actual part of the deer that our steaks come from is the tenderloin steak. It’s super tender and the best cut of meat on the animal.)

It could possibly be my crew’s favorite food of all time. They LOVE it! I mean, what’s not to love? It’s a juicy steak with a flavorful golden brown crust.

(And even though we use deer steak, you could certainly substitute lean beef steak in this recipe. A sirloin steak cut into strips would be great!)

We ate a lot of fried deer steak when I was a kid. It was usually for special occasions and for Sunday dinner at my mamaw’s house. She would get out a large cast-iron skillet and several packages of deer to feed 20+ people after church. The cook time for that much steak was actually quite long, so our lunch would be a little bit later, but nobody minded because they were the best steaks on the table.

At my house and at other people’s houses where it was cooked, it was almost always left in really large pieces. Everyone seemed to keep it just like it was packaged, which is round steaks about 3 inches in diameter.

(This steak isn’t thick cut steak like beef. It’s relatively thin.)

When I started frying my deer steak, I cut up the deer steak into strips. I like it better this way because there is more surface area for each piece to get extra crunch when you dip them into the egg mixture and then into the flour.

Don’t get me wrong, the way it was cooked while I was growing up was delicious too! But my preference is to have it cut into strips, almost like chicken strips or steak fingers. I find that the seasoning, crust, and texture are just better this way. Plus, my family prefers it this way. It’s easier for my kiddos to pick up and dip into their favorite sauce…KETCHUP.

(or in Ava’s case, ranch or wing sauce. HA)

If you are new to frying meats I think this recipe is a great place to start. It’s an easy recipe that uses simple ingredients.

Helpful Tips for how to perfectly pan-fry the Best Deer Steak:

I like to lay my thawed-out room-temperature deer steak, already cut into strips, in the sink to season. This is the best way, in my opinion, to season raw meat without making a mess or worrying about cross-contamination.
Adding baking powder to your self-rising flour ensures an even crispier crust.
Mixing the meat with the beaten egg in a bowl and letting it sit is the easiest way to ensure that all the meat is coated. The egg also helps the crust be extra crispy.
For best results or the perfect steak, make sure that the egg is cold and not room temperature. There is just something about the cold egg hitting the hot oil that makes for a lighter crust.
You can use any pot/pan to fry your deer steak but I prefer a large cast iron skillet.
Be careful to not overcook the deer steak. It’s already a lean cut of meat. The perfectly cooked steak will have a crispy exterior while maintaining juicy meat on the inside.
If you are concerned about the desired doneness of the steak and do not want to burn the outside, you can always put it on a baking sheet (with a wire rack) in a preheated oven to finish cooking.

Let me show you how to perfectly pan-fry the best deer steak on YouTube!

Perfectly pan-fried Deer Steak Ingredients:

3 lbs deer steak cut into strips
3 cups self-rising flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
Cooking oil for frying (I use Canola/vegetable oil)
4 eggs beaten
2 tablespoons garlic powder
2 tablespoons onion powder
1 tablespoon Tony’s seasoning (or kosher salt)