I love sushi. When I was working in restaurants, every Monday after work for almost two years straight a crew of us would haul ass to our local sushi spot to catch late-night happy hour and finally eat dinner. It was only natural that I would develop a sushi-style recipe for venison. 

Tataki involves a technique called cold cooking. This involves applying an acidic liquid like citrus or vinegar to raw to nearly raw fish or red meat. A great example of this process is ceviche. It’s a classic raw fish salad soaked in citrus, denaturing the fish protein just enough to create an awesome texture and taste. Tataki is similar, and it’s easy, approachable, and has a wow factor that elevates venison to a new level.

This type of preparation applies specifically to the cuts that have the meat quality and lack of tendons to be served rare, like tenderloin, eye-of-round, and backstrap. The meat should be cut very thin. The ponzu sauce that goes over the venison acts as an instant marinade that will cook the meat while adding that beautiful Japanese flavor.

Togarashi is a great spice mixture with sesame seeds, chili, orange zest, and more. It adds a little more zing to the dish but is far from necessary. Storing the green onions in ice cold water gives them their signature curl and tones down the onion flavor so they don’t overpower the tataki itself.