How To Cook A Steak?

I've been given a steak of about 4.5 pounds.
I am not a big steak eater and therefore have no experience in preparing and cooking such a relatively large piece of meat.
Also, this isn't regular beefsteak but a Silverside cut from a Gemsbok.
Lastly, I like my meat fully cooked while still tender.

Silverside:
There's a difference between SA and US silverside.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silverside_(beef)

Gemsbok:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gemsbok

 

That looks more roast than steak.

 

It is venison (antelope) and is very lean.

Yes. But apparently it's not good for roasting.
My brother-in-law (I got this from him) cuts the meat into steaks and then barbeques them. But he doesn't care how tough meat is.

Any suggestions for a good marinade?

 

Do you have a slow cooker AKA crock pot? It's an easy way to cook a roast. Recently, I got an electric pressure cooker and it's amazing with some otherwise inedible cuts of meat.

I've never been big on marinades. However, I would soak it in a bowl of water with a teaspoon or so of salt for a few hours prior to cooking to leach out the blood. Deer blood has a funky, unpleasant taste.

 

Me too Laura. I won't eat any kind of game meat. Can't tell you how many times family and friends thought they could fool me into eating some kind of game meat. They were sure I'd never be able to tell. I think it is one of those things you either like or don't.
Eldon as Just Playin said I have heard people say they soak it in salt water and some even soak in vinager water then salt water to remove the game taste. I have never cooked game meat myself. Slow cooking even in oven wrapped in foil is a good choice for tougher cuts of meat.

 

This was my initial thought.

The blood must be drained immediately after the animal was shot.
It's of paramount importance how the carcass is treated prior to cutting.

 

You will not taste the 'wild' if the carcass was correctly prepared right after the animal was shot. Venison (Eland, Kudu, Impala, Blesbuck, Springbok, Wildebeest, etc.) taste very similar to the best quality beef, while Warthog is infinitely better tasting than pork.

There's so much game in South Africa and venison is hugely popular.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venison#Food

 

My husband and I like our meat tender and well done.

I looked up silverside (I know the term from living in Australia) and in the US it is referred to as bottom round.

Here's how I cook round, flank, London broil (basically tough cuts of meat) or any other steak on sale. I make a Swiss steak - in the oven. No muss, no fuss and I don't have to brown anything on the stove and get spatters all over the kitchen that require cleanup.

Put the steak in heavy duty aluminum foil in an oven broiler pan. You will be folding and wrapping the foil around the meat so it needs to be longer in length and width than most of the boxes of foil sold.
Pour 1 pack of dry onion soup mix over the meat. (For the size you have, I'd probably use 2 packs).
Cut up potatoes and carrots and throw them around the meat. Wrap everything up so it is air tight. If the meat has very little fat, I'd probably add 1/2 cup/100ml of water before I wrapped it up.

Bake at 300° F /149° C for 3 hours OR 200° F/93° for 9 hours.

The meat is so tender you can break it apart with a fork. No knife is needed except to cut into serving size pieces.

Since it is a lot of meat, you can freezer portions and defrost and heat up later.

 

Me too!

Thanks for all the tips. I will post back.

 

An alternative cooking method for plodr's recipe is to use a cast iron dutch oven. It negates the need for wrapping it in aluminum foil and the basting lid takes care of creating and spreading meat juices all over the roast without a need for adding a lot of liquid. (Hint: Adding red wine makes it tasty.)

 

Pink, juicy, and tender.

I prefer a good spice rub to a marinate. Osso Buco is a prime example of a tough cut which benefits from proper roasting.

 

Here you go.