I believe in using the pressure cooker to save time - hence venison steaks cooked from frozen in the Instant Pot! The perfect quick sauce for dinner in just over an hour.
Because I know how life is, this recipe is written using frozen solid venison braising steaks. You could use a roast, but remember the cook time is for frozen solid, just unwrap and plop it in the pot. If yours is thawed, I would shave at least 15 minutes off of the cook time.
These are not falling apart like pulled venison, they still hold together to (gently!) serve yourself a tender, tender steak.
Looking to use up all your animal? You're in luck - Venison Backstrap is a great cut to learn to make. You can also slow cook a neck roast or grill some steak.
Why You Need This Recipe
- Cooks from frozen - because if you follow me on Instagram, you know I am always downstairs forgetting what I came for...defrosting meat!
- 3 pounds is a really decent amount, especially when you whip up a side dish and maybe a salad! So you can serve guests with your family.
Key Ingredients
Venison - These are venison "braising steaks" and the pressure cooker turns this somewhat tough cut into a tender steak. It's not pull-apart tender but instead holds up nicely enough to be a steak on your plate.
Marinara - Use home canned or from the store.
Sugar - Just a touch of brown or coconut sugar to balance the acidity!
Seasonings - Seriously, pressure cooking is to save time, so I definitely use dried onions and garlic powder here!
How to Make Instant Pot Venison Steaks
***See recipe card below for precise measurements and instructions.***
Step 1: Add all sauce ingredients to the pot and stir to combine.
Step 2: Add your venison and flip once to coat completely in sauce.
Step 3: Set to high pressure and let 'er rip.
Step 4: Always let the pressure release naturally for about 15 minutes before flipping the valve! Then serve.
Tips and Tricks
- Use your pantry ingredients here - no one is going to miss the tears of chopping onions.
- Cook right from frozen - just keep this recipe in mind the next time you have steak in the freezer and company coming!
- There is lots of sauce here so you may even have extra sauce for lunch the next day even if there's no meat left.
FAQs
You can't just add a pint of tomato sauce and call it a day - you will get a burn notice as there won't be enough thin liquid to come up to pressure. So I like to add my pint of sauce to a 4-cup glass measuring cup. Then add some water to your jar and shake to get all the sauce off the sides of the jar. Pour it into your measuring cup until you have 3 cups of liquid total before adding to the Instant Pot.
There is a lot of sauce here, which means it is perfect for serving over egg noodles, a family favourite. If you happen to have two Instant Pots, you can make up mashed potatoes as well, or cook them on the stove. Rice is also just fine and dandy! And don't forget bread to sop up everything from your plate.
Photos by Kiara Colebank.
More Wild Game Recipes
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Pressure Cooker Venison Steaks
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 ½ - 3 lb frozen venison braising steaks
- 1 pint marinara sauce
- Water to make 3 cups total
- ¼ cup dried onion flakes
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- ½ cup coconut sugar or ⅓ cup brown sugar
Instructions
- Mix everything but the meat in the Instant Pot liner to combine into a sauce.
- Put the unwrapped, still frozen steaks in the sauce, flip them over once, then seal the lid.
- Cook for 45 minutes on Manual High Pressure setting.
- Let rest for 15 minutes (natural pressure release) before flipping the valve to release remaining pressure.
- Serve over choice of carbs.
Notes
- Why do a natural pressure release? This is important when cooking meat in the Instant Pot (or any pressure-cooked meat). It allows the juices to redistribute in the meat so they don't escape. If you immediately release the pressure when cooking is done you risk tough meat!
- What do I mean about "3 cups liquid"? Add your pint of sauce to a 4-cup measuring cup. Then add water to your jar and shake, and add enough water to the sauce in the measuring cup to equal 3 cups.
Debi
Easiest venison recipe. The meat was very tender. The sauce was so good, put it over mashed potatoes.
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I'll bet is was delicious!
Brent
After reading this recipe im going to try it tomorrow as a Christmas Eve dinner. Ive decided to use a medium grind polenta as a side starch , along with some sauteed asparagus. Hope it turns out……