These easy ground venison tacos are made with simple ingredients that you most likely have in your pantry or fridge, like chili powder, onions, garlic, and a splash of orange juice! Pile on your favorite taco toppings for a tasty mexican dinner!
For these deer meat tacos I wanted to create a standard taco recipe, without too many extras or strange ingredients. I have seen lots of recipes for deer meat tacos that have unique ingredients, like pineapple, but I wanted to keep the recipe as simple as possible. This way, you can be creative with your toppings for taco night!
If you don't have venison, you can totally make this recipe with another ground meat (like ground beef).
So why add orange juice to venison?
Like I mentioned in my ground venison chili recipe, venison or deer meat, benefits from a little bit of acid to help with the wild game flavor.
Don't worry, the orange juice flavor isn't strong. It just adds a bit of acid and sweetness to the taco meat.
Ingredients for venison tacos
- ground venison
- olive oil
- onion
- garlic
- chili powder (if you have taco seasoning, you can substitute this in here, it will be a little less spicy than most chili powders)
- cumin
- orange juice
- liquid (beef, chicken, or venison stock, or water
- salt and pepper, to taste
How to make ground venison tacos
Heat oil in a saute pan or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add in diced onions and minced garlic and saute until the onions are translucent.
Add in ground venison and brown, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as you go. This should take about 8-10 minutes.
Once cooked, add orange juice to deglaze the pan. Scrape up any little bits that may be stuck to the skillet, as there is a lot of flavor there!
Add in stock and the rest of the ingredients. Stir to combine and allow to simmer for 3-4 minutes until all the flavors come together.
Serve on taco shells with your favorite toppings.
What to use taco meat on
Aside from the standard flour or corn tortilla shells, this venison taco meat is great on taco salads, on butter, bib, or romaine lettuce as taco shells, burritos, nachos, in eggs, or with potatoes.
Topping ideas
Wondering what to top your ground venison tacos with? Try any combination of the following for some seriously delicious tacos!
- avocado
- shredded cheese
- sour cream
- lime juice
- cilantro
- salsa
- fresh tomatoes
- radishes
- jalapenos (pickled or fresh)
- onion
- shredded lettuce
Storage
Store any leftover taco meat in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days. It heats up well in the microwave or on the stovetop.
Easy Ground Venison Tacos
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground venison
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp. chili powder
- ½ tbsp. cumin
- 2 tbsp. orange juice
- ½ cup liquid beef, chicken, or venison stock, or water
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat oil in a saute pan or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add in diced onions and minced garlic and saute until the onions are translucent.
- Add in ground venison and brown, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as you go. This should take about 8-10 minutes.
- Once cooked, add orange juice to deglaze the pan. Scrape up any little bits that may be stuck to the skillet, as there is a lot of flavor there!
- Add in stock and the rest of the ingredients. Stir to combine and allow to simmer for 3-4 minutes until all the flavors come together.
- Serve on taco shells with your favorite toppings.
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