Crab-Stuffed Venison Steak Rolls (Dairy Free)

This recipe came from the Ultimate Venison Cookbook, pg 66. I had to tweak it a bit even though when trying a new recipe I am supposed to follow it (house rules and all). We don't have wine in the house and this recipe called for it; however, I did do some research to find a suitable substitute. Apparently apple cider will give a similar taste to wine in the finished product, so that's what I used and it turned out great!

The other tweak is that this is supposed to be rolled up, but my cube steaks were not big enough for that so I just put the stuffing on top. Here's the tweaked recipe and what I did:

Topping:

1/4 stick dairy free margarine
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 (6 oz) cans crab - the recipe calls for 1/2 pound
1 Tbsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

Steaks and Apple Cider Sauce:

2 Tbsp dairy free margarine
1 garlic clove, minced
4 venison cubed steaks
4 large slices onion (I used sweet)
1 cup apple cider (original recipe called for zinfandel wine)
1/2 cup sour cream substitute (I used Tofutti Sour Supreme)
salt and pepper to taste

Here is my variation to the original:

To prepare stuffing, melt margarine in a large skillet and add garlic, celery and onion. Saute' vegetables until soft. Add crab, herbs, salt and pepper. Remove from the pan.

Add 2 Tbsp margarine to the pan and lightly cook garlic; add steaks and quickly brown on both sides. Remove from pan. Place stuffing in the center of steaks. Cut 4 large slices of onion and place in the pan. Place steaks and stuffing on top of each onion slice. Pour apple cider over steaks. cover and simmer 15 - 20 minutes or until tender. Carefully remove onion and steak from pan and place on a dish. Add 1/2 cup sour cream to pan drippings and cook, stirring constantly, until warm but not boiling. Salt and pepper to taste. Pour over steaks and serve immediately.

To me, these were even better the next day. The combination of the steak, crab, and onion was wonderful and the sauce just made it even better.