. . ...the "rut" is in full swing down here right now... Buck was chasing the doe, I took the buck first, the doe came back to see what happened to her boyfriend...bad mistake, nailed her too. ...just as with humans, the pursuit of sex can get you in a lot of trouble. I'll probably net about 125 pounds of meat for the freezer.
...not if it's processed and cooked correctly, CL...but if it helps, my wife once felt the same way about deer meat, now she loves it. First, it must be bled out. (after being skinned out, it is hung in a big walk in cooler for 2-3 days) Second, all of the deer fat must be removed before cooking. (very important because deer fat is mostly what gives the meat that "gamey" taste that people dislike) And like pigs and cows the taste of the meat is very much determined by what they are fed...so we make several food plots near our deer stands sowed with, oats, kale, turnips, radishes, sugar beets, clover etc., for the deer to forage on (very cheap)...we also have 2 home made deer feeders near our stands that holds deer corn. (about $8 for 50 pounds)..needless to say this also attracts the deer to us. Third, if you're going to cook or smoke a deboned deer ham it really helps to marinate it in buttermilk. This not only makes the meat more tender but also helps removed what little "gamey" taste that remains after bleeding) Since venison is very lean it helps to add some other type of fat back to it so it won't be so dry. (I usually add bacon scraps or inject bacon grease back into the deer ham.)(also add plenty of season salt and garlic)...and bar-b-que sauce of course. I make cubed steak out of the 2 back straps (cut in medallions and then butterflied and then run through the cuber) Once you salt and pepper them and either fry them or slow cook them in cream of mushroom soup, you can't tell it from beef cubed steak. It's really good and incredibly tender. Since I have my own commercial grinder, I buy beef and/or pork fat from a local butcher and mix it 50/50 along with sausage seasoning (sage, salt, pepper, other spices) to make my own pan sausage (tastes very much like bulk pork sausage you buy in the store) But what really saves us a lot of money is the deer burger which is also mixed at 50/50 ratio of deer meat and beef scraps and fat. I also add plenty salt, pepper, and garlic before grinding. We mainly use it for making chili, or spaghetti, or any other recipe that call for hamburger meat...and you cannot tell it from store bought ground chuck. ( I've sprung it on unsuspecting guests before and did not tell them until after they finished eating that it was actually deer burger...they are amazed) And believe it or not, a good ole grilled deer hamburger tastes almost exactly like a beef burger (Annie loves them), especially by the time you add some chopped onion to the patties and then mayo, mustard, ketchup, cheese, bacon or other add-ons. ...I promise CL, if you ever had one of my venison recipes, I would win you over.
...^^^^ Nothing, and I mean nothing is quit as complete and fulfilling as Venision. My favorite a Venison Burrito; marinated in wine and seasoned proper. 59- You've got a good grip beyond others, when it comes to cooking a fine Venison dish or 12-
^^^ Lil, if you had to slaughter and butcher a cow, would you still eat it?...................or would it be too "gross"? .............
...lol...well, at least you're honest. ...never slaughtered/butchered a full grown mature cow myself but we have done a yearling calf... and 2-3 female wild pigs. (50-75 pounders)
