Taylor’s outdoors feature: Good wild eats
My feature on the Outdoors page in today’s Roanoke Times featured a few of my favorite recipes for wild game. You can read the story HERE.
This one is a hot venison meatloaf sandwich. It was killer. In fact, I think I’m going to have another one for lunch today!
So, a couple questions: Who here butchers their own deer, and why do you do that instead of taking it to a processor?
And what is your favorite easy way to prepare venison? I’ll try some of the more appealing suggestions and maybe you’ll make next season’s version of this story.
December 7, 2012 - 9:28 AM
I butcher my own deer and have been for many years,For one the cost of a processor and I only make roasts,jerky,burger and of course the tenderloin!!One of my favorites is you take a tenderloin put your favorite spice on it,My is webber gourmet burger spice rub it in real good then wrap it in bacon and slow cook it on the grill,Yummy!!O.K. is it lunch yet?
I have just started butchering my own deer. There are two reasons for this. First and foremost, I wanted to “complete the circle” so to speak. I wanted to not only harvest, but bring the results of the harvest all the way to the table completely through my own efforts. It feels very rewarding to me to be able to do this.
Second was the quality of the processing. This is not say the processor I used was a poor operation in the terms of quality, I just knew I could prepare the venison in a way I wanted it better than the commercial processor. I still use the processor when I do not have time to handle the initial prep for aging\storage in my small refrigerator.
On the recipe side, I am looking for more myself. I love a good meatloaf recipe. We also prepare venison fajitas (any good fajita recipe will do). For quick, easy and tasty – ground venison and a quality dirty rice mix is great.
Interestingly, I haven’t ever done venison fajitas but they have been on my short list. At Alejandro’s restaurant, the Fajitas Tres Hermanos are one of my favorites, and they use beef, shrimp and chorizo. I think doing a chorizo/venison combo (chorizo for the fat AND flavor) would be righteous.
As for James’ tenderloin idea, that sounds awesome. The key (besides the bacon!) is the slow-cooking approach. If you cook/grill a backstrap too fast it will curl into a “C” and be tough as boot leatheer.
Having been a “butcher” for a grocery chain early in my days it only makes sense that I do it myself. With that experience uder my belt I will completely debone a hind quarter which will leave essencially a mineature version of a beef quarter. From there I will seam out each individual roast from that one quarter. Once seamed out I’ll have each of the following roast. An eye of round,bottom round,rump,sirloin tip and a top round. Some of those names may sound familiar to a few if they ever buy beef roasts and thats because as I said, a deer’s cuts of meat are nothing more than a scaled down version of a cow. Then repeat that for the other quarter. The “back straps” as we refer to them is comparable to that of a pork chop or center cut chop which I prefer butterflied,floured,seasoned and fried. Now this one I think some folks confuse. Ive heard many referances to the backstraps as being the “tenderloin” when in reality those two little inside strips that are about 8-9 inches long are actually the tenderloins or in beef terms the filet mignon. A couple of years ago I invested in an electric griner which is where all of my shoulder meat and trimmings go Great for chili !! Now as far as those roast go for cooking I keep it rather simple. In a crock pot place your roast,one can of beef broth,one can of beef conseme’, and one can of french onion soup and cook on low for at least 8 hours,yes I said 8. Once its done my wife will take the broth from the pot and use it to make mushroom gravy. No knife needed for this roast,only a fork because it will be as tender as a mother’s love.
I’ve been processing my own deer now for 4 years. Cost is probably the biggest reason. Wondering if my ground venison is actually from my deer is another concern. Like Allen, if I don’t have the time, I will have one done commercially as well. I tried this French Dip recipe this week using a venison sirloin tip roast and it turned out great. (I added extra onions.)
Here is my Jerky recipe:
4 lbs. deer meat
2 tbsp. liquid smoke
1 pkg. Adolph’s meat marinade
1/4 c. vinegar
3/4 c. water
1 tbsp. course ground black pepper
3/4 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. Morton’s Tender Quick
1 tsp. Cajun spice
Mix ingredients and marinate overnight and dehydrate. I use whole muscle cuts of meat and slice while partially frozen. I have a dehydrator and set it to 135 and let it dry overnight. I have had trouble finding Adolph’s marinade recently buy any tenderizing marinade will work.
BTW…2012 has been a great season for me. My son got his first deer, I got the 8 pointer that you posted on your rut report and I got another 8 pointer on a Thanksgiving evening hunt. Time to get some squirrels now!
Do my own now. Bone out the hind quarters, cut out the back strap and grind up whats left. No sense in paying someone to do what I can at no $$$! I think what I process tastes better as I take more time to trim off the connective tissue and fat. My next deer I get I am going to try making stock with the leg bones. Did this with our left over thanksgiving turkey carcass and used the stock to make turkey noodle soup, turned out real good!
I am also my own butcher. I know some processors do a great job. Others…not so much. I don’t mind the savings but that is not my primary motivation. I like having total control over what goes into my freezer packages. I am pretty fanatical about trimming out the fat, sinew and anything else that isn’t pure meat. Fat is the cause of the gamey flavor, so I avoid it. It might cost me a couple pounds of meat, but I’m willing to pay that price.
One note on turkeys. I know a lot of hunters just utilize the breast because the legs are so full of sinew. No doubt if you try to roast or smoke a wild turkey leg you better be blessed with a serious set of teeth. Turkey leg meat is fantastic. You just have to cook the living daylights out of it in a crockpot so the meat separates from the bone and sinew. I’ve found it can take 24 hours. After that, strain the stuff and you have some great turkey stock. Then pick through the meat and pull out all the bones and sinew. What’s left is great in soup or, my current favorite, slathered with barbecue sauce for sandwiches. If you kill a turkey and don’t want the legs, call me!
Kevin — “Tender as a Mother’s Love”! That’s great! Pretty sure that’s the first appearance of that phrase on The Wild Life!
Great tips on the hind quartering butchering and resulting roasts. I’m getting better at that. The crockpot is the only way to go on roasts! I usually use Lipton Dry Onion Soup Mix, but I like the French onion idea. Do you just use Campbell’s French Onion Soup?
Mark,
Yes,on the Campbells soup. As far as the “mother’s love” comment I have to credit my late father in law with that one. Something I picked up from him years ago. Oh, and my jerky recipe was intentinally withheld
Been processing my deer for as long as I’ve been hunting, around 20 years now. As most have stated it is because of cost savings and being able to control what goes in the freezer. Cutting out the undesirable tissue and fat makes all the difference in flavor.
As for recipes, this year was the first I actually tried some deer ribs. Let me tell you, I wish I had done them from the start. I can only tell you that my wife rubbed them with some spices and then put them in the crockpot for a while and them in the oven in foil with bbq sauce. Came home from a long day in the woods and those were terrific! A lot more meat on there than I expected. Definitely a keeper (my wife and the recipe!)
Dale — My buddy Alfie and I were working up his 10-pointer (killed Dec. 1, picture to end up here eventually after I get through everybody ahead of him!) and we were looking at that ribcage and thinking, “Should we?” But we didn’t. The crockpot start is a great idea. My mom actually taught me long ago on beef spareribs to start them like that and then finish in the oven (or on the grill). No reason it wouldn’t work for deer.
OK, I gotta get another deer….
Oh, NRV SWAT member, I meant to ask you earlier where you find Tender Quick around here? I never see it.
Mark,
My oldest brother swears by the ribs on the deer and has for many years. I’ve never brought myself to keeping them,but maybe after I drop a doe tomorrow morning I’ll give it a try. On the spareribs,well with pork anyways, I do a slow cook on the top rack of the grill @ 250 degrees,uncovered for about 4 hours and lightly basted periodicaly,or a dry rub is really nice as well and then a light brushing of sauce the last ten minutes creates a caramelized effect. A you said,no reason it shouldnt work foor deer.
roasts 10/ozs of cream of mushroom plus water add one bag liptons onion soup mix.crock pot about 6hrs .its the bomb!
You really can’t go wrong with Cream of Mushroom Soup and Lipton’s Dry Onion Soup mix!
Mark, I have been doing my deer for years. Like everybody else I like to control what goes in the freezer. I vacume seal all of my cuts. Here is a way that I fix my tenderloin ‘backstrap’. In a cast iron skillet melt olive oil and bacon grease,cut up a green pepper and an onion and sautate them until they are about done. Then cut your meat in slices the size you like move all the onions and peppers to one side and put the slices of tenderloin in, cover them with the peppers an onions then do the same for the other side. Let them simmer for about 15 minutes and serve. It will make you wanna smack your mamma!! Not really but it sure is good.
Mark – I get Morton’s Tender Quick from Wades. They have freezer paper, tape and all the things needed for processing your own venison. Tender Quick is a must for salami and summer sausage. One bag will last several seasons.
Mark, I have only had one deer professionally butchered and while they did an excellent job of making it look like beef, I still ended up having to cut away the fell, fat, and sinew as well as removing the bones, so I didn’t really save myself much time and trouble. When my meat goes into the freezer, there is nothing left on it that isn’t red. Yes, it does waste a little meat, but that’s why God invented dogs, isn’t it? My hounds would always be at my feet while I butchered and although I cooked their nuggets before giving it to them, sometimes they got lucky with a dropped hunk. We then added a little of the venison and some broth to their dinners for a few days. Seemed only fair, because there are never any leftovers when we ate that great meat. While some may think it a sacrelige to fry the backstrap, I found that it was my favorite way to eat it. I would shake the sliced pieces in seasoned flour, then dip in egg, then in Italian flavored breadcrumbs with added parmesan cheese. Fried lightly in olive oil with a little peanut oil in it in a big old cast iron skillet…mmmmmmm. Of course, you could probably eat the antlers cooked like that! Ground venison browned with diced zuchini and yellow squash, green pepper and onion and mushrooms then added to a pot of rice for your own dirty rice. Deer meat and vegetable haters absolutely love this dish. Season it your way and watch your kids scarf it up. Healthy and delicious, and you don’t need to add fat to your venison, just some olive oil to saute the veggies properly.
Johnboy — That sounds awesome. Do you bread those backstrap cutluts?
Perch — That idea for the dirty rice sounds excellent. I’ll have to try that. Of course the backstrap idea also sounds excellent. The only time I’ve ever cringed at a backstrap recipe was when a friend told me he makes jerky out of it! I kid you not!
As for dogs and scraps, makes total sense. I actually had a friend ask me the other day for any and all leftover bones, etc., from butchering. She feeds her dog “raw” meat and bones. I have two front shoulders and a neck in a cooler that I have to work up today or tomorrow and she will get the scraps.
Hey, try that macadamia nut method on stripers. Of course you have to catch one first, ha, ha! If it makes you feel any better my buddy got blanked at Plantation Light on Friday afternoon. The fleet smoked them in the morning but it shut off just as my friend got there. Such is life.
Mark, bet I get one before you do. Thanks for rubbing it in, though.
No Mark, but I reckon you could if you wanted to. I just like the flavor of the onions and peppers in the meat.
SIMPLE UNBELIEVABLE CROCK POT ROAST
*Get out a Deer Roast (small-1.5 to 2 lbs)
*Wrap the whole roast with BACON and secure with toothpicks!
*Add as much carrots, potatoes, onions as you like.
*teaspoon minced garlic
*Pour 1/2 bottle of Dale’s Steak Seasoning (found near A-1)
*Add 1 cup of water
COOK on low for 12 hours.
BAMMMMM!!!