Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

Ive never eaten deer, but, someone at church gave me some deer meat this weekend. Can I get some advice
on how to best prepare it? Im looking for ways to get the game out and also some good ways to prepare it.
I plan to start hunting deer next year. If the SHTF Im going to pop some in my yard.

What did they give you? It would help to know what you have- hind quarter, shoulder, backstrap, or was it already cut into a roast or steaks?

How ever you decide to cook the venison its always best to do a marinade first. The easiest is salt water over night in the fridge. If you want to get creative try different combinations of sauces, wine, and even a little vinegar. Spices work well too.

The worst thing you can do with deer is over cook it. Here's a good recipe for deer staeks. Marinate the steaks over night in a mixture of powdered ranch dressing. Cook three minutes on each side out on the grill over medium heat. Or if you have a roast here's a simple one. Cook all day long in a crock pot on low heat with a can of cream-of-mushroom soup added.

Some of the best venison recipes I have found are in the Hunters for the Hungry cookbook.

Hunters for the Hungry
P.O. Box 304
Big Island, Va. 24526

Deer meat will NOT have a gamey taste if it is taken care of properly.Gut it and skin it and cool it down then butcher it. Some people let it hang for several day's and I believe this is a mistake. Wash it real well after gutting and then again when being cut up. Let the meat get cool or even cold (not frozen) and it will butcher real easy with a sharp knife. I help a friend of mine that butchers deer for a living and over the past several years have both skined and helped butcher most likely several hundred deer, maybe less but it don't seem that way.
Bill

SgtBill wrote:Deer meat will NOT have a gamey taste if it is taken care of properly.Gut it and skin it and cool it down then butcher it. Some people let it hang for several day's and I believe this is a mistake. Wash it real well after gutting and then again when being cut up. Let the meat get cool or even cold (not frozen) and it will butcher real easy with a sharp knife. I help a friend of mine that butchers deer for a living and over the past several years have both skined and helped butcher most likely several hundred deer, maybe less but it don't seem that way.
Bill

Yup, you can overhang. I usually let it hang overnight weather permitting to let the meat cool. The key is once you have the cavity clean make sure it is bone dry. Moisture in there is the enemy and a breeding place for bacteria. Hanging for a few hours will allow the lactic acids in the muscle break down a little, especially good for big deer.

Having said that, some folks gut, skin, and head right for the butcher table as soon as they get to the truck. Mainly personal preference but Bill hits a key point. How the venison will taste starts the moment you squeeze the trigger (notice I didnt say "pull" Bill... ).

DK, you are learning.
Bill

SgtBill wrote:DK, you are learning.
Bill

A lump on the back of the head works every time sir...

This also may be the reason I've not seen a deer yet this season. I keep chanting squeeze squeeze squeeze...

Btw, I've also married the trigger on every gun where possible. Very nice and crisp on them all thanks to you.

My all time recipe - Take one .270 cartridge insert a CCI Speer #200 large rifle primer insert 46 grains of IMR-4895 powder and on top of that seat a Speer 130 grain boat tail soft point slug. Insert completed cartridge into a suitable rifle and point at deer, squeez trigger harvest deer.
Cut up meat and hand it along with wild game cook book to wife and say Merry Christmas.
Bill