This week I got great reminder of why I love to hunt. It was a slow season until last week when My 13 year old son and I both killed a whitetail buck. After spending a lot of time together in the truck on the way to and from the hunts, and a lot of time together in the field, it paid off. Two deer were on the ground.
In years past I always cleaned his deer for him. Now however, he's big and strong enough to safely get everything done on his own…so he got a good class on gutting a deer. To keep him proficient in this skill I think I'll let him practice by gutting all of my deer going forward.
I let the deer hang for a week in a cooler and yesterday after the morning hunt I got to work breaking them down. I skinned and quartered them before bringing them home to process further. I spent about 6 hours yesterday breaking it all down and getting it cleaned and packed. I don't have a good table for this so I spent all day bent over the cooler…it was a backbreaking labor of love…love for food.
As I worked I thought a lot about how this meat got here. It got me thinking about how much camaraderie there is running through this whole process. Over the years we've created a lot of great memories by spending so much time together in the truck, on the shooting range, and in the field. My wife and daughter don't hunt but they too get to participate through hearing the stories of the hunts and enjoying the meals. There is literally something for everyone here.
I recently got inspired to do a lot more than just the same old routine preparations I've used in the past. I got a new smoker for Christmas and have begun putting it to work in earnest.
A few nights ago I took two venison tenderloin, marinated them in dressing, wrapped them in bacon, and let them do a 3-hour slow dance with Maple smoke in my new smoker. As the smoke gently poured from the vent and the bacon drippings sizzled, I could almost hear "Open Arms" by Journey playing in the background as the tenderloin and the smoke got intimate inside the darkness of my smoker.
When I took them out…oh…my…goodness. I was totally blown away by the texture and flavor of those pieces of venison. I'm a pretty good cook…but never on my best day with all the stars aligned have I EVER produced something so tender, so juicy, and sooooo flavorful. The family was blown away. That was our appetizer…to be followed by smoked chickens for dinner. After being further blown away by the yardbird my son stopped eating to ask "why don't we cook all of our food this way?"
I was also inspired by cook, author, and hunting show host Steve Rinella. He did a show where he let the viewers see how he prepares game meat for guests at his house. One of the cool things he prepared was Osso Buco…which is a recipe that allows you to use the leg shanks (a very tough cut that I've long been frustrated by) and turn them into a falling-off-the-bone-tender meal. I'll be preparing that today as I take a day off from hunting.
Next up is summer sausage. I've long been a fan of making my own sausage, but summer sausage is a first. This will involve all of my sausage making knowledge plus my smoker knowledge…and I can't wait to try it.
What will you do with the kill this year? Same old stuff? Or will you push into new culinary territory?
Good times and food…two of my favorite things.
In years past I always cleaned his deer for him. Now however, he's big and strong enough to safely get everything done on his own…so he got a good class on gutting a deer. To keep him proficient in this skill I think I'll let him practice by gutting all of my deer going forward.
I let the deer hang for a week in a cooler and yesterday after the morning hunt I got to work breaking them down. I skinned and quartered them before bringing them home to process further. I spent about 6 hours yesterday breaking it all down and getting it cleaned and packed. I don't have a good table for this so I spent all day bent over the cooler…it was a backbreaking labor of love…love for food.
As I worked I thought a lot about how this meat got here. It got me thinking about how much camaraderie there is running through this whole process. Over the years we've created a lot of great memories by spending so much time together in the truck, on the shooting range, and in the field. My wife and daughter don't hunt but they too get to participate through hearing the stories of the hunts and enjoying the meals. There is literally something for everyone here.
I recently got inspired to do a lot more than just the same old routine preparations I've used in the past. I got a new smoker for Christmas and have begun putting it to work in earnest.
A few nights ago I took two venison tenderloin, marinated them in dressing, wrapped them in bacon, and let them do a 3-hour slow dance with Maple smoke in my new smoker. As the smoke gently poured from the vent and the bacon drippings sizzled, I could almost hear "Open Arms" by Journey playing in the background as the tenderloin and the smoke got intimate inside the darkness of my smoker.
When I took them out…oh…my…goodness. I was totally blown away by the texture and flavor of those pieces of venison. I'm a pretty good cook…but never on my best day with all the stars aligned have I EVER produced something so tender, so juicy, and sooooo flavorful. The family was blown away. That was our appetizer…to be followed by smoked chickens for dinner. After being further blown away by the yardbird my son stopped eating to ask "why don't we cook all of our food this way?"
I was also inspired by cook, author, and hunting show host Steve Rinella. He did a show where he let the viewers see how he prepares game meat for guests at his house. One of the cool things he prepared was Osso Buco…which is a recipe that allows you to use the leg shanks (a very tough cut that I've long been frustrated by) and turn them into a falling-off-the-bone-tender meal. I'll be preparing that today as I take a day off from hunting.
Next up is summer sausage. I've long been a fan of making my own sausage, but summer sausage is a first. This will involve all of my sausage making knowledge plus my smoker knowledge…and I can't wait to try it.
What will you do with the kill this year? Same old stuff? Or will you push into new culinary territory?
Good times and food…two of my favorite things.
