Wild game has long been considered some of the choicest meat to grace a platter and venison is arguably the king of them all.  Each year, thousands of pounds of deer steaks and roasts pass over the tables of hunters but unfortunately many people believe that they don’t like deer because of a bad experience with poorly prepared venison.  Deer meat, as most wild game, truly has a split personality: it can be the best or worst meat ever eaten.

Good eating starts in the field.  Once a deer is down, it is most important to cool the meat quickly by field dressing.  However, it is not necessary to ‘bleed’ the deer or cut its throat.  Many hunters firmly believe that a deer won’t be properly bled unless the veins of the neck are cut, but logic and physics suggest that an animal will not bleed unless the heart is still beating.  If you don’t believe this, fill a thin plastic tube with water and see how is drained by gravity.   A well-placed chest shot will take care of draining the carcass.

Another misconception is that various external glands should be removed.  As long as you don’t rub the glands and then massage the meat, there is no reason to hack on the carcass.  Every year, deer come into the check stations looking as if they lost a sword battle with Errol Flynn.

During field dressing, take care to avoid contaminating the meat with the various substances contained in the internal organs.  Field dressing should be a near-surgical procedure and if you are unsure of the proper methods, find a friend who can teach the finer points of this relatively simple job.

After the organs are removed, prop the body cavity open.  Once the messy field dressing chore has been finished, have a smoke or crack open a thermos and let the carcass cool while you savor your success.  If body fluids leaked from a bad shot or poor dressing, wipe or rinse the body cavity out immediately and pat dry.

Once out of the field, keep the carcass cool in warm weather by placing a bag of ice inside the body cavity.   Remember that spoilage is the result of heat and moisture.  If you remove one item from this equation, the meat will be fine.

Have the deer butchered as soon as possible after the deer check-in station, especially if the weather is warm.   Hanging the meat will improve its tenderness but most butchers are not prepared to let non-inspected meat hang in their lockers.  It does pay to have a meat cutter in mind before deer season opens.  When choosing a butcher, keep in mind that prices and quality vary; shop around and listen to the experiences of other hunters.

If you choose someone who works out of their home instead a regular shop or market, find out how they cool the carcasses.  Many home shops have no refrigeration and must close during warm weather.  This can be a serious problem if you suddenly discover your butcher is closed and you have 200 pounds of rapidly decomposing meat in the rear of your vehicle during an unseasonable warm spell.  Also keep in mind that most professional established and inspected butcher shops can only process wild game at the end of the work day when the meat cannot contaminate their other products.  This can present a scheduling problem. However you choose to handling butchering, at least have a rough idea of your options to avoid frustrating surprises.

After your deer has been transformed into neatly wrapped white packages stowed in the freezer, take time to understand the proper techniques for preparing venison. Deer meat is much leaner and tougher than beef and the fat has a higher melting point.  These factors play a tremendous role in cooking venison.

First, the meat needs slow cooking to allow the muscle fibers to break down.  Meat tenderized can be a valuable time saver, but many people don’t like the taste and texture it imparts to the meat.  Secondly, the method of cooking should conserve the natural juices and even add some.  Stewing, gravies and marinades are very helpful and a crock pot is an excellent way to prepare roasts and steaks.  Finally, the meat should have all fat removed and be served piping hot.  Ignoring this warning can result in the diner experiencing the sensation of just having eaten a church candle.

Based upon these guidelines, it would seem that a broiled venison steak or roast is out.  For the most part, this is true.  If you cannot live without a haunch roasting over an open fire, take time to pick only a tender cut from a younger animal, marinade it and cook slowly.  Bacon or pork fat stuck to the meat with toothpicks can also help.

Deer are generally made into fewer various types of cuts than domestic stock.  The most common cuts are roasts, steak, tenderloin and deerburger.  Roast are made from the shoulders, rump and neck regions, while steaks are trimmed from the back and hindquarters.  The tenderloin, or backstrap, are two long muscles that run parallel to the backbone while deerbuger is leftover trimmings ground with beef or pork fat, similar to hamburger

Steaks and roasts are used interchangeably in various recipes while the best cut on the deer are the two tenderloins.  These are the only parts that can be cooked without the extensive precautions necessary for the other, tougher cuts.  For a real treat, try inch-thick slabs of tenderloin covered with butter and soy sauce and placed under the broiler for a few minutes.

Deerburger is perhaps the most versatile deer product. It can be used like ground beef and adds a distinctive stronger (but tasty) flavor to meatloaf, chili and Hamburger Helper.  On the grill, it requires a longer cooking time than a similar hamburger would and is much dryer unless a great deal of fat has been added to the mix.

Properly prepared, venison is a great reminder on cold winter nights of the thrill of the hunt and the joy of being outdoors.  It can even be the featured attraction at a candlelight dinner for two, but that is another kind of hunting altogether.

photo courtesy pdphoto.org

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