Buck Meat- it's what's for dinner!

Stephany asked if I could chat about venison and how I use it, here on my blog. Sure! I'd be happy to, although unfortunately, I don't think it's going to be blowing many minds.

When it comes to cooking venison we primarily do it 3 ways; roasted, fried and in anything that calls for "ground beef." This year was the first year that I canned it and we have been super happy with the results. The canned meat we use mostly for sandwiches (kind of like you would use tuna.)It is exceptional on a sandwich with lettuce, tomato and cheese! This year was also our first year eating venison roasts. Our normal routine for cutting up buck has been steaks and ground...and that's it, but as I said, we've tried a couple new ways this year and have been very pleased with how it's tasted.
For the roasts: I don't do anything different than I would for a chuck roast, I simply brown the meat in a pan on the stove top and then add a little water, seasoning, cut up potatoes and carrots, pop the lid on and bake.
For fried steaks: I dip the steaks in a egg/milk mixture and then roll them in a seasoned flour mix. I fry them in coconut oil or lard (depending on what I have on hand.)
For ground venison: I use it in pretty much everything, lasagna, hash, spaghetti, hamburgers, tacos, or anything else you need a ground meat for. This was the first year that we ground our venison with added pig fat. In years past, we have just ground it up and used it the same.
For stew: I treat it just as I would a beef stew...and use all the same ingredients. I wish I had some fabulous recipe to share but the truth is that I usually just end up throwing whatever I have on hand into the crock pot and cooking it for hours.
I know that some folks talk about venison being a very lean meat but I haven't personally noticed any different types of preparation needed because of it. Or maybe we just have some fatty black tail around these parts!
A blog I follow just posted this recipe, from a blog that she follows- does all that make sense?- about a great venison recipe. I haven't tried it, but it looks good so give it a go!

Does anyone have a tried and true vension recipe they could share with Stephany (and me?)

packin' that freezer

Today is my first day off. I've been cutting up meat for 3 days now and I'm so glad it's done! Gavin arrived home Thursday morning at about 12:15am with 3 bucks in coolers. Hunting was good and we are so thankful. My feet aren't very thankful after standing in the kitchen for 3 days in a row for hours on end but my tummy and our pocketbook will be thankful this winter!
We cut up back strap and steaks, made roasts, ground venison with some pig fat, and canned up even more.
We hunt Blacktail where we live so the deer are relatively small, in comparison to some Whitetail and Mule deer. Yummy none the less though! Gavin and his brother pack into the Trinity Alps every September just before opening weekend.

Camp was right on the outskirts of a meadow- perfect for the horses.

Packin' out a couple bucks.

This was their bed. Glad I missed this hunting trip- it poured rain for the first 2 days. I was happy to be sleeping inside, in a nice warm bed . Gavin told me last night that there were constantly centipedes and spiders in their bedrolls. That just gives me the heebie-jeebies.

From the talk around town, it seems as though this season is better than most. Even locally people are getting bucks left and right!

Does your family hunt? What do you hunt for? Is your season over or just beginning?

For My Mom

My mom is always saying, "I want to see more pictures of the kids!!" So here ya go- get ready for picture overload!! Oh, and a brief warning, the pictures at the bottom here will have a dead deer in them. If you don't like seeing dead animals, I'd suggest skipping those shots! :)