Venison

KBGirts

My buddy at work hunts and I asked him for some meat. He brought me some deer cube steaks and hamburger meat. I am so excited because I feel like that it about as paleo as you can get! Straight out of the wild with no hormones and no force fed diet of something that is un-natural for them.

What do you guys think about getting your meat from the wild?

monkeydharma

If you can, it's great. I have a bud who goes hunting all the time (not my thing) and he likes to slip me some of what ever he bags. So far I've had wild squab, antelope, elk and quail.

Most times the meat is very lean and tough, so make sure to find cooking methods that work, like braising and added fats.

KBGirts

We are going to add some fat to it before grilling. I hope it's not too tough, but it may be.

KMAMinx13

I went to a game dinner a few weeks ago and had venison cooked properly for the first time - it was delicious. There were a number of items on the menu. They served a boar and antelope sausage that was unbelievably good. Enjoy!

monkeydharma

We are going to add some fat to it before grilling. I hope it's not too tough, but it may be.

A quick sear may keep them tender enough, but they toughen up quick. Good luck - and enjoy!

Frankenbarbie01

We are lucky enough to live where we can hunt. I LOVE hunting for my own food. We try to harvest at least 1 moose and a couple of deer (sometimes a black bear) for our family. I loathe buying meat!! Once you go wild you never go back!!

use the ground deer in place of any other ground meat, trimm ALL visible fat from steak or cubes as it has a tendancy to taste a bit gamey!

druidqueen

All the red meat we eat at my house (college student, live with parents on weekends and breaks) is deer-based that my dad and brother hunt. I say deer-based because we add some brisket to our ground deer since it has no fat marbled in and I steal all the tallow off to render for soap-making. We used to do backstraps and such seperate, but a few years ago my mom had a lap-band surgery done. After too many times of something getting caught, we avoid doing a lot of the drier meats (chicken, etc). I know, if you cook it right/long and low enough, nothing is dry. My parents own a screen-printing business in our house and my dad also has a day job. Ground deer just makes life in general easier.

For those of you with gamey issues: The older the deer, the more likely it will taste gamey. If you are getting meat from a guy who hunts mainly for a rack to mount, chances are it'll be tough, off-flavored meat. A little younger (not babies, just not antique) deer will taste much better.

People talk about having to cook/season deer a certain way. We haven't used ground beef in forever and a day at my house, but from what I recall we seasoned it basically the same way we do deer.

Put bacon grease in cast iron pot. After it's hot hot, dump in the ground meat. Put salt, pepper, season salt, Tony Chachere's. While that's going, rehydrate some onions and garlic in a coffee cup with water in the microwave. Season ground meat accordingly. When it's browned to the point of good and sticking to the skillet, add in the onions etc. Make sure some water goes in to unstick stuff. Depending on what you're making, season accordingly. Mexican-esque: Mexican oregano, basil, cumin, chile powder, tomatoes/green chiles (add with onions/garlic). Italian-esque: oregano, basil, parsley, mushrooms/bell peppers (add with the onions/garlic). Cajun: tomatoes/celery/green chiles/bell peppers/green onions (add with onions/garlic), basil, oregano, chile powder, parsley.

The key with deer meat is to make sure it's browned good and well. You can do it without browning a lot, but everybody I've ever met that hunts prefers the browned down meat, brings out the flavor. Frankenbarbie is right, you'll never want to eat store bought meat again. It will be very pink looking when raw compared to deer.

Anathama

I have a bunch of ground venison that a hunting buddy of my dads gave us. Its great for chilis, sauces, soups, tacos, etc.
For tacos, just brown it up and throw in a can of el pato (yellow can with a duck on it). Good and spicy!

mehaugen

I grew up hunting deer with my family. I can't stand the taste of ground beef, which is bland and fatty, because of it

However, if you ever hunted in the Midwest you know deer like to eat/hang out in all the cornfields. So nowadays deer are almost eating the same GM corn that Industrial animals are

Still, it's probably better than Industrial beef.

KBGirts

Thanks for all the info, guys!!! We haven't cooked it yet because it wasn't thawed as of last night. We may cook it tonight.

This meat came from North Georgia. Not a whole lot of corn fields in this area. Hopefully they live mostly off of people herb gardens.... those pesky deer. :grumble: Although a lot of people will put out corn to feed them, so who knows what they are eating.

hpsnickers1

The man's a hunter. I prefer venison to beef. You should try bison!!! It's taste like beef only more so. It is amazing. Little did I know that the corn he was feeding them at our old property wasn't good for them. We were eating that meat like crazy at the time.

KBGirts

The man's a hunter. I prefer venison to beef. You should try bison!!! It's taste like beef only more so. It is amazing. Little did I know that the corn he was feeding them at our old property wasn't good for them. We were eating that meat like crazy at the time.

I've had bison in restaurants.... but I'm they are not fed a good diet. My fiance has family in Oregon where there's a guy who has Bison that are grass fed. I wonder if I could bring some back after visiting. I'm sure that's good meat!!!

delano1972

We have 4 deer in the freezer for this year!!! Love the steaks.

monkeydharma

We have 4 deer in the freezer for this year!!! Love the steaks.

What a coincidence! I usually have a cat in the fridge - but he generally generally comes out after lights have been off a few minutes....