Our neighbor, Jennifer, loves to hunt. Bow hunting, muzzle loader, or with a modern rifle. She is part of the River View Farms hunting club, which adjoins our property to the south and west.
She arrived yesterday afternoon and went out to sit in her tree stand soon after arriving. She sent me a text at 5:30. She'd gotten a deer, and would be back at her cabin after dark. I offered to help her butcher the deer.
Growing up in NE Pennsylvania, the men in our family all went deer hunting. I was never involve in the butchering. I remember loving to eat venison, but I don't recall how my mom cooked it...
Our first winter together, John went hunting with his brother Jim. They both got a deer. The meat was divided among all the family. I cooked our portion, but didn't participate in the butchering.
Once we got settled in here, John helped Jennifer butcher a deer. I learned how to butcher along with her. It's not difficult work, just messy. The deer we butchered last night took us about 30 minutes...
Our favorite cut, of course, is the back strap. Any venison is good venison, in my opinion. Steaks, roasts, stew... We've made deer sausage links in the past. Yummy, Yummy, Yummy! Check out my previous post on dutch oven cooking.
I strongly believe that any animal you kill should be eaten. Trophy hunting is just wasting good meat! Rabbit, squirrel, quail, duck, turkey, venison - we've eaten them all. Waste not, want not is our motto. Arkansas has a program, Hunters feeding the hungry, the uses donated deer to provided ground meat to local food banks. They have a website & a Facebook page. Check them out.
Arkansas hunters feeding the hungry
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