2017 Venison Prep

DISCLAIMERS & PROVISOS:

This is deer meat (venison). It was taken in the wild, and my first priority when harvesting game is getting the meat cool, so I make rough cuts (quartering) just to get the thing in my freezer. I did a pretty good job this go around field dressing and skinning it, but a couple of things you should be on the lookout for:

1.) Hair from the skin. It just floats around and gets on things in the skinning process. Wash all your meat please, and understand I am not King Soopers.
2.) I don’t know what it is called, but there is a white membrane between the meat and skin that you should cut off with a sharp knife. It won’t hurt you, but it would probably alter the taste. Depending on which cut you got, there will be more or less of it. It will always be on the surface, and should not confused with marbling (there should be very little marbling if any). I think there was more membrane on the back quarters this go around, and I recall some being on a few of the scraps. Once again I was in a hurry to cool the meat, so I cut this corner, no pun intended.

In a nutshell, if you see something you don’t think belongs, wash it out or cut it out.

Emerson held bags while I filled them and we were moving pretty fast. Two of the ziplock bags have back-straps. I didn’t label the bags, so if you got the back-strap, reportedly the best cut, congrats.

Venison is very lean meat, and in my opinion among the gamiest, so it won’t cook up like a juicy burger which has high fat content. There are many recipes out there for venison to counter the gamey flavor. Stews, milk and wine marinades, and rubs seem to be the way to go. Consult the internet. If you decide you hate it, my feelings won’t be hurt. I myself prefer antelope to deer, and elk to antelope. This is not for everyone.

RoxGilmartin