Hunting Season
 

I have never hunted before, never shot a "living" thing, only shot at targets in the gun range, and on our property. My husband and son have always done the favor for us. However, this year, my daughter and I are going to give it a "shot" lol....

So this year our entire family of four are going to go hunting together, and I am going to try to get my first deer/elk. With the cost of meat skyrocketing, as well as the hormones and GMO in all our meat, we hope this year to fill our freezer with as much wild game as possible.

Anyone else making a serious effort this year to stock up their freezers with venison? If so, jump in and share your thoughts... and any pointers for me as a first timer out there trying to get a deer/elk.

Re: Hunting Season
 

We have a freezer well stocked with venison. We are trying to eat down the store bought things right now in an effort to get more space for what likely will be more this fall. Then, I will rotate and put the older venison on top.

I have never hunted in my life! I was raised on venison, squirrel, snapping turtle and fish though. I loved hunting season. My mom and I would bake for the holidays! LOL!

I married a man who really enjoys hunting. Many women will not eat venison, but I think it is MUCH better than beef!

We butcher our own venison every year. It is a job and usually takes 2-3 days over all. First, after the deer hangs and ages a bit (and I will go out, put my hands on it and thank it for it's life, seriously!) my husband will skin and quarter it. Then, I de-bone the quarters and cut and package it (usually my kids help). This is getting harder and harder on me though, because I have raynauds phenomenon. Any suggestions on that would be appreciated!!

Then, the scraps are put in a couple huge bins and the next day we grind with an electric grinder (we used to use a hand grinder! Ugh!) We mix hamburger 1/3 to 2/3 venison to give it some fat content, otherwise it is too dry for frying. We now use 80/20 hamburger for this. 73% is still too fatty even with a venison mix! I don't know how people eat that stuff.

Then, we package all that up and enjoy for a long, long time.

I have decided that if I need venison and I don't have a hunter around, in mid-winter, when it is very cold, if someone hits a deer with a vehicle and leaves it behind, I will throw the thing in the back of the truck. I don't think I would enjoy hunting at all. I would do it before I would starve. Raynauds makes being in the cold very difficult. I don't like to sit still and I would cry if I shot a beautiful animal. ;) But I am glad my husband does.

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The only hunting I have done is with a car! :lol

I was driving home late, alone, from the airport last year, and as I came over a hill, a cow elk was standing in the middle of the road. I quickly braked, and had almost come to a stop, going around her, when she turned at the last minute, and hit the side of my van. It broke her two legs. There was very little damage to my car (although the insurance totaled the van! My husband was able to fix the damage for 100 dollars, and we got a check for 2700!)

Anyway, the elk was lying in the middle of the road, just crying and bawling, and it was awful! I called the sheriff's dept, because I had no way to put her out of her misery. 15 minutes later the officer showed up. Her two front legs were broken, and he put her out of her misery. Then, he came back to my window, and asked if we wanted the meat, as here in this state, if the officer approves that the animal is safe to eat (without a lot of glass or damage to meat), then you can take the animal home to eat as road kill. So, of course, I did want the meat. Then the fire truck then showed up, and a bunch of guys were standing around looking at the elk, and two of them specifically came to me, and asked me if I really wanted the elk, because if not, they would take it ... lol. I said no, my husband was coming.

So, that road kill elk provided us with the most amazing, tender meat all winter. We ate a lot of steaks, roasts, backstrap, and ground meat. The ground elk could be fried, and did not stick to the pan! We were all amazed at how much better elk meat tastes than deer, in fact, anyone who tried it, liked it better than beef, it was that tender!

So, this year, we have our own property that has an elk herd that crosses it! We are quite excited, and hope at least one of us can get an elk, and of course deer. We also have wild turkey on the property as well...

It is definitely a family workout to process the meat! But oh so worth it all through the winter when your freezer is full of meat!

Raynaud's syndrome is definitely a tough one. I think my daughter has it. Her hands and feet turn blue if she gets cold at all. There is really not much you can do for this, except try to keep them from getting cold, which is impossible when you are processing meat!

I will keep you posted on how the hunting goes... hunting season started yesterday here for spikes... and we may try to go out this weekend... Lord help me! I don't know about shooting a living animal as I've never done it, although I am trying to look at it from the perspective that the meat will not go to waste. I like your idea of thanking the animal for its life. That helps keep the right perspective when you are in the midst of doing all the processing!

Re: Hunting Season
 

It does sound like your daughter may have Raynauds. :(

Sounds like hitting that elk was a great blessing! That would have been hard to listen to the poor thing bawl. I think in America, we get so removed from our food sources that we forget that meat comes from living beings. I think it is more healthy emotionally to remember that. I think it makes you more thankful for your food. I even thank the Maple trees for their sap. It is a ritual that makes me feel more at peace as a taker of life from other living things.

Yes, keep us posted!

Re: Hunting Season
 

I took my daughter to the doctor, and they weren't sure, as she is just a teenager, but her symptoms are pretty strongly suggestive of Raynaud's, and it is a miserable problem! Especially if you happen to live in the cold country as we do.

Hitting the elk was a huge blessing for us! In fact, the police officer that came to my window asked me if I played the lottery. I looked at him puzzled, as to why he would ask me that. He said he had never in all his years of being a police officer ever seen someone hit an animal as big as that elk with the minimal damage to my vehicle. He said it was my "lucky day" and that I really should go play the lottery... I told him I didn't need to play the lottery, that the Lord's provision is far greater than any lottery win! And all the fire truck guys came over and were just shaking their heads when they saw my car, that I was able to drive it home, and that I was unhurt, after hitting such a big animal.

I gave the Lord all the praise and glory all winter long too, while eating the meat!

Re: Hunting Season
 

A picture of my husband and the police officer lifting the elk into the pickup. Don't know how much she weighed, but it was quite a job for them to get her into the truck.

http://www.apostolicfriendsforum.com...pictureid=1396

Re: Hunting Season
 

A picture of the damage to my vehicle:
http://www.apostolicfriendsforum.com...pictureid=1397

Re: Hunting Season
 

No pics. :(

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Really? They are showing up when I refresh the page ???

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I'm not seeing any. I wonder if anyone else is??

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Re: Hunting Season
 

I was able to see the pics.
That was a huge elk deer!! :nod
Glad the meat was not wasted.

Re: Hunting Season
 

My husband, son, and grandsons, enjoy hunting deer.
They've already been busy preparing their hunting lease area.
Do any of you make any deer sausage?
Got any good recipes for that? We always send ours off to be made
but would love to try making some myself.

Re: Hunting Season
 

My cousin and his son have spent the last 10 days in Canada hunting moose and bear. John (the son) is 12. He's already bagged his moose (and maybe 2, but we're not clear on that yet since the cell phone service from there is so poor.

One thing we do know is that the guide who took them out hunting the day that John got the moose was shocked! He said to Dean (the dad), "Wow! You should have told me that boy is an excellent hunter! I would have taken him to a spot where it would have been a whole lot more challenge for him." LOL!!

We don't know yet if he got a bear or not. But frankly, we were just talking about it an hour ago and we all hope he did NOT get a bear because nobody is really fond of bear meat. Moose is good. Bear - not so much.

This kid got his first deer at age 7, so he's been hunting with his dad and uncles for quite a while now. He loves it :)

Re: Hunting Season
 

I'm not sure why ILG can't see the pix :( Yes, it was a huge cow elk. The picture shows the two of them pulling on her front and back legs. That didn't work. It ended up that both of them had to each pull a front leg, and halfway get her in the pickup, and then swing around, and pull her back legs onto the truck. She was a real blessing to our family this past winter!

Re: Hunting Season
 

I have never made deer sausage either, and would be interested in hearing from anyone who has! From what I understand from times we have taken deer meat to the processor, they mix it with pork, but I don't know the ratio.

Re: Hunting Season
 

so... who's the hunter, or being hunted? :lol

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Wow, the kid must be quite a shot! How awesome to bag your first moose at 12! Moose meat is amazing. Maybe we'll get our act together next year, and put in for a moose tag, and see what happens. In our state, it is a once in a lifetime thing.

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My cousin makes deer sausage every year. I can ask her for her recipe for you if you want. I'll call her tomorrow. She also makes venison jerky if you want that recipe. Let me know :)

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I'd sure be interested in both recipes! :)

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I just talked to Jodi. She said Dean makes all the sausage and jerky, so she will ask him when he gets home from Canada on Monday. But she also mentioned that for the hard "salami type" sausage that he makes, she knows he just buys the kits at someplace like Gander Mountain or Bass Pro Shop and then follows the recipe on there. But to make the kielbasa kind of sausage she will have to ask him for his recipe. I'll get back with you :)

Re: Hunting Season
 

So, for those of you who hunt, and eat the meat... can you share some of your favorite venison recipes?

My husband got a deer, and we have packaged up the meat, mostly as roast, and stew meat, and of course some steaks. The deer was older, and the meat seems kind of tough.

I was wondering what different methods you could use to cook a tough old deer? I soaked the meat in milk for a couple of hours, used a meat tenderizer until the steaks were thin, and then fried the steaks in shortening, yet they were still chewy and tough. Any other things to try?

Thanks!

Re: Hunting Season
 

Sausage!! Or ground it for hamburger.

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Hi KBTW!

Somehow I missed this post!!

Did you age the meat? Ideally, the deer should be hung for a few days in 45 degree temperature (or so). This makes it tender and less "gamey" tasting.

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Also, it needs to be cut against the grain (meaning that the meat is cut in the opposite direction that it is running).

Re: Hunting Season
 

I hunt quite a bit. Deer, Turkey, Ducks, Dove, Rabbit, Squirrel, neighbors way over abundant # cats, and whatever else my boys can persuade me to hunt.

Old tuff deer and most wild ducks are only good as jerky, no matter how much u soak or attempt to tendorize them, IMO.

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That's true of old geezer deer, but older ones might just need some hanging...

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Thanks ILG for that tip.... we didn't hang the deer! Maybe that is indeed why she was so tough. We were in a hurry to put her up, because the pulley system we have and where the deer was hanging wasn't amenable to leaving because of dogs/coyotes in our area. It is an open shed, and we have no way of enclosing it, and the shed isn't tall enough to pull the deer high enough so that animals wouldn't get it. I'll talk to my husband about seeing if we can figure something else out.

However, I did find that if I put the deer roast in the crock pot overnight on low, for about 12-hours, it was so tender it just fell apart, and was incredibly yummy!

I added some cream of mushroom soup after cooking it on low for about 6 hours, and some carrots. The result was an amazing gravy-like stew that we poured over mashed potatoes, and let me tell you, the crock pot was just about licked clean, it was that good! No leftovers!

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My son wants the next deer we get to be used solely for jerky. What is your favorite way of making deer jerky?

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Mmmmmm! Glad you found a good use for it!

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There is a recipe that uses ground venison (rather than strips) that is easier to chew. I don't know where the recipe is but that one is good!

Re: Hunting Season
 

Here is one:

http://www.cooks.com/recipe/so2dr5oh...son-jerky.html

Re: Hunting Season
 

Thanks! I've printed the recipe off. I agree that ground venison would definitely be easier to chew. Can't wait to try it!

Re: Hunting Season
 

My son is going hunting this year. I can't wait!! We need the meat!!

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Sasha, that's great! It is a blessing to have venison in the freezer for the winter!

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We grind our buck venison(unless young) into hamburger, and season it different ways, sometimes store bought jerky seasoning, and we've also done recipes w La Choy soy, garlic, onion powder, smoke flavor, etc. I just mix a bunch of stuff like that in and let it set a few hours and put it thru the jerky gun into the dehydrater.

Today, I took my 5 yr old out and we put down a 10 pt buck. Tomorrow I think I'll just take the deer to the processor to make snack sticks and summer sausage w most of him. Probly going to he a little pricy but I don't want to mess w it this time.

Been soaking some wild duck we shot the other day, changing out a couple times a day soaked in water, vinegar, and salt to try to get out the wild game taste. Going to try Duck Dynasty's Kay's recipe tomorrow. Nasty things aren't hardly fit to eat IMO other than jerky. (Sure fun to hunt tho!)

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Do you mix any of your venison meat with cow meat?

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We do for burger. 1/3 beef to 2/3 venison for better frying. We use really good burger though. None of that 73% stuff.