[spudco]

The deer population is thriving here at The Habitat. 

In 1996 we purchased 2,800 food source native plants from a nursery (5 varieties) and had a planting party.  We borrowed tools from our local forest conservation service, printed up a bunch of maps of our property and invited a bunch of friends over for the weekend.  We formed 14 teams of 2 and assigned each team a portion of our wooded areas to plant.  Each group had a mix of plants and spent the afternoon sticking them in the ground.  For good measure, we also stuck a few fruit trees around the edge of pasture areas.  Now, many of these plants are HUGH and producting lots of food for the deer, turkey and other wildness (at least one bear occasionally crashes through our place).

My wife and I don't hunt, but we allow a few friends to hunt our property, and they are very generous with their game.  Already this year we have received the backstraps, a roast and leg from a doe that one young lady took with her bow on opening day of the season.

I would love to have some great recipes for venison.

[Bob in St. Louis]

Bump.

I KNOW there's hunters around here.  aa

[PeteG]

The mule deer here in Colorado can get a strong sagey taste to them, so I make a lot of venison jerky it taste very good with no game taste to it.

[spudco]

The mule deer here in Colorado can get a strong sagey taste to them, so I make a lot of venison jerky it taste very good with no game taste to it.

Last year we started brining our venison.  It makes quite a difference in how gamey it tastes.

We use 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/2 cup of salt and 4-6 qts of cold water.  We put the brine and venison in a large plastic bag and put in the fridge for about 30-45 minutes.  We then rinse the venison and cook.  It really makes a difference.

I just brined a deer leg, put on a dry rub and smoked it for 10 hours.  It was good stuff!

[Bob in St. Louis]

We use 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/2 cup of salt and 4-6 qts of cold water.  We put the brine and venison in a large plastic bag and put in the fridge for about 30-45 minutes.  We then rinse the venison and cook.  It really makes a difference.

Instead of putting the mixture and meat in a plastic bag in the fridge, you could put it in one of those vacuum food saver thingys?
And then put it in the fridge......
One of the audio dudes at the GAS get together last weekend stored his meat (overnight I think) in a vacuum bag in the fridge before prepairing it.
Best venison I've ever had.  aa
"Zero" gamey taste, very nice.

Bob

[spudco]

I believe you could brine a larger piece of venison for up to 12 hours without it becoming to salty.

As for using a vacuum bag, I wouldn't bother.  I use very large zip-loc bags.  If those are too small, we move up to plastic food grade buckets or a cooler.

FYI - I have owned a vacuum sealer for quite a few years and have found it awkward to use and not much difference from using standard freezer bags.  I found no difference in vaccuum sealed bags and zip-loc bags for the trout we raise over the winter and store for up to 9 months.  For most fruits and vegitables, we use plastice freezer containers with great success.

[Bob in St. Louis]

Oh, I thought the vacuum sealer was supposed to be 'the cats meow' regarding marinades "sucking into" the meat.
I've never used one, so I'm not sure. Knowing your culinary resume Ed, I'd say that I could blindly follow your lead and still be in good shape. 

Bob

[BradJudy]

Growing up, one of the few things we had with venison was mince meat pie.  However, the combination of meat and fruit in a pie is....an acquired taste. 

[PeteG]

The mule deer here in Colorado can get a strong sagey taste to them, so I make a lot of venison jerky it taste very good with no game taste to it.

Last year we started brining our venison.  It makes quite a difference in how gamey it tastes.

We use 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/2 cup of salt and 4-6 qts of cold water.  We put the brine and venison in a large plastic bag and put in the fridge for about 30-45 minutes.  We then rinse the venison and cook.  It really makes a difference.

I just brined a deer leg, put on a dry rub and smoked it for 10 hours.  It was good stuff!

Never tried brining venison, will give it a try next year. Sometimes I have smoked summer sausage made
but it gets a little pricey.

[macrojack]

We don't eat a lot of meat but one of my sons and I indulge occasionally.
I'm not about to go traipsing around in the woods freezing my buttsky off either.
That's what Drew is for. He actually likes to hunt. In fact, I can't even get him to fix my cars this time of year. He spends every moment he can creating animal carcasses. And his wife gets plenty damn sick of game meat. This means I can have all the venison and elk I want, which isn't very much.

However, something I have done very successfully with these meats involves cubing and browning the pieces and then simmering it at length in Indian (dot, not feather) sauce for about a half hour. Add potatoes, carrots, onions, peas, cauliflower at your discretion. I guess its so good because it is rather spicy and very warming.

I don't have any of the sauces I use on hand but if you are interested in more specific info, get in touch and I'll find out for you. For those in Colorado, I buy the stuff at Vitamin Cottage.

[spudco]

Macrojack -

This idea sounds promising.  I will be looking in my copies of "Everyday Indian Food" and "Curries Without Worries" for a basic dish and give the Indian thing a try.

Marbles -

Good idea.  Don't you own a piece of land and do some hunting as well?

Edward