Venison - From Field to Table

Half of the blog namesake has made its annual arrival to our home: venison, straight from the Badlands of ND.

For the sake of my light-stomached readers, I'm posting the no-flash version of this photo. If you want the real deal photo, leave me a note and I'll consider it...


See how it's hanging from the garage ceiling? Yeah, I helped hang it up, kinda proud of that fact. Granted, I squealed in a general freak-out mode the whole time, and moved very far away from the area once it was up, but I helped!

I know many (including myself) get a little squeamish when it comes to seeing deer like this, but consider that this one deer will feed us all year. Both K and I carry immense respect for the creatures that arrive on our plates, and the plentiful ND fields that they exist in. If we were all a bit more connected to our food and knew where our hamburgers came from, I can't help but think we'd live in a more peaceful, verdant society.

If you've lucked out this fall and landed some fresh venison, my one and only rule: do not overcook. Anything past pink and your headed to hockey puck town. Trust me, I figured this out quickly.

Otherwise, you can basically substitute it for beef in any recipe. Our favorite way to eat fresh venison cuts: pan-fried, seasoned with nothing but Montreal Steak. It's one of our stand-over-the-stovetop meals, the meaty morsels rarely making it to the table.

So go hug a hunter. Or a vegetarian. Or just the person closest to you. The world needs more hugs.