Montana Mule Deer Hunt

[LeonardS]

if we had "gamey" venison, we'd grind it up and mix in about 1/3 pork to make sausage. Yummy! Especially when we added fennel.

[Ken C]

Thought the hubby may like this Cyndi. Took this guy over a month but Members of the White Oak Ranch Hunting Club had been trying to capture the animal for years after it was first spotted on trail cameras.

Conetoe man bags 500+ pound Bertie County hog - WSPA

[RogerDat]

Had family hunter that would put a few potato wedges or quarters in with the meat when cooking to absorb some of the strong taste, then give the potatoes to the dog. Even a roast that was going to be cooked with potatoes would get it's initial browning and start with some "scrap" potatoes before the other ingredients were added.

Don't know personally because I can't taste the difference but several folks say what food source makes a big difference in taste. Here in Mich. it's are they eating corn and raiding orchards in the fall down here or up north eating acorns.

[papa-t]

Originally Posted by melissab

Question: Is there a secret to making venison taste less "gamey" or do you just get used to it?

Melissa

Ok here is how I prepare my venison. Two ways. (1) I will use the meat grinder and mix with either regular store bought hamburger or just package it by its self. I do use the seal a meal to package it. (2) The best way is to pressure can it. I quarter the deer and put it in my special fridge that I have in my garage. I let it set for about three to four days. I then de-bone, cut off the fat and cut into one to two inch chunks. Then I place in a canning jar (never add water; it will make it's on). Sometimes I add a beef bouillon cube in the jar before I pressure can it. And of course you have to have the can flat and ring to seal. Comes out tasting like beef and will fall apart.

Finally, the best home-made chili for hot dogs. Ground venison (brown in pan) add chili powder and catsup. Trust me it's the best. I always wanted to be a chef anyway.

[Cyndi B.]

My husband is so excited to hunt this year. Not only is he a resident of Montana which makes hunting license cheaper, they also get cheaper after 62.

[Cyndi B.]

papa-T

We are eager to try the canning thing.

[SRD]

Sort of off topic but we recently moved to a rural Arizona community and just discovered that it's completely legal for bow and arrow hunters to enter private property to hunt. Most of the residents here enjoy the deer running through their property and some even provide food and water for them. Local hunters after realizing the easy targets now shamelessly hunt here. We have found that in order to stop the hunters we have to post no trespassing/hunting signs but they only get knocked down or removed. The hunters that were confronted were very arrogant and refused to leave private property. The last hunting season the residents have taken up hunting the hunters and vandalizing their equipment hoping to spread the message that they were not welcome. It's almost becoming laughable. It's beyond me why hunters would concentrate on this relatively small 2 mile square area in the middle of thousands of acres of BLM land. Go figure.

[Cyndi B.]

We have that problem with our trout stream that runs through our yard no matter how many private property/no trespassing signs we put up. We can even be standing in the yard and they fish through like we aren't there.

[papa-t]

Originally Posted by Cyndi B.

papa-T

We are eager to try the canning thing.

You will love it. I think the pressure cooking time is around 90 minutes. Would have to check the book. We have also canned wild turkey breast also.

[SRD]

Originally Posted by Cyndi B.

We have that problem with our trout stream that runs through our yard no matter how many private property/no trespassing signs we put up. We can even be standing in the yard and they fish through like we aren't there.

In Arizona (maybe Iowa is the same), if the signs are properly posted, they can be arrested for trespassing.

[Frederick L. Simson]

Originally Posted by SRD

It's beyond me why hunters would concentrate on this relatively small 2 mile square area in the middle of thousands of acres of BLM land. Go figure.

Sutton's law
The reason the hunters concentrate on that area is that now they communicate to each other that it is where the deer are. The deer are there because they are intelligent beings and they communicated to each other that the area is somehow safer than the BLM land.

Years ago my father and his drinking buddies bought up farmland adjacent to a state forest area in upstate New York for this reason. They called it the "Tamarack Farm and Game Club" any only allowed members to hunt the deer that wandered onto their property, while hunting was prohibited on the state forest land next door. Once the deer wised up to this practice, my dad's group saw membership in their club dwindle away. They sold the property to developers who built a subdivision of homes there.