What I Did with Spork the Deer
Aug 28th, 2009 | By Hank Shaw | Category: Charcuterie, Wild Game | Comments | 12 Comments |
Enough of figs. Back to Spork the Blacktail Deer. Even after the misadventure with my first-ever blacktail buck, I did manage to save a fair amount of meat. Which is good, because that’s why I was hunting him in the first place. You can’t eat antlers.
I came home with one back leg, one front leg, the neck and one backstrap. Not great, but better than nothing. I was worried about this venison might taste, however. Everything I know about why, from a cook’s standpoint, it is imperative to kill quickly — body temperature, adrenaline, etc — had gone out the window with Spork.
I’d shot him poorly; gut-shot, to be specific. And we did not find him until the following morning. And that morning was fairly hot. Oh, and did I mention that Spork was a four-year-old, dominant buck getting ready to rut? (while I love testosterone, especially mine, it is no bueno in meat.) None of this adds up to tender, tasty venison. So yeah, I was worried.
I sliced a few medallions from the backstrap, salted them and seared them rare in grapeseed oil with only some fleur de sel. I wanted to see what we were working with here. Holly and I looked at each other with a shared thought bubble: “OK, here goes…”
It was delicious. But why? The meat should have been metallic, tough, even “gamey,” which to my mind is a musky aroma more than anything else. It was none of that. This was a perfectly tasty venison medallion. I was a little taken aback.
My only theory that makes any sense — my first one, that the Venison Gods had blessed me for my perseverance in recovering Spork’s body, Holly dismissed as unlikely — is that because Spork had died in a cool spot, and because he’d been dead a few hours when we found him, the extra time it took to get the deer into the cooler had accelerated the aging process in the meat. In a good way.
At any rate, I was delighted that I would be able to eat Spork without dosing his meat with heavy spices. So I broke everything down with thoughts of delicious meals ahead: Backstraps for medallions, one pretty rump roast, a few pounds for stew meat, a lot of ground meat — and some bones.
I made venison stock from those bones, and it was a good stock, one I concentrated into a broth that will give me a gallons’ worth of goodness come winter. But before it went into the freezer, we had to have some first, even though it’s still 95 degrees out.
If you are wondering what’s floating in the soup, it ain’t fish heads (not that there’s anything wrong with fish head soup), it’s a few of my borage-ricotta ravioli I’d made and frozen a few weeks ago. I wasn’t overly certain the delicate ravioli would enjoy being with the broth, which is pretty burly, but it did. Each brought out the best in the other, like a good marriage.
I also made a round of fresh sausages, and I am especially proud of this batch. I managed to get the salt and flavorings balanced perfectly, and the addition of some pork fat from John Bledsoe made it even better. Because it is still August, I decided to flavor these links with lots of fresh basil and garlic — not the woodsy herbs and spices I’d normally use in venison sausage.
I’m calling this my “A Zone” sausage, because here in California deer hunting in most of the Coastal Range (the A Zone) starts in August, when it is still ripping hot out. Grilled simply with some green onions (I had thinnings from my leek patch to use instead of onions), served with a light red wine or a beer and it makes a great little meal.
What’s next? The freezer, for now. I may or may not get to hunt another deer this year – Holly and I are hoping to hunt a doe somewhere within a day’s drive, if anyone has a deer problem they need help with — and because I love venison, I want to parcel out what I have. I may make corned venison out of that pretty roast, or maybe jerky. The ground meat will be chili or burgers or go into a Greek-inspired venison meatball dish I make from time to time. The possibilities are wide open.
Now about finding us another deer…
RECIPES:
- Venison stock or broth
- Six Days of Salmon, with a Salmon Head Soup recipe
- The Courage to Cook with Borage, and the Borage-Ricotta Ravioli recipe
- The recipe for Summertime Venison Sausages
- Venison Chili recipe
- How to make Corned Vension
- Greek Venison Meatballs
Wow. I’m glad to hear that there was a happy ending to that adventure. Those sausages look superb!
Perfect looking sausages. Nice!
Hank, I too have waited overnight to find a deer I’ve shot and one a buddy shot. Both occurred when it was 80 plus degrees. One shot was a liver hit and the other was a shoulder hit. I was terrified about the meat on both occasions b/c of how long it had been since recovery. However, on both occasions, the meat was just as delicious if the deer had dropped in its tracks.
I’m sure there is some sort of time window you have to work with, but I haven’t found out what it is. Evidently its longer than 18 hours, in NC, with 80 plus degree day time temps.
I’m over being terrified, and I’m convinced that the taste associated with venison (or any other game) is correlated to its diet, proper meat handling after butchering, and whether or not its cooked properly…..just like you preach on HAGC.
My corned venison finished up last night. Outstanding recipe! I also corned a turkey breast from a large tom from this past spring and a ham from a 60lbs feral pig. Ohhhh so good.
Glad to hear the meat’s tasty! I’m guessing any gamy meat may benefit from your original method – seared. I find the flavors are mildest when blue. But if you made stock and like it, that says a lot about it not being a skanky animal, imo.
I’m guessing it’s so tasty because of your fondness for spoonies, but I may be wrong…
That all looks really good.
Wow, you have made me hungry! This years venison bones are going into stock and not to the dogs as usual.
i live on an island in maine, and jeez do we have deer. get a permit, and have at ‘em! it’s only a day’s flight away…
Nice work, Hank!
I’ve gotta say, I’ve eaten an awful lot of driven (by hounds) deer, and if that’s not pumped full of adrenaline, nothing is… but as long as the meat got treated right, and quickly, it’s generally been pretty tasty. The exception is the deer that’s run by dogs in the morning, then rides around in the back of the truck all day while the dogs are gathered and beverages are enjoyed… then finally makes it to the skinning pole for gutting and skinning.
But I’ve gotta say, I’m a little surprised Spork was in such edible condition. Glad to hear it, though.
I’m about to hit the road now to see if I can put one in my freezer… although it looks like I’ll be working against the weather and the moon. We’ll see…
B zone is just around the corner. If you don’t find a place to hunt in the D zone, or a depredation hunt, let me know.
Thanks everyone one the sausages — I think they came out better than usual.
Kevin: Yeah I was worried I’d get that “I’m boiling the neighbor’s cat” stank when I cooked the bones, but it came out fine. Roasting beforehand helped a lot.
Josh: At least I can hit Spoonies…
Deer Hunting Tip: Glad to be of help! You can still toss the backbone to the dog, if he feels neglected…
Annie: Sounds like fun, but getting the deer back 3,000 miles might be a problem.
Phillip: Good luck this weekend, and I’m thinking it may be Holly’s turn to get buck fever in the B Zone…
Hey Hank, thanks for the great venison post. Love the ideas… especially the Grilled AZone Sausage. Sounds like a great choice on a hot day.
I’ll second the “get on a plane” vote — Montana is closer than Maine, and antelope season starts Oct. 1 (I think). Come out for a hat trick — antelope, deer and elk — all the packers here ship! And I know a good guide (my ex, the Mighty Hunter, who was Bourdain’s sidekick on last week’s No Reservations). If you teach me to make sausages you can even have my (spartan) guest room!
Hank, like I told Holly… there’s no reason you can’t both bring rifles and tags. There’s a lot of ground to cover up there, and more guns means more opportunities.
Oct 9-11 regardless… we’re on!