What goes around, comes around.

[finnbow]

Originally Posted by Ike Bana

I dunno finn...seems to me depriving a child of a cheesburger, and patricularly here in Chicago, an Italian beef sandwich with sweet peppers, is grounds for a child protective services neglect report.

I said "in the house." My two sons and I did a lot of bowhunting together over the years in an area absolutely overrun with deer (we're allowed 2 bucks each with gun, bow and muzzleloader and unlimited does). As a result, any recipe that called for beef had venison instead (burgers, chili, stew, roasts, even Philly cheesesteaks). We still bought lamb, chicken, fish, etc., but venison was our deliberate beef substitute for nearly 20 years.

Now that my sons are out of the house and dragging dead critters out of the woods is getting more difficult in my old age, my wife and I buy beef off and on, but for certain recipes (burgers, goulasch, stew, cheesesteaks), I still prefer venison.

[barbara]

I can appreciate your love of venison, Finn.... but I can't stand it! My dad used to hunt deer and we had to eat it.... pheasant, too. I was always glad when we got something different.

[finnbow]

Originally Posted by barbara

I can appreciate your love of venison, Finn.... but I can't stand it! My dad used to hunt deer and we had to eat it.... pheasant, too. I was always glad when we got something different.

It is very much a matter of how it is butchered, aged and cooked. Like a lot of game animals, the gamey flavor is carried in the fat and connective tissues. Removing these removes any gamey flavor. Secondly, venison is extremely lean (it has virtually no intramuscular fat (marbling)). Accordingly, it needs to be cooked rare or medium/rare or low & slow. Cooking it well to medium ends up being pretty unpalatable. I've converted quite a few venison skeptics.

[barbara]

Originally Posted by finnbow

It is very much a matter of how it is butchered, aged and cooked. Like a lot of game animals, the gamey flavor is carried in the fat and connective tissues. Removing these removes any gamey flavor. Secondly, venison is extremely lean (it has virtually no intramuscular fat (marbling)). Accordingly, it needs to be cooked rare or medium/rare or low & slow. Cooking it well to medium ends up being pretty unpalatable. I've converted quite a few venison skeptics.

I don't doubt it was prepared well. Others would rave about the good taste. I think it was just me and my preference. But, I hear the point you are making.

[JJIII]

Pat is spot-on.

Absolutely delicious done right.

Any fat or connective tissue will be very "noticeable"!

[finnbow]

Originally Posted by JJIII

Pat is spot-on.

Absolutely delicious done right.

Any fat or connective tissue will be very "noticeable"!

A nice venison loin (backstrap) steak, seared on the outside and left rare inside, topped with melted Gorgonzola and served with a dry, red wine is hard to beat.

[Ike Bana]

Originally Posted by finnbow

I said "in the house." My two sons and I did a lot of bowhunting together over the years in an area absolutely overrun with deer (we're allowed 2 bucks each with gun, bow and muzzleloader and unlimited does). As a result, any recipe that called for beef had venison instead (burgers, chili, stew, roasts, even Philly cheesesteaks). We still bought lamb, chicken, fish, etc., but venison was our deliberate beef substitute for nearly 20 years.

Now that my sons are out of the house and dragging dead critters out of the woods is getting more difficult in my old age, my wife and I buy beef off and on, but for certain recipes (burgers, goulasch, stew, cheesesteaks), I still prefer venison.

We have a neighbor in our town in the Indiana Dunes. Town is bordered on three sides by the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and on the north by the south shore of Lake Michigan. So there are plenty of white tail deer around...although the cull has been cancelled for the last two years as the population, according to the Dept of the Interior helicopter census, is good. Anyway, this guy's wife freezes quarts of venison chilli for sale at the town's annual Women's Club Christmas sale. It's pretty good. Of course, with all the seasoning...rat chilli would probably taste pretty good.

[Pio1980]

Originally Posted by finnbow

If you've never bowhunted for whitetails during the rut or hunted turkeys in the Spring, you wouldn't understand the thrill. I've done lots of fun, exhilarating things in my life from skiing to windsurfing to mountain biking to mountain climbing to photo safaris in Kenya, but rattling in a big whitetail buck during the rut is close to the top of the list when it comes to excitement.

I've enoyed street biking since young, but as with my brothers, hunting was something that didn't 'take' from our father, nor for me, most other outdoor activities. Fishing and mountain hiking was something we shared with him until his stroke incapacitated him fairly late in life.
Nonetheless, I do support hunting as part of a responsible game management program and wonder how long it will get adequate participation.
I did a websearch on trends and found a few encouraging indications of continued support, here's onesuch;

http://www.slate.com/articles/health...vironment.html

[nailer]

Originally Posted by finnbow

If you've never bowhunted for whitetails during the rut or hunted turkeys in the Spring, you wouldn't understand the thrill. I've done lots of fun, exhilarating things in my life from skiing to windsurfing to mountain biking to mountain climbing to photo safaris in Kenya, but rattling in a big whitetail buck during the rut is close to the top of the list when it comes to excitement.

The thrill of the kill.

[finnbow]

Originally Posted by nailer

The thrill of the kill.

That's not really it either. I go out bowhunting frequently with no intent to shoot anything, just to rattle them in and watch. The woods are alive with crazy mayhem during the whitetail rut. It's quite a sight. FWIW, more deer are killed in my county by vehicles than by hunters.