If you have been lucky enough to have taken a deer and are wondering just how to prepare your venison, I have a few suggestions for you. I am not a true horn hunter, though big horns excite me as much as anyone, my true focus is on the meat. I simply love properly-prepared venison.

Since I am very particular how my deer are cleaned, cut and wrapped, I do everything myself. No offense to some of the excellent local butchers who process deer, it’s just I am a hands-on guy and want my deer prepared and frozen to my particular standards. My wife and I also derive a particular satisfaction from doing the cleaning and wrapping ourselves, the warm glow of doing something to the best of your ability and experience.

Though many wives may shrink from such an undertaking, my wife Jane and I have spent many pleasant hours working together as a team, talking, laughing and truly enjoying ourselves while preparing our venison. The time shared and glow of a job well done bring us closer together and I know such undertakings, though far from glamorous, are some of the reasons my wife and I have remained so close over the years.

Every time we open a package of venison we’ve prepared together we’re reminded of the time we spent preparing the meat to be of the very best quality and then enjoying an excellent meal you cannot purchase.

First, weather permitting; I always hang a deer for at least a week. Get the hide off as quickly as possible and age it. If you have a big, old buck, hang it two weeks, the meat will be noticeably tenderer.

The best three roasts are the neck and the two front shoulders. The reason for this, I believe, is that the neck and shoulders have a lot of bone in them. The bone helps keep the meat moist and adds flavor.

Place a shoulder or neck roast in a roaster with at least two inches of liquid in it, water or beef broth along with a package of dried Beefy Onion Soup Mix or similar flavor. Many dump in a beer, Mountain Dew or Coke for additional liquid and flavor. Cover the roast with three thicknesses of paper towels and baste the towels with the liquid until saturated. Then place in the roaster at 250 degrees and slow roast for 7-8-9 hours, basting occasionally to keep the top of the roast moist.  The meat will fall of the bone and be moist and flavorful when cooked correctly.

I prefer not to roast the hind legs, but make sure there is lots of liquid in the pan if you do.  It’s critical to keep the center of a leg roast pink inside, use an interior meat thermometer and cook to 165. If the roast becomes overdone the meat will become dry and tough.  If you accidentally overcook your roast, slice it thin; make sure the sliced pieces are completely covered with the drippings and slow cook for 3-4 hours. This will moisten the meat and tenderize it. A crockpot is perfect for this. Meat prepared this way makes super venison on wick or we drain all the juice off and cover with barbeque sauce, two of my favorite flavors.

Steaks, tenderloins and backstraps are the best parts of the deer and I only cook them one way. Slice the meat half an inch thick. Prepare your frying pan by thinly covering the bottom with oil. Then place a thick slab of butter in the pan, 2-3 tablespoons, and heat on a high flame. When the butter is completely melted and just turns brown place your slices in the pan. Don’t crowd the pan, leave space between the pieces and don’t cool the pan with excess meat.

Once the meat is sizzling and spitting merrily away, (the pan must be very hot), only wait a minute or two before turning. You absolutely must not overcook this precious meat. When the meat is turned, ideally it should be seared brown on the first side; sprinkle liberally with garlic powder. Only wait another minute or two before removing from the pan. Larger, thicker steaks may take a little more time in the pan, but be careful not to overdo it.

To test, press on the meat with a fork. When it is rare it will compress easily. When it just firms up get it out of the pan and salt – don’t salt in the pan – and add a little more garlic powder. The meat should be pink or just have turned brown in the center.

When Cooked quickly like this, the flavor is truly mouthwatering.

For an additional flavor experience get the pancake griddle out and cut some of your favorite flavor rolls in half, spread with butter and brown on the grill. Place your tenderloin or backstrap slices on the browned rolls and you’re in for a real taste treat.

Seth, my son-in-law, a San Diego boy, was a little leery of venison at first, but when he smelled the tenderloins frying and then bit into the toasted roll combo his eyes rolled back in his head with ecstasy.  Whenever he visits both he and his family request this meal for birthdays or holidays. It’s that good.

I also grind a lot of meat. Since very lean venison isn’t fatty at all and will stick to the pan, it’s important to mix it with ground beef for hamburg or pork for your sausage. Hamburg is really pretty simple. Clean the tallow and tendon from the venison you intend to grind and run it through your grinder. Weigh what you have and mix it 50-50 with ground beef. This doubles the amount of venison hamburg you made and also keeps it from sticking to the pan when you’re cooking. Again, venison is so lean you will be surprised how little fat cooks out of your burger when you fry them, even with a 50-50 mix.

If you prepare straight venison hamburger I prefer to fry it in a little bacon grease or a lot of butter. You can also cook it over a wood fire or grill it if you want to take advantage of the leanness of the meat.

Once you’ve ground your venison the first time spread it on the table about 2-inches thick. Then spread an equal amount of hamburg evenly on top. Mix thoroughly with your hands and run through the grinder 1 more time. Once completed you are ready to fry up a patty or two just to test it! I love to chow down on that very first fresh burger when we have finished mixing.

Preparing sausage is very similar. Clean and grind your venison, buy an equal weight of pork butt, spread the venison on the table with an equal thickness of ground pork butt on top. Then using your fingers poke many holes down into the meat. A hole every couple inches is about right. Read the directions on your sausage seasoning package and pour the correct amount of water evenly across the surface, sprinkle the seasoning mix over the top, mix everything thoroughly together by hand and regrind one more time. Perfect!

Writing this article has me slavering for venison! Let’s see, dash home, fry up some mushrooms and onions, cook the burgers, cover with cheese, toast some rolls and have a cheeseburger with onions and mushrooms…heaven indeed!

I hope I have given you some ideas and the basic recipes above will bring joy to your table. Venison is indeed the dish of Kings.