Venison - the other red meat

Today is Monday, November 26 - the first day of rifle season for white-tailed deer here in Pennsylvania. Mr. Curious ( my husband) has just left on his annual quest. He doesn't go far; just across the road, really. He doesn't need to go far, since our neighborhood is lousy with deer. Deer hunting is a big deal here; schools even give kids the opening day off to go hunting. A word of caution: If you, like me, enjoy walking outdoors - be sure to wear some bright orange clothing during this time of year! The various deer seasons here in PA stretch from now until Jan. 26. If you're interested, here is the PA Game Commission page on seasons and bag limits.

 

                                                    Ghostly herd behind our house

 

Mr. Curious is not a trophy hunter. He enjoys being outdoors, sitting quietly and observing nature. He's always telling me stories of this bird or that fox that he saw while sitting still, and how much I would've enjoyed seeing it. He enjoys the tradition of it, too, having hunted since childhood with his dad and brothers. And of course, the free meat is huge plus. There's no need to be squeamish or anti-hunting, people! The deer herds no longer have any natural predators (other than speeding cars) and the herds are managed for hunting. The idea is to keep the populations stable so that starvation and disease don't become a problem. As it is, many, many deer will starve and succumb to diseases, despite all the efforts put forth on their behalf.


So, I'm not squeamish about all of this and in fact I enjoy eating venison. We have most of our deer meat ground up into burger meat. Not that I make burgers with it - I use it in place of ground beef in recipes that call for that ingredient. I can't tell any difference. We don't have any pork fat ground into it as some people do. As a result, our ground venison is lean, lean, lean - a low cholesterol dieters dream. Plus, you can't do any better when it comes to all the recent buzzwords: Local, all natural, grass-fed, antibiotic and chemical free. Even if you don't hunt, perhaps you know of a hunter who doesn't use the meat and you could get a hold of a 'side of deer' in that way. Be adventurous. Give it a try!


 Another favorite cut of venison is the back straps - the tenderloins. Oh, my, they are delicious. Here's my go-to recipe for the straps:

VENISON TENDERLOIN BITES

Ingredients:

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 1/2 cups Italian dry bread crumbs 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 pound venison tenderloin, cut into 1 inch cubes salt and pepper to taste 5 cups arugula 1 lemon, cut into quarters

Directions:

1.	Preheat the oven's broiler and set the oven rack at about 6 inches from the heat source. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
2.	Warm the olive oil and garlic in a small saucepan over low heat for 5 minutes to infuse the flavor of the garlic into the olive oil. Place the bread crumbs into a mixing bowl, and pour the oil mixture over top. Stir the parsley, and Parmesan cheese into the bread crumb mixture until evenly blended. Press the venison cubes into the bread crumb mixture to coat, and place onto the prepared baking sheet. Make sure the venison pieces are not touching.
3.	Broil in the oven until the bread crumbs are golden, and the venison has turned from red to pink in the center, or to your desired degree of doneness, about 6 minutes. Turn the cubes occasionally as they cook.
4.	Divide the arugula onto 4 dinner plates, and top with the broiled venison. Squeeze a quarter of a lemon over each plate to serve. Enjoy!