Sunday, November 18, 2012

It's that Time of Year Again

Mr. Lime has been hunting through archery season.  He was severely disheartened when he shot two different deer and then could not find them.  After the second time he was ready to sell his bow and stick to rifle season because he felt terrible guilt at wounding animals and having them die slowly.  He went out one last time though and came home with a hefty six-point buck to fill the freezer.  Then he started talking about getting a cross-bow.
I have several friends whose husbands hunt.  The men love the experience and the meat but the wives won't eat the venison.  Some of them are stunned to find I prefer venison to beef.  I tell them all the different ways I cook it.  I share recipes.  Few have been willing to try making them but when they come to my house they are fed venison and are surprised to find they like it.  And yes, I can make squirrel and dumplings too but it's not my favorite.  It does taste a lot like chicken but like the dark meat and I have always preferred the white meat.  The deal is, if Mr. Lime wants it he cleans the squirrels.  It's been a very long time since I have cooked squirrel as a result.  Fine by me.


Mr. Lime has been lobbying heavily for me to come out with him when he goes hunting and maybe even get my license so I can hunt too.  I keep telling him I cook the game (I even help butcher and process the meat), I don't provide it...except the kind I get at the grocery store.

15 comments:

Craig said...

Funny you should post this today; Jen's brother just dropped by today with this year's batch of venison. He loves to hunt, but his wife won't eat or cook the meat, so he gives it to us. Sweet deal, no?

I'm sure there are some excellent recipes out there specially just for venison, but we pretty much just use it in place of beef. Venison stroganoff and venison chili are my favorites. . .

Crossbows are legal in your state? I don't think they are, here. . .

betty said...

I've been reading your blog for a bit but first time commenting on it. Sounds like a win-win situation in your household in that he provides and you cook what he provides as he goes out hunting. We aren't hunters here, nothing against it, but we didn't go hunting growing up, wasn't part of our lifestyle, etc. We lived in Montana for eight years where it was a big part of life; took me a bit to get used to seeing deer in the back of someone's pickup truck. Tasted venison a few times and did like the taste of it.

I had a friend there whose husband and son were avid hunters. The husband's motto to the son was "if you hunt it and shoot it, you will eat it". It took only one squirrel that the son had to eat before he realized squirrel was not what he wanted to be hunting. Not sure how they prepared it though.

may you have a nice Monday! (and congrats on the new job :)

betty

stephen Hayes said...

It sounds like you and hubby have a good distribution of tasks. I don't hunt but so long as animals aren't tortured and the hunter eats what he kills I don't have a problem with it.

Commander Zaius said...

Bambi tastes real good but I've actually turned down a few offers from people with extra venison on their hands. Just not in the mood this year if that makes any sense.

Dave said...

I would think that wild game would be tastier than farmed meat. Do you find that Michelle? I have never eaten wild game - Dave

Tabor said...

I am happy to have neighbors hunt the overabundance of deer on my property and they must use bow and arrow due to laws. I also love to eat venison. But absolutely no desire to kill anything unless it is a fish.

Bijoux said...

Considering I think Butterballs taste gamey, you know I wouldn't like any of that. I once went to a pig roast and was shocked at the strong flavor. Weird, huh?

Jeni said...

This area of Pennsylvania where I live is very big on hunting -especially deer -and my two younger kids never objected to eating venison but my older daughter would cringe over that ever being on her plate. However, she has no clue as to how many times she has unknowingly eaten venison! I use it just as I would any beef cuts -even made "city chicken" with venison on occasion. (City chicken for those who have never had it consists of cubes of meat -preferably pork and veal -but I have used venison.) Anyway, the older daughter was served city chicken made with venison, ate it, loved it and didn't know until her brother informed her she had just eaten venison. For a long while after that, if I said we were having beef roast she would look in the garbage can for the wrapper to be sure it was beef and not venison but thankfully, she isn't quite as picky nowadays about the meat on the table here.

Daryl said...

its times like this i admit to being a non meat (of any kind) eater

G-Man said...

Squirrel is THE best tasting wild game.
They only eat corn and nuts for God's sake.

Craver Vii said...

I was born and raised in Chicago. This kind of stuff makes me wonder about all that I missed out on. I would SO rather be the guy out there shooting a buck than be a city slicker dodging bullets.

That frozen food line is a hoot! (More like a gobble, really.) In any case, that's gonna have to be my next Facebook status. :-D

Anonymous said...

Poor Bambi. Maybe Flower will come over for dinner...a little skunk cabbage maybe???

Leave It To Davis said...

This was a hilarious post to me! My hubby hunts and I just hate for him to kill anything, so I try to be his conscience. I tell him those deer just want to live just like he and I do...life is so precious. I do have him to where he will only kill the old deer now.

I have cooked deer a few times....and dove....but I didn't like either. I realize I didn't know how to cook either properly. Maybe you should post some recipes for me to try just in case Hubby comes home with an aged corpse of a deer.

Pearl said...

I have to admit my preferred way to eat venison is in a sausage!

Pearl

~Dragonfly~* said...

I have my license and have always wished someone could teach me. I wouldn't necessarily want to kill anything, but I want to learn to track and perfect learning different signs and honing my observation skills. Also, watching the world wake up is just incredible. S why won't they take me? I've been told I smell too good! I'm willing to put on the stinky stuff!!! Enjoy the venison...it's awesome...and so much healthier for you! :)