Author Topic: Killed my own meat  (Read 10066 times)

partgypsy

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Re: Killed my own meat
« Reply #50 on: November 05, 2018, 08:34:21 AM »
Thanks for the tip!

MishMash

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Re: Killed my own meat
« Reply #51 on: November 06, 2018, 07:59:43 AM »
From people talking about it here, just this week got a pound of ground elk. I was going to make it into hamburgers but anything people would suggest?

They make GREAT meatballs and stuffed peppers.  I add a bit of bacon ends (see if you can buy in bulk works great for burgers too and in our area is about $1 lb).  Elk swedish meatballs area awesome.

ice_beard

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Re: Killed my own meat
« Reply #52 on: December 30, 2018, 04:13:48 PM »
I traveled to my home town in Indiana and took two whitetails the first two mornings of deer season back in November. 
I hadn't taken a deer in probably 15 years and two years ago I got absolutely skunked despite a lot of sitting in the woods over several days.  The out of state license isn't exactly cheap and neither were the plane tickets, but I got to spend a lot of time with my dad and my very Californian wife got to see what life is like outside the bubble. 

I processed the meat myself and got it all frozen before flying home.  The TSA has guidelines which are actually very simple to follow.  I packed everything in butcher paper and ziploc bags and packed it in the checked luggage.  Since it stays very cold in the cargo hold, the meat was completely frozen when we got home to California.  I brought back about 70 lbs, quite a score.

For Christmas, I got a grinder attachment for our upright mixer which has worked for me pretty well.  I've made jerky which is really easy in a dehydrator.  Also made stew, "beef" and broccoli in the instant pot as well as stir fries, steak and eggs among others.

Deer have reached nuisance levels in many parts of the country and states will give out a lot of tags to hunters in hopes of reducing populations.  It really is a great way to stock your freezer with some high quality meat.   
 

MrThatsDifferent

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Re: Killed my own meat
« Reply #53 on: December 31, 2018, 07:05:55 AM »
“Killed my own meat”

Big deal! I beat mine.

(Sorry, couldn’t resist, I’ll see myself out...lol)

MrBojangles

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Re: Killed my own meat
« Reply #54 on: January 01, 2019, 08:41:10 AM »
Yikes!  A dollar a round.  I would consider reloading (I do!).  Maybe a friend has all you need to be able to do so.  Can pick up any dies you might need cheap on eBay.

fredbear

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Re: Killed my own meat
« Reply #55 on: January 01, 2019, 06:02:54 PM »
Venison is good but elk is fantastic.  I’d take elk stew over a full thanksgiving meal every time.

My wife and I each got an elk this year, and we had a 2-main dinner.  My brother brought a turkey, and I quietly taught one of young adults present a useful word: "sabulous."  You can tell your brother his turkey was sabulous with (sadly enough) perfect truth, and chances are good he will not understand.  Just as well.  The second entree was elk-rhubarb stew over a wild-rice substrate, and it was fabulous. 

fredbear

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Re: Killed my own meat
« Reply #56 on: January 01, 2019, 06:06:04 PM »
Venison is awesome.

I was worried with all the "gamey" taste that people talked about. My wife's cousin hunted one last fall with a crossbow. ...

Generally I too use a crossbow, and because it bleeds out completely and the animal's death is calmer, the meat is better than rifle-killed.

fredbear

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Re: Killed my own meat
« Reply #57 on: January 01, 2019, 06:20:54 PM »
...
I haven't eaten bear, but my understanding is that the flavour of the meat changes quite drastically depending on the time of year that the animal was killed.

Bear was by far and infinitely the worst, as well as the second best wild meat I ever ate.  The first was taken in the spring when it came out of hibernation and ate a lot of reeking winter-kill carrion.  Just cooking it raised such a stench as to drive us all out of the house.  Tough, stinking, foul, rancid, corpsey.  The second was taken on a depredation permit.  It had moved into a small orchard maintained by my boss, and stayed for three weeks, breaking boughs out of the trees, wrecking the orchard, even sleeping in the fruit-trees, eating bushels of apples, simultaneously brining and marbling itself.  He (very incompetently) got it with 5 shots from a .270.  The meat was rich, dark, slightly juicy with the apple overtone; what pork aspires to be, but isn't.  Bear is Mrs. Fredbear's totem animal, and the Husband's Handbook is quite clear that you do not shoot your wife's totem, plus I've been really fond of all the bears I've seen in the woods.  They are <i>such</i> goofs.  So I've never shot one and won't, but if I could be guaranteed it would taste like that one the temptation would be there.   

fredbear

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Re: Killed my own meat
« Reply #58 on: January 01, 2019, 06:31:58 PM »
...Any recommendations on cooking heart, tongue, and liver?  I've made beef liverwurst once, but I'd like more options.  I still have liver and heart from the quarter cow we got last year, and I'm so lost as to what to do with them.
Stir-fry.  Thin slices of heart.  Marinate in teriyaki, either commercial sauce or make it with soy sauce, dark brown sugar, chopped garlic, chopped ginger, and a little sesame oil.  Cut up green and red and orange and yellow pepper, purple onion, brown mushrooms. Lightly brown the heart slices in olive oil, pull it out and reserve, brown the rest lightly, add the meat back in for a minute or two (you want it no more than pink inside), dump in the marinade, stir over heat to coat everything and serve over noodles.

meatgrinder

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Re: Killed my own meat
« Reply #59 on: January 04, 2019, 03:03:06 PM »
Yikes!  A dollar a round.  I would consider reloading (I do!).  Maybe a friend has all you need to be able to do so.  Can pick up any dies you might need cheap on eBay.

I've considered reloading shells but now that my rifle is sighted, I'll only need to shoot if I see a critter - so 2-3 rounds a year if I'm lucky. But who knows, I may go on a bender with some target practice.
« Last Edit: January 04, 2019, 03:07:37 PM by meatgrinder »

meatgrinder

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Re: Killed my own meat
« Reply #60 on: January 04, 2019, 03:19:45 PM »
I traveled to my home town in Indiana and took two whitetails the first two mornings of deer season back in November. 
I hadn't taken a deer in probably 15 years and two years ago I got absolutely skunked despite a lot of sitting in the woods over several days.  The out of state license isn't exactly cheap and neither were the plane tickets, but I got to spend a lot of time with my dad and my very Californian wife got to see what life is like outside the bubble. 

I processed the meat myself and got it all frozen before flying home.  The TSA has guidelines which are actually very simple to follow.  I packed everything in butcher paper and ziploc bags and packed it in the checked luggage.  Since it stays very cold in the cargo hold, the meat was completely frozen when we got home to California.  I brought back about 70 lbs, quite a score.

For Christmas, I got a grinder attachment for our upright mixer which has worked for me pretty well.  I've made jerky which is really easy in a dehydrator.  Also made stew, "beef" and broccoli in the instant pot as well as stir fries, steak and eggs among others. Deer have reached nuisance levels in many parts of the country and states will give out a lot of tags to hunters in hopes of reducing populations.  It really is a great way to stock your freezer with some high quality meat.   

I'm from Indiana as well and growing up I didn't have the best perception of hunters/guns at the time (road signs that had been hit with shotgun spread, a dear that was wounded from a hunter and left for dead on a fence etc.) My stance has obviously changed over time but its now easy for me to see how people perceive me as a hunter where I currently live. You should take your CA wife hunting with you next time and have her do the processing...that would be truely exiting the matrix.

In terms of the nuisance, I remember that they had an open season for deer hunters in Brown County IN one year since the population overfloweth.
 

eyesonthehorizon

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Re: Killed my own meat
« Reply #61 on: January 05, 2019, 10:33:10 PM »
Congratulations on your first blood. I'm glad you won't have much in common with the hunters where you grew up. Respect and gratitude are critical and keep you healthy.

Re: meat generally, but game specifically, especially lovely delicate cuts like tongue:

CONSIDER A SOUS-VIDE SETUP. Investment up front might run you $50-100, maybe another $20 if (like me) you detest the idea of cooking in single-use plastic and would rather grab an easily-washed silicone set you can reuse indefinitely. The wattage is next to nothing, unlike the slow oven-braising methods most people use when they aren't sure how tender their critter will be; it doesn't heat up the house in the summer; you can get precisely the appropriate level of doneness and sear it quick on a hot pan or with a torch. Leftovers? Reheat them to exactly the right temperature, with zero effort. If using silicone bags they wash absurdly easily. It also makes EVERY PORTION not just edible, but an utter delight: shank? Neck? TENDON? Throw it in with some spices and let it go for 24 hours, then pour that liquified collagen goodness over some rice. With butter & fried herbs. (The water bath setup will also be useful for lots of other things, too, from bottle-warming for infants to yogurt-making to pasteurization of eggs.)

Butchering your own is pretty much the only mustachian solution unless you have an outright disability, IMO. It reinforces gratitude & connects you to the source of your food take it from field to table, it's VASTLY less costly, it's a useful physical and intellectual skill to develop, and it's excellent traditional human labor, best enjoyed while talking with family or friends. You can create whatever cuts you like, you can package it in portions based on what your household consumes in a given cooking timeframe, if you want extra jerky you just make extra jerky - and because time is money for a professional processor and they aren't going to delicately trim the last bits of backstrap from the spine for you, you're more likely to do the work to get more meat from your animal, which is both ethical and economical.

The "gamey" taste people fear comes from two things: hormones, specifically testosterone (e.g. most the beef you've ever eaten comes from steers), and careless processing: letting meat sit too long, too warm, get dirty, etc. (Remember the "respect keeps you healthy" bit I said earlier?) Technically there are some diet exceptions, especially with omnivorous or predatory animals - I generally don't eat anything with feet that eats other things with feet - but really it's those two: age & sex, and a quick transition from the hoof to the coldbox.

MishMash

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Re: Killed my own meat
« Reply #62 on: January 16, 2019, 08:43:48 AM »
Yikes!  A dollar a round.  I would consider reloading (I do!).  Maybe a friend has all you need to be able to do so.  Can pick up any dies you might need cheap on eBay.

I've considered reloading shells but now that my rifle is sighted, I'll only need to shoot if I see a critter - so 2-3 rounds a year if I'm lucky. But who knows, I may go on a bender with some target practice.

We reload A LOT, and were taught by a world ranked competition shooter, it's not cheaper, and it's WAY not cheaper when you consider the time involved.   Cheaper than Dirt usually runs a pretty good sale right before hunting season on bulk purchases that's like 40% off per round for most popular calibers.

MishMash

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Re: Killed my own meat
« Reply #63 on: January 16, 2019, 08:44:43 AM »
Congratulations on your first blood. I'm glad you won't have much in common with the hunters where you grew up. Respect and gratitude are critical and keep you healthy.

Re: meat generally, but game specifically, especially lovely delicate cuts like tongue:

CONSIDER A SOUS-VIDE SETUP. Investment up front might run you $50-100, maybe another $20 if (like me) you detest the idea of cooking in single-use plastic and would rather grab an easily-washed silicone set you can reuse indefinitely. The wattage is next to nothing, unlike the slow oven-braising methods most people use when they aren't sure how tender their critter will be; it doesn't heat up the house in the summer; you can get precisely the appropriate level of doneness and sear it quick on a hot pan or with a torch. Leftovers? Reheat them to exactly the right temperature, with zero effort. If using silicone bags they wash absurdly easily. It also makes EVERY PORTION not just edible, but an utter delight: shank? Neck? TENDON? Throw it in with some spices and let it go for 24 hours, then pour that liquified collagen goodness over some rice. With butter & fried herbs. (The water bath setup will also be useful for lots of other things, too, from bottle-warming for infants to yogurt-making to pasteurization of eggs.)

Butchering your own is pretty much the only mustachian solution unless you have an outright disability, IMO. It reinforces gratitude & connects you to the source of your food take it from field to table, it's VASTLY less costly, it's a useful physical and intellectual skill to develop, and it's excellent traditional human labor, best enjoyed while talking with family or friends. You can create whatever cuts you like, you can package it in portions based on what your household consumes in a given cooking timeframe, if you want extra jerky you just make extra jerky - and because time is money for a professional processor and they aren't going to delicately trim the last bits of backstrap from the spine for you, you're more likely to do the work to get more meat from your animal, which is both ethical and economical.

The "gamey" taste people fear comes from two things: hormones, specifically testosterone (e.g. most the beef you've ever eaten comes from steers), and careless processing: letting meat sit too long, too warm, get dirty, etc. (Remember the "respect keeps you healthy" bit I said earlier?) Technically there are some diet exceptions, especially with omnivorous or predatory animals - I generally don't eat anything with feet that eats other things with feet - but really it's those two: age & sex, and a quick transition from the hoof to the coldbox.

Sous Vide is AWESOME.  Just this last weekend we smoked some venison shanks then finished them off in the sous vide...awesomeness.

Fishindude

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Re: Killed my own meat
« Reply #64 on: January 16, 2019, 09:58:49 AM »
I put five deer in the freezer this year; one with archery, two with shotgun and two with muzzle loader.   Gave one to my sister, one to our kids, and kept three for our own use.   

Somebody mentioned adding fat to your meat when grinding.   Although I've tried it in the past, this is something I would never do now.   Venison is just about the healthiest, leanest meat you can get, adding fat from another animal kind of negates the benefits of eating venison.   Beef fat doesn't taste very good mixed in either.

You also need to learn how to cook it.   Plain ground venison has no fat so it doesn't stick together good for things like hamburgers on the grill, one flip is all you get, flip it three times and it's going to fall apart.   For good burgers I like to mix an egg, some cracker crumbs a little barbecue sauce or A-1, minced onion, then mix it all together good and make into big patties.   Wrap and toothpick a slice of bacon around the outside edge.   Cook them on a hot grill about 6-7 minutes per side, flipping once.

Maenad

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Re: Killed my own meat
« Reply #65 on: January 16, 2019, 02:52:52 PM »
I don't get sad about it, nor is it a sadistic pleasure (certainly not pleasurable)...maybe the best way to describe it is sobering.

I'm glad to hear other hunters feel this way. DH has been hunting for about 30 years now, I just started 5 years ago, and the first deer was... yeah, sobering. Taking a life ain't no small thing. This year we brought home 2, which is more than we'll need, so I'm sharing with friends and family.

We hunt whitetail in MN and it's pretty much the only red meat we eat any more. For steaks we'll take whole-muscle roasts from the legs and cut them into steaks about 1.5 inches thick, marinate generously, and then grill to medium-rare. Keeps them from getting tough - thinner steaks are no good. Ground venison is great for tacos, lasagna, and chili - we do frequent taco nights with friends where we make the meat and everyone else brings accouterments.

I've been resisting getting a sous vide, but now the temptation is really rising!

eyesonthehorizon

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Re: Killed my own meat
« Reply #66 on: May 14, 2019, 11:37:16 PM »
Apologies for the necro-post, but if you really want beef-suet-free venison burgers you don't have to flip...
...you can do those in a sous-vide too. Aldi was selling one for $50, though mine's the cheaper model Anova and I've been thrilled with it. Still loving the reuse-until-you-destroy-them silicone bags, too.

Rubes33

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Re: Killed my own meat
« Reply #67 on: July 23, 2019, 02:59:26 PM »
Congrats on your kill.  There's nothing quite like harvesting your own animal.  It's definitely a spiritual experience.