How to Cook A Deer Jeff Shragge, Kyle Spikes, Zane Jobe, and Cam Snow School of Earth Sciences, Stanford University Cervidae Odocoileus Hemionus: A cooking.

How to Cook A Deer

Jeff Shragge, Kyle Spikes, Zane Jobe,

and Cam Snow

School of Earth Sciences,

Stanford University

Cervidae Odocoileus Hemionus: A cooking odyssey

How to Cook A Deer

Overview

• Deer Biology 101

• Preparation

• Cooking

• Eating

How to Cook A Deer

“Deer”-scription

A tan or reddish-brown in the summer and greyish-brown in the winter, the belly, throat, nose band, eye ring and insides of the ears are white. There are black spots on the sides of the chin. The antlers have individual tines that grow upward from each of the main beams.

How to Cook A Deer

“Deer”-stribution

• Lives in a wide variety of habitats such as coniferous forests, desert shrubland, grassland with shrubs and the mixed boreal forests of the north.

• Favors openings in these areas, browsing on shrubs and twigs (and grass and herbs at times).

• In summer they tend to migrate to higher elevations and move to lower elevations with less snowfall in the winter.

• Winter range is often shared with elk, white-tailed deer and domestic cattle.

How to Cook A Deer

Overview

• Deer Biology 101

• Preparation

• Cooking

• Eating

How to Cook A Deer

Preparation - Step 1/7

•In this day in age with chronic wasting disease and lyme disease, all hunters should wear gloves. In photo 1, the deer is laid on its back, hind legs spread, and a small incision is made around the genitals moving up towards the chest in a vertical line. Be careful not to puncture the body cavity at this point.

How to Cook A Deer

Preparation - Step 2/7

Slowly skin the deer back away from your mid-incision line 4 to 6 inches on either side. This will decrease your chances of getting hair inside the body cavity and on the meat.

How to Cook A Deer

Preparation - Step 3/7

After you have made your incision up to the sternum, you may now start at the genitalia and carefully cut through the body cavity and move upward. A gut hook is a great way of opening the body cavity without cutting the intestines. If you do not have a gut hook, you can use one finger next to the knife to lift up skin giving you space between the knife blade and the intestines.

How to Cook A Deer

Preparation - Step 4/7

You will find in older deer the sternum is difficult to cut through, and a larger knife will be helpful. For the most part, a deer can be skinned and de boned with a 4 inch fixed blade knife.

How to Cook A Deer

Preparation - Step 5/7

After opening the body cavity, one can reach inside and begin cutting away the lungs and heart away from the body cavity. All organs as in a human are attached by the peritoneum. In the picture to the right, the heart is being cut away and saved. The heart is very tender and edible when cooked. As in Native American tradition, eating the heart of the deer was to have high spiritual significance. All parts of this deer can be used and Survive Outdoors strongly discourages trophy hunting only.

How to Cook A Deer

Preparation - Step 6/7

After the intestines and organs are removed, the deer should be taken back and thoroughly rinsed out. A saw is beneficial in cutting the pelvis bone to allow better cleaning access to the rectal and bladder area.

How to Cook A Deer

Preparation - Step 7/7

Before processing, if the temperature is 45 degrees or less, it is beneficial to age the deer for a day or two leaving the skin on. This is done by hanging the deer upside down in a cool environment. Again, we need to stress the importance of irrigating the body cavity. A garden hose works well, as well as propping the body cavity open with a stick to allow airflow.

How to Cook A Deer

Overview

• Deer Biology 101

• Preparation

• Cooking

• Eating

How to Cook A Deer

In the Kitchen - I

How to Cook A Deer

Venison Marinade

• 1 ea Lemon, juice of• 1/2 c Vinegar, wine• 1/4 tsp Tarragon• 2 ea Onions, sliced• 1 tsp Chili powder• 1/2 c Water• 2 tsp Salt• 2 ea Bay leaves• 1/4 tsp Pepper, black• 1/2 c Tomato catsup• 1 ea Garlic clove, crushed

Mix ingredients in a large bowl. Place meat therein and turn several times. Cover. Marinade for from 2 hours to 48 hours, dependent upon your assessment of tenderness and flavor. Save marinade for soups, gravies, or later use with another meat.

How to Cook A Deer

• Rub the roast down with lard or other oil and sprinkle generously with a mixture of 1 T. salt, 2 t. each garlic and onion powder, 1 t. each ground bay, ground thyme and fresh ground black pepper.

• Place on a rack over a shallow pan with 1/4" of water to keep the first drippings from burning.

• Put on rotisserie and baste occasionally with juices or lard.

• Remove when the center reaches 140° and let sit for 10-15 minutes for the juices to set.

• You can de glaze the pan juices and correct the seasonings. Slice thinly across the grain. Venison should not be cooked past medium rare.

Deer Rub

How to Cook A Deer

In the Kitchen - II