We eat a lot of chicken and occasionally eat some pork, due to the fact that dh seems very sensitive to commercial red meat and organic free range beef is hard to come by around here. We are saving up the money for a steer-share next year, and Jeff is hoping to get a couple deer this winter, but at the moment I was wondering how we could break up the monotony of chicken and pork in the next few weeks.
Enter a recent ladies' fellowship I attended. A woman whose husband has already gotten one deer, and is planning more hunting trips, came up to me saying, "Do you eat venison?" She told me that they had way more than they could handle and wanted me to take whatever we needed. Hoping that Jeff can get a deer in the next month, we picked up about 3 lbs of ground venison and 3 packages of steaks.
It does not get anymore free range than that. No hormones, no antibiotics, and of course not grain fed; this is exactly what we need. Anyone who has good recipes for ground venison or even favorite ways to cook up the steaks, feel free to comment with them. Personally, I am excited to see how our Beef and Barley Burgers turn out with venison instead!
I feel like the allergies and sensitivities are almost a blessing, sometimes. Because dh cannot drink pasteurized milk, we discovered raw milk. Since discovering raw milk, we've been able to keep dairy in our diet, and we have felt healthier and better nourished on the whole. Since he cannot have commercial red meat, either, we have discovered just how incredible free range, grass finished beef tastes! Because I am allergic to MSG, we are extra careful about what we consume and as a result, have more incentive to spend the extra time in the kitchen, and eat better foods, too! It is so much easier to make the healthier (though sometimes less convenient) choice when the options are so much clearer. Either we can be sick all the time, or we can eat the foods we do, and feel well. Not just "not sick," but actually nourished. And of course, once we started making some healthier choices, and started feeling so much better, the other areas of health and nutrition that we have not yet addressed start to feel much less intimidating!
Once again: Calling all commenters, tell me how you like your venison!! This is new territory for me (that I am pretty excited about).
This post is a part of Real Food Wednesday. See more great Real Food Posts at Cheeseslave!
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We love venison! My father in law makes the best 'chicken fried' venison. One thing (that you probably already know) is that it is very lean. The hamburger (depending on how it was mixed) may cook different than beef and the steaks may need to be cooked in oil or butter. I like to tenderize game steaks first in a marinade and then pound them. Or cooking them in the slow cooker with a sauce works well too. There is a book called Dressing and Cooking Wild Game that you can google and it gives a preview with some recipes for venison and other game meats. I hope your husband has a successful hunt.
ReplyDeleteI would LOVE for someone to offer us some free venison. I had some as a child but never had a source for it being a city girl that didn't know anyone who hunts. Now, with the hubby unemplyed for 6+ months a free source of meat would be an added blessing. Any hunters out there that want to hunt a deer for us?? :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tips, Millie, I'll check out that book.
ReplyDeleteWe're about to be in the same boat, Elaine. Jeff just got 30 day notice of layoff so we are definitely hoping for a successful hunt. Are you within deer-sharing range at all?