a question for deer hunters

[larry@stinescorner]

A friend of mine hunts with an older friend of his,My friends back was hurting so he didnt go hunting this afternoon,but hids older friend said he was going to go for a little while by himself. He shot a really big buck,and so,,,,when he called to get help to drag it out of the woods I went to help. He gutted the deer , and I drug it ot for him. I asked him what he does with the liver and heart,he said he leaves it at the gut pile. I went back and got them,heres a picture of them.I dont like to waste anything,if nothing else I Could cook it for our dog.My question is do you that hunt use the deer liver and heart?Im not a hunter,so Im not saying Im wrong or right,I dont know.

 

[Royse]

I don't much care for them, but my dad liked them both.
They're definitely edible if you like them.

 

[Ultradog MN]

I Always keep the liver and heart - unless they've been shot all to heck.
I also save the little tenderloins inside by the spine. Cut them out right away so they don't dry out.
On a typical deer that's an extra 4 or 5 lbs of meat that many people just waste.

 

[Dr. Walt]

Cut the Heart into thin slices, lightly Salt & Pepper both sides, spread on a cookie sheet & bake in a 350*F. oven for about 30 minutes. DELICIOUS !

 

[larry@stinescorner]

you used to,,,,your married now,you cant go hunting anymore,,,,,just kidding,,,,best of luck and many happy years ahead for you and the bride

 

[Royse]

"I also save the little tenderloins inside by the spine."

We call them baby loins here.
Arguably the best part of the deer, certainly the most tender!

 

[Indiana Ken]

(reply to post at 18:56:05 12/18/13)

I use both, the heart is a favorite of mine. Simply slice thin, roll in seasoned flour, and fry in your favorite oil. Don't forget the onions with the liver...lots of onions.

Also, check on the web there are lots of recipes.

 

[oldtanker]

Yup, eat em. Stuffed deer heart is fantastic!

Rick

 

[Fullers Farmalls]

I've never eaten them cause I usually end up hitting it or the heart. I plan to try if i get one in late season. I've heard they are both delicious. And who ever mentioned the little tenderloins inside but the rear end is right. Those are the absolute best cuts of meat in the world. We call them preachers meats cause youre suppose to serve them when the preacher comes over for dinner. We jsut finished quartering and separating everything on three deer avout 15 minutes ago.

 

[Ultradog MN]

LOL
Thanks Larry.
But don't you remember that new deer blind I built this summer?
Why do you think I built it?
Mike and I both got our deer out of it the second weekend so Ruth bought a license and came up the last weekend.
We saw a doe but no shot.
You can see she was hunting really hard.

 

[rlpintx]

If your on Facebook check out muzzys camp kitchen for recipes.

 

[RedDawg]

Sliced thin, I do a really good chicken-fried venison heart..... yum....

 

[JDNewbie]

Like you, I don't like to see anything go to waste, and I have saved them in the past. They are absolutely fine to eat, but I am the only one in my house who would eat them. So I would save them and they wouldn't get eaten.

To quote "Josie Wales", "Buzzards gotta eat, same as worms." I figure they are better used by leaving them in the field than putting them in the freezer and throwing them away after they become freezer burnt.

I'm sure Grampa would stomp my #$% for doing it. Dad would say, "You'd eat them if you were hungry enough." We're just spoiled and lazy I guess.

 

[Tim in New York]

Never forget the year my new girlfriend"s mother said she would like to try deer liver. She"s Polish and likes stuff like that (been my MIL for 25 yrs). So Thanksgiving morning dad shot a buck just before we called it quits at noon.

MIL had the fresh liver on her cutting board by 2:00. Only problem was she was used to stale store-bought liver. When she started slicing it the blood poured out and she just about fainted! Needless to say she didn"t ask me for any more fresh game.

Tim

 

[Mark - IN.]

Something that I do to beef heart and have done to pork heart, and wouldn't hesitate to try with that incredible looking deer heart is...cut it into cubes, about a square inch, wasting none of it. Put it into cold water just a little higher than it and boil it until tender (about an hour). Skim off the foam throughout the boiling (probably just once), and when it done, mix two or four cans of cream of mushroom soup in the water with the heart, along with more cooked mushrooms if you like them like I do. Thats your sauce. Put it over cooked rice. That's some great stuff. Just did three beef hearts like that a month ago, got six more in the freezer waiting. I'm no liver fan, but that's me.

Good luck, and enjoy.

Mark

 

[Lou from Wi.]

We been hunting white tails for years, we always use the heart. The liver we don't because of no bile duct. Just personal preference as others do.
We take the heart and boil it, drain it, let it cool. Then slice it 1/4" thick,put slices on homeade bread with mustard. Makes one fine sandwich, with or without wine.To me, next to the tenderloin, the heart is the next best piece of meat.
LOU

 

[Lou from Wi.]

Rick, I never tried it that way. What do you use to stuff it with?I might try it next time.
LOU

 

[John A.]

Larry, Here in Texas, Everybody I know....Left at the Gut pile! We do not haul it home at all. I am not that keen on Beef heart, so deer heart would be much different to begin with and the liver I guess it would make good Fish bait. But I wouldn't fool with it!
later,
John A.

 

[retired farmer]

Not in this life.

 

[Fordfarmer]

Couple guys who hunt with us late in the season like the heart, but the rest of us don't keep either. Too much liver fluke around here, for one thing. When we have steers butchered, the heart and tongue get ground into the hamburger; we do eat beef liver.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Agreed Lou, its good I've been eating heart like that for years. Liver I don't touch.

 

[Glen SW Wi]

Used to eat both of them but, since the CWD came to the area it is recommended that you don't eat organ meat. Hart is great meat.

 

[NYCamper62]

Not a fan of either.
I think I'd try liver again if I could learn from someone how to cook it right. Times I tried the heart it wasn't terrible but to chewy like a rubber chicken.

 

[Dan T in MO]

I like deer heart. It makes a nice roast. But I never took a liking to liver, so I share that with the local coyotes or my hound dog if he finds the gut pile before the coyotes do.

 

[Adrian Billheimer]

Hi Larry, I never used to keep either until two years ago I heard on here how good heart is, well a neighbor got one last year and didn't want the heart so I took it and finally tried it, I'll never leave one in the pile again, and Mom likes liver, so no waste here.

 

[Anonymous-0]

deerhunters? the only thing they hunt is a place to wait for them. i've nothing against it, i just like to point that out.

 

[old]

I my self do not like either but that said yes they are or can be good to eat. I bet I have a few recipes for them to boot. As for filed dressing a deer I have a rule on my place you field dress close to the barn so that the cats and dogs can have a good meal again going back to nothing oes to waste if I can help it

 

[2x4]

heart steaks. Yum. Fried liver & onions. If it's not good why do fancy expensive eateries serve them?

 

[Anonymous-0]

If you cook that heart do a soup and cook it for hours in small pieces so its not tough. My grandma used to make heart soup when we would get cows butcher it was really good but the cows tounge soup I really miss cows tounge is excellent.

 

[RLA]

In our state today we have more & more posted
land & more stand hunters.. This is a product
of our Game Commission instituting Point
Restrictions. Today"s hunting in Pa it"s nearly
impossible to jump a buck & shoot it befor it
leaves & in the mean time make sure it has at
least 3 points up traveling 30 mph through the
brush... So the end result is to sit & wait or
drive deer toward the stander, even then it"s
hard count. The art of hunting has changed to
stump hunting & better optics. Not my choice.
On our farm a 4 point buck eats just as much as
the 12 point, only difference is the 4 point
taste better....

 

[Traditional Farmer]

Now thats what I call hunting in style!

 

[Traditional Farmer]

Nothing better than frying the sliced liver with onions.

 

[Adirondack case guy]

Larry,
I love venison liver, and heart. Soak them well in salt water to draw out the blood. Slice to suit, fry it up with some bacon, and dig in.
There should also be recipes for pickled heart in your ball canning book.
Loren, the Acg.

 

[Dachshund]

The heart is good, but the cats won't even eat the liver!

 

[Fordfarmer]

And here we were all thinking you just built it because you're getting old and soft!

 

[NoNewParts]

Agree on the inside tenderloins.
I always remove them when field dressing
so they don't get ruined.
in a plastic bag, in my pocket, in the pan, when I get home.
Don't think any have ever made it to the freezer

heart and liver I don't eat, but I save the heart for
people that ask.
most pickle em
before that when I used to have big mean dogs, I'd give them the heart

history and movies say we are supposed to take a bite of the heart when we down them, but......no thanks

to the anti, well some people need to fill the freezer and only have a few days to hunt, so they do what they have to.
I hunt by myself pretty much all the time, so can enjoy the stalk more.
depends on how you grew up I suppose. spent countless hours in the woods when I was young trying to physically touch a wild deer. not in the rut of course. only ever did it once.
I still try, good practice to see how close you can get

 

[8N'r--WI]

I used to always eat the heart, until CWD found its way into the picture.......My Dad always ate the liver...at least up until the time I told him about the deer liver flukes.....


"However, the liver of an infected deer should not be consumed as the fluke-damaged areas of the liver can be secondarily infected by bacteria which could impact human health."

The above exerpt taken from the WI DNR Website....next time you slice your liver, what may appear to be "blood clotting" is probably one of these little buggers....Bon Appetit!!

Tim--Chief Wildlife Biologist, Harmony Highlands Farms...

 

[GordoSD]

As a kid I hated liver. Mom would pan fry it until it was almost black. Then it was hard and dry and BAD1
After I moved out of the house I had liver somewhere and it was delicious. The difference, it was fried with a batter and fried medium rare, or medium.
Hearts have to be detailed before cooking . Get all the muscle and fat out of them. And there is a lot . All of the tubes have to come out. Then drop pieces in pressure cooker for 40 minutes. Cool, and remove, now use the cooked hearts for all kinds of dishes. Makes great "heart salad sandwiches." And Heart pot pie with dumpling. MMMM.

 

[teddy52food]

I pickle the heart. I tried the liver from a fawn one time. It was the strongest tasting liver I ever ate. I won't try it again.

 

[Rick Kr]

Heart: I slice it thin, brine overnight. Lightly flour, salt and pepper (or Montreal Steak Seasoning) and fry in bacon grease. Tasty.

Most people at work didn"t know I was feeding them heart. Said it was actually good. But wouldn"t have tried it if they knew first.

Liver: Liver is the same as a used oil filter, and I hate the taste. Slice it thin, fry it in bacon grease to make dogs treats.

Happy hunting.
Rick

 

[S.Crum]

Ex father inlaw insisted on liver and onions at least once per week, his kids were forced to eat it also. He was a ----ard about it and the first time I ate there guess what I didn't have. My Mom being an RN knew just what the liver's function in any living creature was, as such we did not have liver ever. Never had in my house either.

 

[larry@stinescorner]

thanks for all the answers,I got home very tired tonight,I might cook the heart tom night

 

[GeneMO]

Always loved beef and pork heart. Never tried deer. I may just have to do that.


Gene

 

[Bill in Colo]

The only liver I like is from mule deer.. Never tried deer heart. I like beef heart but don't care for beef liver. Boiled beef tongue is excellent for cold sandwiches.

 

[barnE]

Soak liver overnight in bowl of milk. Cook next day. People will FIGHT for it. Better than Steak.