Eating "organ" meats

[BAK]

How many of you guys carry a plastic bag or two along in the field and bring home such things as the heart/tongue/liver when you kill a critter?   

Growing up on a farm we always butchered and always saved and ate those parts.  My brother was just given a bag with 4 hearts in it from some hunters he had staying at his motel.  I brought them home and pickled them.

Really not a difficult process, and the results are delicious.  Tongue is very good that way too,  and liver and onions are fantastic.   

[mnbwhtr]

We used to eat hearts all the time but once CWD showed up my wife won't any organ meats so I don't keep them. I have a friend who gets the liver, He loves it.

[durp]

Hearts ok but liver

[Pine]

I was raised that way too.
If it's all you knew when you were a kid, you dont get squeamish about vittles. 

[Pine]

I'm going to add this: a guy I work with is grossed out by the thought of eating venison tenderloin.
He says they are all slimy and not very big so why bother.
Lucky for me he is bringing me a plastic bag with a couple in it today so I can dispose of them properly. 

[NY Yankee]

Myself and my mother both enjoy the heart and liver, especially the liver. I ask friends to bring them to me if they dont want them. If they look clean and healthy I cut them and cook them. Ive had several hearts and 3 livers since October. Livers are fairly large so I slice them and put it in the freezer. It's good eating. There is a fair amout of meat in an adult deer heart too. It is tender if you dont fry it hard.

[Gil Verwey]

I carry a bag for the heart. It is delicious. If I liked liver I might take that too, but can't bring myself to eat it.

Gil

[Burnsie]

Deer heart - yum!
Back in my younger days when I hunted Wisconsin gun season, one of the old timers in our cabin always had a plastic bag with him.
He would scavenge every gut pile he came across and got the heart if still there (plus the ones we shot).  At least once or twice during the week he would slice the hearts up into medallions, fry them up with a bunch of sautéed onions - good eat'in.
I eat all my bow kill hearts if possible.  I'm not much on liver from any animal. 

[Roger Norris]

I eat the heart, liver , and tongue of MY deer. I don't eat organ meats that someone wants to give me.

[JamesD]

I eat the heart of every deer I shoot. Pan seared is yummy! My daughter loves it as well. Her exact words (she is 6) when I short my first deer of this season, “ What a pretty deer, blood, lots of blood, deer meat yummy! Pretty deer are yummy!

[Ken Taylor]

I eat the heart and liver of animals that are not old but always check them for parasites first.

Older animal livers often have at least one of three kinds of parasites (especially caribou) or are very dark and strong tasting (especially bull moose).

I almost always keep the kidneys though. Cut out the centre and soak them a bit = excellent fried.

The ministry here warns against eating the livers and kidneys of Moose, caribou, and deer because of the possibility of cadmium being present (carried by the wind, etc. to wilderness areas from industries in the south) but I ignore that and eat the organ meats in moderation.

I base my opinion on having "gutted", cleaned, cut up or butchered up to 200 big game animals a year (mostly caribou, bears, moose, but much fewer deer) for many years during my professional guiding career. At not quite 70 years old I still work on the animals we harvest and often those of friends.

The people here eat mostly wild game which gives me the opportunity to continue to "study" parasites and the condition of the edible organs (I live on a northern reservation and my wife is Cree).

[Over&Under]

Gonna have to agree with Durp on this one

[trad_bowhunter1965]

We ate the heart and liver of the deer and elk we killed.

[GCook]

I will do heart and tongue.  I've always disliked liver.  I've got two hearts to cook up now.

[supernaut]

I only save and eat the heart from deer I kill. I think it's delicious and it's become a tradition for me to eat the heart the evening of a kill. I like it quick seared in a scorching hot pan with some butter, salt and pepper.

Food pics are always a bonus IMO.

[J. Holden]

I eat the hearts of the deer I kill.  This year I saved the liver and had it ground up with the other grind meat.  The processor looked at me when I asked him to do this and he said "That's a first".  I said "yep, you and me both".  I haven't had any of the grind yet.  I'm excited to try it.  I did this because I know the benefits of the organ meat, but I was not raised on liver and am hesitant to try it plain.  I've also had tongue once but have not gone through the process of learning to cut one out.

-Jeremy

[MnFn]

Just the hearts for me.

[uglyjake]

We keep it all.  If for some reason it is not eating the dogs have a special treat.  When I was young, family would have a small deer camp and heart, liver, and onions were always delicious.

[Bisch]

NOPE!!!!!!!!! 

Buzzards and yotes have to eat too!!!!

Now, my dog Zeke loves deer heart, so he gets them whenever he finds a deer for me.

Bisch

[Mike Mecredy]

always