What do you do with the meat?

[NorthernCaliforniaHunter]

I'm up to 73 - the number of people who have eaten some of the last deer I shot. Whether a full steak or a bowl of stew with one or two chunks, all these folks share that one deer in common. Oh, and there's a bit left in the freezer.

Circle of Life? Yeah, I knowz it.

[elkbreath]

ha!  sounds good rusty!  I'll call you after the freezers full

[tarponnut]

I bring in hog meat for friends at my school(work), they love it.
When I lived in Iowa, I donated deer meat to a couple of soup kitchens. Here in Florida, they won't accept wild hog and the deer I've killed are sandwich size so I keep them for my family.

[straitera]

Much thanks to all the responsible hunters herein. Good stuff! Waste not want not.

Meat sharing is mentioned. Eskimo wealth across the Arctic was much determined by such offerings. It's only natural & a good way to tell your hunting story. It's easy to figure daily portions of meat per person and goes quick when properly prepared.

[Shaun]

I have a friend with a large garden who cans.... just traded some venison for 20 jars of green beans and he's about to start on tomatoes. Some hunt, some work on cars, some garden - nothing wrong with barter.

[elkbreath]

Now if I could just get a grant to buy a couple of tags...

[S. Brant Osborn]

Just the wife and I can eat 4 to 6 of these litle deer here.  But there is always someone who could really use it if you look hard enough.  We also do not buy any bef until the deer is gone.
B.

[S. Brant Osborn]

What are they feeding those cats, peas and cornbread?
B.

[jcar315]

Sharing deer meat may be the only interaction someone has with a "hunter" and might be an opening to discuss traditional archery and hunting as a whole.

[Don Stokes]

My ex and I raised our two boys (now men) on venison. I can't remember ever feeding them beef steak. They still prefer venison. We tried to get at least 6 deer in the freezer to last the year. The ex slew every doe she saw! Great- it allowed me to be selective. Last count she has killed at least a hundred deer, mostly with gun, but some with bow, too.

Now I only have myself and a non-game-eating wife to feed, so 2 is enough for me. Any excess usually goes to the boys (men) 'cause they don't hunt as much as I do, but there's always a willing receiver. Love that summer sausage, and those backstrap medallions with morels... gotta go see what's left in the freezer!

[xtrema312]

We (4) eat it all, but that is only 3-4 deer.  By time I do jerky, sausage, pastrami and such it gets used up fast with friends and family at events.  We can really blow through a batch of jerky fast.  When I get 4 I give smoked stuff I make away at the holidays.  We always have friends and family wanting deer meat if we get extra.  It never seems like we have extra.  Now if I got an elk I would have extra.  A lot extra.  But with a lottery here in MI there is not a big chance of that anytime soon.

[fyrfyter43]

After last season, we had 7 deer split between my parents and I...6 people total. All that's left is 2 lbs of kielbasa, 2 lbs of sausage, 6 lbs of burger, and 1/2 of a backstrap. That will all be gone in the next couple of weeks.

I can't remember the last time we bought beef. I hope I don't have to buy any this fall.

[reddogge]

My wife won't eat deer anymore, she says I ruined her years ago by shooting too many.  I only shoot 2 per year now and eat it myself and give some to friends.

[JC]

Our family eats at least 4-5 deer a year and we could probably eat double that if I had time to kill that many. There are volumes of cookbooks that offer an incredible variety of recipes for game. Sure helps out on our household budget.

[Joseph]

I have never had a shortage of people that know I hunt wanting deer meat.  For 5 years when I lived in Lewistown I was a virtual foodbank for several families by filling all of the doe tags that one could get for that area.  It is a good way to get community support for hunting from non-hunters.

[stiknstringer]

My girlfriend's favorite thing is cooking.She never had venison before we met.I wasn't sure if she would like it as most folks think of bambi when deer are mentioned but she LOVES IT! Man, I'm gettin' fat!  :D

[Don Stokes]

stiknstringer, it ain't the venison part of the meal that's makin' you fat!  

[coffee]

Wisconsin has a program called "Hunt for the Hungry".  You donate the deer and they process it and the meat goes to food banks, whatever.  I don't remember off hand how they raise the money for the processing part because you take your deer to meat cutters in your area that participate in the program. I know there is some criticism on ethical grounds, by some hunters and non-hunters as well, that killing numerous animals like this, if you are not going to utilize it yourself, might be wrong. In my hunting unit for instance anterless tags are unlimited. I suppose it is a good question on ethics but never the less the program is well supported and gets a lot of support and positive coverage by the local media. For the last several years Wisconsin has had an earn-a-buck program where you had to shoot an anterless deer first before you could legally tag a buck.  While the program is hated by most hunters for a host of reasons there is no question it kept the Hunt for Hungry program well supplied.  Last year when the number of anterless deer killed declined so did the shelves of Hunt for the Hungry.  That was covered and reported by the media as well. This year earn-a-buck is gone because of strong opposition by hunters and it will be interesting to see what effect that will have especially for food pantries.  I would suggest if your state has an abundance of deer that you look into a program like this.  Maybe it would work for you.

[Mo. Huntin]

Good, let PETA use their money on helping the big cats, thats just less money to fight us.

[Jack Whitmire Jr]

I use it at family reunion every year and also give it to family and friends. What goes around comes around, if I need help with removing a tree, working on the tractor, plowing the garden, or any bigger task all I have to do is call, it's like a big extended family . The earths wealth is meant to be shared.


Jack