As I was fixing my lunch last Monday, I got to thinking about a prime cut of deer meat that most hunters leave laying out in the field for the coyotes to eat and how they don't know what a good meal they're missing out on. You see, I was fixing fresh deer heart for lunch! It's a prime piece of meat; lean and healthy and simple to cut up and prepare.
I carry a large zip lock bag with me when hunting and after field dressing my deer I retrieve the heart and put it in the bag. When I get it home I wash it and put it in a glass bowl, cover it with water and set it in the refrigerator until I'm ready to cook it, either that day or the next. Of course you could strike a fire out in the woods right after you dress your deer out and cut it up and roast it right then! I reckon it don't get any better than that!
It's easy to prepare. It starts out looking like this:
I trim off the fat and then slice it up about 3/8 of an inch thick. I then trim out the vessels, inner walls of the heart, etc. It ends up like this:
Next, it goes in the cast iron skillet and gets seasoned to taste. For me that means fried in bacon grease and seasoned with fresh ground pepper. DON'T OVER COOK IT! Folks are always trying to over cook venison and that is a BIG mistake! It should still be a little red inside when you pull it from the skillet.
It's really hard not to eat it right from the skillet as it's cooking!
Well, this is definitely a Hunter's Lunch!
This is a great cut of meat that deserves to be utilized and not left in the field. And if any of y'all are elk hunters, well it's downright sinful to leave elk heart in the field!
Think about bringing the heart home and giving it a try. Maybe next time we'll talk about the liver!
Until then, keep your nose in the wind and your eyes on the skyline.
TC
Well I have always left it in the field but after seeing this Im gonna give it a try
ReplyDeleteWB, I think you will be pleasantly surprised. Let me know what you think after you try it.
DeleteTC