Tag deer

It Is Possible To Prepare Deer Meat In A Way That Wildgame Haters Will Love It

Deer meatloaf is one of those dishes that you either really love or really dislike. Actually deer or venison, in general, is something that you either like to eat or you absolutely hate with your whole heart. It’s a little like politics and religion. You choose a side and then you stand on it.

My mother made the BEST meatloaf of anyone. Although she would have NEVER used deer meat. However, because she did make the best meatloaf it stands to reason that I would follow in her footsteps and make the second-best. Mine, though, is hers resurrected. And it’s tweaked with minimal changes with the biggest difference of meat choice. Ground Chuck vs. Ground Deer Burger!

I consider myself to be a good cook just like her. However, when you’re trying to convince a person to try a new recipe it can sometimes be tricky. That being said if you’re trying to convince a “deer meat hater” to try something you’ve cooked you’ve got your work cut out for yourself.

I should know because although I am surrounded by family members that live and breathe to eat anything that includes deer meat, I’ve also got family and friends that refuse to even TOUCH it. I mean absolutely REFUSE to even TRY it.

Deer Meat Is For Even The Pickiest Eaters If Prepared Right

I mean to tell you that I have done everything I know to do to convince them that it truly tastes good. Actually, in some cases, it tastes better than beef. But they hold fast to their misconceptions. And lay down the law that they will NOT ever, and I repeat EVER eat, much less even try one single solitary bite of deer meat.

I’ve even gone so far as to threaten that “one day when you’re starving to death you will surely come knocking on my door for food and I all I’ll have is deer meat. What are you going to do then?”

I have a sister-in-law who assures me that she would die of starvation before she would ever put one bite in her mouth.

I’m waiting for that day and I hope to live to see it. Because I KNOW that when you’re hungry, and I mean really HUNGRY, you WILL eat whatever is there in front of you. And that includes deer meat.

Which brings me to the point of this post.

I have many recipes up my sleeve when it comes to wild game but one I am most proud of and one that I’ve tweaked over the years is my Deer Meatloaf, otherwise known as Venison Meatloaf.

It’s simple to fix and I promise you that your family will request it again and again.

Deer Meatloaf is a family favorite

Just a couple of months ago I had a spurt of energy and decided that I would make one of our sons and his wife a meatloaf for supper. They had just had a baby and I thought it would make things a little easier for them not having to worry about fixing dinner.

Well when our youngest son heard I was making meatloaf for the middle son, well then HE wanted one also. So, okay, now I’ll make TWO.

No problem. I’ll just thaw out ANOTHER pound of deer burger. No big deal.

There’s always a chain reaction no matter what you do. When our second oldest son found out I was making the middle and the youngest sons their own meatloaves, well you can guess what transpired next.

Yep, you guessed it. Another son. Another thawed pound of deer burger. And another meatloaf. I was hoping I had enough crackers and eggs. Thank God I did.

I did make three meatloaves that day. And everyone was happy. But it just proves that when you have a recipe everyone loves, they will request it over and over and truly never get tired of it.

My Deer Meatloaf Recipe is one of those recipes. Your family will make you pull it out time and time again, and although you will get sick of making it, your family won’t. And nothing would make me happier than if you would let me share it with you.

Deer Meatloaf Recipe

Ingredients:

1lb ground deer burger

1.5 sleeves of crushed saltine crackers

1 Cup diced green pepper

1 Cup diced onion

2 eggs

Barbeque sauce

Ketchup

Garlic salt, salt, pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

In large bowl, and I mean LARGE, mix burger, onion, green pepper, crackers, eggs, and seasonings together. Put in a couple of squirts (big) of bbq sauce and ketchup.

There’s no easy way to do it but to get your hands right in there and mix it thoroughly.

Shape it and place it in a glass Pyrex dish sprayed with Pam. I usually put a cup of water in the dish with the uncooked meatloaf for moisture. It keeps the meatloaf moist while cooking.

I am told that my meatloaf is the moistest, so listen to me. I’m an expert on this subject. Not really. But through trial and error, I have learned how to make moist meatloaf. Yours won’t be dry and you’ll be glad you did it like that.

Back for an hour.

After 40 minutes take a cup and a half of bbq sauce and brush on top of the meatloaf and let it continue backing for the remaining 20 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes before cutting.

Voila!! Yummy! Mash up some potatoes. Throw a little gravy and green beans with it and you’ve got supper.

The extra work will be worth it

Deer meatloaf is a little time consuming with the preparation of cutting the green peppers and onions. Crushing the crackers can be a pain too but you’ll have leftovers to eat on the next day. We make deer meatloaf sandwiches out of what’s left for lunch the following day and grab some potato chips as a side.

No matter what time of day you decide to eat it, your family will thank you and you’ll find that even the ones who don’t like meatloaf will end up having a change of heart on the subject.

And if you’re really lucky you’ll convert an “anti-deer-meat-eater” to join you for a plate of fresh-baked deer meatloaf. If they do, I promise they’ll be back for seconds.

Why It’s Important To Wait After Executing A Shot In Bowhunting Rather Than Jumping The Gun

I won’t even pretend that I am a quick learner at anything. It’s normally through my vast mistakes that my most rewarding lessons have occurred. This applies to every area of my life.

From dating the wrong guys in high school to choosing a bad hair cut that can’t grow back fast enough, or just simply trusting the wrong person to confide in. I have made my fair share of bad choices against the advice of well-meaning family and friends. But one thing is for sure. I have always received my best hunting advice from the one person I know is an expert in the field. He’s not only my hunting buddy. He’s my hunting husband.

As it is with everything, the best advice usually comes after the biggest mistake. This stands true with bowhunting as well. One of the greatest pieces of advice my hunting mentor, and my biggest fan, ever gave to me came AFTER one of the most significant mistakes of my bowhunting history.

If I had heard it once I had heard him tell me a hundred times. “If you make a shot WAIT for at least 30 to 45 minutes BEFORE getting down from your treestand to begin tracking your deer.”

You’ve noticed that I capitalized WAIT and BEFORE because I had heard him say that so many times over the years. I KNEW to do this but because I am an impatient soul and have a hard time sitting for long periods in the treestand at all, I needed it tattooed on my forehead to get the point across.

I have always received my best hunting advice from the one person I know is an expert in the field. He’s not only my hunting buddy. He’s my hunting husband.

Not heeding to good, sound advice can sometimes cost you if you don’t take it to heart and put it into practice. By not following my husband’s rule of thumb, it almost cost me finding my buck.

Old Habits Die Hard

It was in the middle of archery season. I had been playing tag with a certain eight-pointer that had shown up on our trail camera multiple times.

Up to that point, I had never had the chance at a shooter buck, and I had my heart set, THIS PARTICULAR SEASON, on him. He was the one. I wanted to harvest HIM.

I would get to my stand early and leave in the dark. In the morning hunts, I would walk out there in the pitch black, feeling my way up the ladder stand with nothing more than my Bushnell headlamp on my head.

I did this every day. I did this for weeks.

Until early one Saturday morning when the stars were aligned just right. He came sashaying up from below my stand with only one thing on his mind. He was trailing a doe.

As it is with everything, the best advice usually comes after the biggest mistake.

I’m not going to lie. When you are in your stand and a deer comes within shooting distance, your heart beats faster than it ever has before. Your adrenaline is in overdrive and you begin to tremble and shake.

Maybe not every hunter feels like that. Personally, I get excited, as well as a little nervous, when I know I’m getting ready to take a shot.

He was about 20 yards in front of me when I stood up to draw my bow. Although my memory says he was broadside, looking back at the trail camera pictures proves otherwise.

In the excitement of the moment, I didn’t realize that he was ACTUALLY quartering TOWARD me a little bit. So when I executed my shot into the “vitals” I didn’t get the penetration as I thought. I did get some penetration. However, I also managed to stick my arrow down around his “buck parts” as well. But, I didn’t know this at the time.

BE PATIENT

It’s Always Better To Wait Than To Push

After I shot and he took off running, I did what any non-seasoned hunter would do. I immediately climbed down from my ladder stand to see if there was any blood. Then, I got back UP into my stand to send my husband a text letting him know I had just shot “the buck.”

After texting me back “Good job” he told me to stay put for about 30 to 45 minutes to let the deer lay down and die. To not push him and make tracking the blood easier. In an investigative, hesitant “texting voice” he asked, “You didn’t get down yet did you?” And of course, my answer was “NO?”

The truth of the matter was that I had climbed down SEVERAL times, and then scurried right back UP again.

Because my stand was fairly close to our house, I actually made several trips back and forth in hopes of seeing my dead buck laying there ready to field dress. But that didn’t happen.

My husband and one of our sons were at another farm hunting. I knew it would be a while before they would get there to help me track my deer. A couple of hours passed before they returned home. The first question my husband asked me was “How long did you stay up in your stand before getting down?”

I wanted to lie, I really did. But the trail camera set up in front of my stand had the proof. I had made multiple treks to and fro looking for blood and looking for my deer.

Busted!

My son, husband and I began the search and started with the first drops of blood I had found. It was slow. A drop here and a couple of drops there but nothing substantial. We tracked small droplets for hours, over barbed wire fences and along creek banks. The trail was winding and sparse with blood.

After several hours we came to the conclusion that we were pushing him. We needed to let him lay and marked the last major blood spot we found. We decided to wait until morning.

LISTEN TO GOOD ADVICE

Sometimes getting caught up in the moment overrides any sound hunting advice we’ve been given

I felt devastated. How could I have been so stupid to have gotten down right after I took the shot? I knew better. My husband taught me better. But that side of me that occasionally takes over my common sense took control that morning. And I had no one to blame but myself if we couldn’t find my buck.

To say I didn’t sleep that night would have been an understatement. I tossed and turned worrying about him injured and laying out there dying a slow, painful death. Replaying the morning’s events, in my mind, from beginning to end, made me sick from the whole ordeal. I wanted to quit hunting. It upset me that much.

The next morning we all went out looking again but couldn’t even find a tiny blood trail. We ended up calling a friend, who had a tracking dog for help. Bruiser led us straight to my buck in a matter of minutes. By the time we found him, he had managed to make it to the water’s edge by the lake. Coyotes had eaten his back end so the only thing left to salvage was, thankfully, the backstraps.

It was a horrible experience and it’s one that I will never forget. I could have avoided it if I had just listened to some of the best hunting advice I’ve ever received.

Not only did that hunt have a great impact on me but my husband’s unyielding wisdom did as well.

Since then I have branded his advice of WAITING on my heart. I will never forget the lesson that came along making that one crucial mistake. I am now more concise and conscientious as a hunter.

LEARN FROM IT

Every Silver Lining Has A Lesson Attached To It

What I learned, as a result of not listening to my husband’s advice is to WAIT before tracking a deer. Hunting is all about patience. It doesn’t hurry or rush. Nature is the same. It doesn’t hurry either.

Also, that hard lesson reminded me of the importance of regular and consistent shooting practice. The more time you set aside for practice, the better your accuracy will be.

Another incite I gained from this experience was to pay attention to your surroundings and always be ready. Deer move very quickly and can be quiet in front of you before you even realize it.

However, the most critical thing I learned as a result of ignoring what I knew to be true, is that NOT putting solid hunting advice into play could sacrifice the very thing you’ve worked hard to achieve. Not only could it cost you a successful harvest. But even worse, not heeding to good instruction could cost you your life.

A Creative Alternative For Your European Mount And Dead Heads You Find In The Woods In The Spring

I love going shed hunting. It’s one of my favorite things to do in the spring. Although I don’t have the best success rate of finding them, I do have a good success rate of finding dead heads. But mostly I like preserving them to appreciate for years to come. One way I do that is by spray painting the deer skulls and hanging them up to display.

A couple of years ago I paid someone to paint my six pointer that I had shot the previous hunting season. She did an amazing job. When the next bow season rolled around and I took another buck. I decided I wanted to try my hand at doing it myself.

I’ll be the first to admit that I am NOT a good painter. I’m not even good at painting walls. But I can use spray paint to create a beautiful deer skull. When I am holding my harvest in my hands I know how much work went into that hunt. It just feels like the right thing to do. To honor that deer by using my own two hands to create something I can proudly display.

I’ll be the first to admit that I am NOT a good painter. But I can use spray paint to create a beautiful deer skull.

Painting deer skulls and turtles shells is an easy project to do and so rewarding when you see your finished piece. It’s also a powerful way to get kids excited about nature. I started doing it for fun a couple of years ago after having collected a multitude of turtle shells that I found in the woods. I wanted to find a creative way to display them.

Turtle shells moved on to my buck skulls which moved on to any skulls I found while out in the woods. Below is a step by step video of what works best for me in creating a decorative skull. There are only a few supplies you need to get started: Krylon Crystal Clear Acrylic, Krylon Color Master White Paint + Primer, Krylon Color Master Black Paint + Primer along with your choice of various Krylon Color Master Paint colors.

Painting A Deer Skull With Spray Paint Is Easy

Out in nature is my favorite place to spend my time. I love bringing home treasures from treks through the woods.

My 3 year old granddaughter loves to go out and gather acorns with me for future projects. It’s such a bonding time when you can share your love of nature with future generations.

However, what I love even more is creating something from my finds and then sharing it with others. I would love to share YOUR nature creations. TAG ME in your art and I’ll proudly display it on my page.

Remember that sharing our lives with others inspires them to share THEIRS.

Be An Inspirer!

Good morning everybody!  Boy is it a beautiful day here in southwest Missouri!  It’s cold but absolutely BEEEEEEEEautiful!  Birds are chirping and the sun is a shinin’!!!   I’ve been under the weather for the last several days and I’ve come to realize that sometimes I forget just how GREAT God really is.  While setting up this website I came across different pictures that reminded me how much he takes care of me and meets every one of my needs…even before I know that I NEED it.    Take this website for example.   My well was feeling pretty dry on the “inspirational” level and I needed something that would light that fire back in me.

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