From the Wild to Your Table

As you may know my game cooking experience has been quite limited. So join me on this journey as I share the tips and tricks I have learned.

Venison:
My husband shot a doe this year and it was tasty!  I have heard that doe's (female dear) are often more tender and better tasting than bucks (male deer).  So, don't let your husband's pride get in the way if he can't score a killer buck.  Here are the basics: After killing the deer you must gut it (I leave all the cleaning to DH) then you can process the meat yourself or take it to a butcher. If you are a new hunter do the latter, or find someone who can teach you.

At the butcher they will ask you what you want and how much of it you want it in. Steaks and ground are the cheapest. Since venison is usually very lean you can ask for 10% fat added in your ground venison. You can ask more if you so desire. You can ask for it to be packaged in 1lb, 1.5lbs, 2lbs or I'm sure any combination. Check your local meat locker, butcher or processor for their prices and packages. Our ground venison came out to be about a dollar a pound.

For cooking: I use ground venison interchangeably with ground beef. If you happen to have a very gamey deer or elk you can mix it with ground beef or rinse it before or after you cook it.
Deer steaks are very easy to cook, you can grill them or broil them. If is too gamey for your liking I suggest marinating it over night with your favorite marinade.

For geese: If you have to eat goose (haha just kidding) you must soak it overnight or else it will be so thick you will think your eating shoe leather. We soaked ours over night in salt water. But I've been suggested to soak it in milk for a more tender bird. I used our goose in a stew.

For Grouse:  Grouse is AMAZING it is like natures chicken but BETTER! Also soak this in salt water over night and then prepare it like chicken.  It is very easy to clean.  My DH told me you put your foot on the grouse and pull the legs, it rips out the breast of the chicken and VIOLA! Ok, I would google that or ask your favorite hunter.

If your needing some recipes visit this website; Cooking Wild Magazine.  My dad met the owner and editor and said their always taking recipes! :)

M

A Wishful Thinking Spring

It's March...FINALLY!  Most of us (those located in cold weather areas) are breathing a sigh of relief, mostly to due with the fact that winter should be over soon.  While I type this the sky outside is grey and threatening to snow or rain or send showers of graupel our way.  It seems all I can think about is sun and warmth and floating down the Bitterroot in my kayak.  But there will be plenty of time of that when summer. finally. gets. here.  (deep pitiful sigh)

Until then, I have concentrated my efforts on spring cleaning.  Spring cleaning is a difficult and arduous task in itself filled with explanations like, "I didn't realize mold could grow on this," or "That's what happened to the (whatever you've been missing for a whole year)," or heaven forbid "MOUSE!!" If your my mother a mouse is Satan reincarnate living in a tiny whiskered form.  Which brings me to tackling spring cleaning in a log cabin.  I wish I could pause right now for dramatic effect. 

To truly understand the daunting task it is, I'd like to bring your attention to the construction of a log cabin.  Wondeful logs that gather dust on top of them, tiny crevices where daddy long legs like to spin cobbwebs, a wood stove where ash expels freely, a kitchen whose construction was made for hobbits.  Ah, yes, this is spring that will test my domestic abilities in every way. 

Until next time,

Cinderella

If you give a Madison a chicken....

She's going to want 10. And then she's going to want a goat, and then a pig, and then a mule. You get the picture.

Since the great chicken massacre of 2011 I've been planning the next chicken project. With spring just around the block and chick day around the corner I've been hard at work figuring out how to create a 'gitmo' like coop. No one comes in, no one gets out.

But now I'm realizing the hobby farm is becoming quite addictive. All thanks to 'Craigslist.' The one major difference between the Montana Craigslist and everywhere else is: a massive amount of free farm animals. Although it is quite sad that people must be rid of their animals, it's amazing for people like me whose favorite part of the fair is the petting zoo. (no joke, just ask my husband)

So now I want a goat and a pig. I have no idea how to even begin with these animals, let alone keep my chickens alive. Hopefully the land lord will be ok with it. We didn't rent 7 acres for nothing.

Let the spring adventure begin.

The Dead Heads

No, I am not referring to the Grateful Dead following. I am referring to mounted animals that grace the halls of many a Montanan folk. Montana is famous for its bountiful herds of elk, deer, bison and other eatable creatures. My husband has begun this journey of becoming a Montanan and so 'a hunting he will go.' Fall arrives and weird rituals and intense preparations begin. You know your married to a hunter when:

1. You refer to yourself as the fall widow. And your ladies bible study suddenly has more time to hang out with each other.
2. You begin to hear strange noises in the spare bedroom and ask your husband what the heck that awful racket is. He looks at you indignantly and says it's a predator call....Duh!
3. You look outside and see that a bush outside has suddenly sprouted legs and is moving but really it's your husband trying out new camouflage.
4. Apparently not all camo is the same and God-forbid you don't know the difference between mossy oak and real tree...
5. Your husband FINALLY writes down what he needs on the grocery list...then you realize he wrote "ammo" underneath the milk and butter....
6. You say things like "well I'll cook it but you have to gut it and dress it.." and "did you want to eat the heart?"

I also have come to believe that the amount of mounted animals in your home is a status symbol. And if your really cool you will have a whole room of dead heads. Then and only then will you have reached the title of A True Montanan.

It is whats for dinner!

For living in the central valley I actually grew up exposed to hunting, fishing and miscellaneous outdoor activities. I grew up eating deer and elk meat and have always been 'down' for trying new things. But now I'm being pushed to new limits. Among the new foods are Grouse and Goose. Grouse is like natures version of the chicken very, very delicious. Goose on the other hand is like chewing on leather that tastes like turkey...Who knows what random animal I will cook up next. Mountain lion? Bear? Alligator? Sasquatch?

No matter!!! I will just make my standard 'go to' recipe; what ever my husband shoots and dumplings! Bon Appetite? P.S. apparently there is a Testicle Festival in which native Montanans eat deer, cow and elk testicles. I'm sure that is what makes lumberjacks' beards so magnificent.

Dead Chickens

There is something I have learned about living in the country surrounded by the beautiful Bitterroot Mountains...Something that is not very glamorous. Dead animals....everywhere. Whether by mother nature herself or at the hands of my mountain man hunter. Which reminds me of a loss that I incurred not very long ago. Dead Chickens. 10 to be exact, eaten by my two dogs. It was my first experiment with starting my hobby farm and will forever be known as "The Great Chicken Massacre of 2011." Of course this all went down while I was in the hospital giving birth to my sweet baby boy.Reflecting on my dead chickens that I so lovingly cherished (thank goodness my Husband did NOT let me name them) brings me to a saying that I have never heard before and that quite frankly had me appalled. "A downed horse is a dead horse." Clearly Montana life has me in a bit of shock and awe. Ranch and farm life (even for the hobby farmer) can be very harsh. That is why I have this silly look of awe and reverence for the rancher that comes into our favorite watering hole with (yes they actually do wear them) spurs on and his holstered Smith and Wesson. Even my valley girl thick skull can, like, learn a lesson from this experience. 1. There is no life without death and 2. Just like horses when we are downed for too long we die.Not to be overly morbid but with all my friends, family and acquaintances going through financial, relational and spiritual trouble it can be so easy to be downed. Down for the count. Down and out. Down and dirty...ok that one doesn't count. BUT you get the point. We must keep trudging on for the sake of our family and for ourselves.You know what I'm going to do this spring? Buy more chickens.P.S. Country girl tip: Australorps are very hardy chickens and can withstand very cold climate.