Conservation Corner: June 28, 1999

Too Much Venison?
by James L. Cummins

Mississippians are very fortunate. We live in a state with more deer per square mile than any other state. We have one of the most intense deer management programs available anywhere in the country.

Many of us also harvest several whitetail deer during the year. We eat some. We give some away to our friends and those who need it. And, they, sometimes are unfamiliar with how to prepare it. And by mid-year, you have been eating venison for quite a while and need some new recipes.

So, what do you do? Venison makes excellent table fare if it is properly handled in the field and it is properly cooked. Once the deer is out of the field, I like to remove the tenderloins and smoke a ham.

In mid-summer, the cooking is the only option that we can control. My friends Jimmy and Becky Walker, two of the finest cooks in Mississippi (my mother excluded, of course), once told me that in cooking venison, don't let the meat dry out and don't overcook it. Venison can easily dry out since it is extremely low in fat - obviously very healthy too.

If you desire to make ground meat from venison, you will need to add some beef fat so that the patty will hold together. I prefer to broil my venison patties instead of frying or grilling them.

If you roast venison, use moist cooking methods and cook until medium or medium rare stages. When making steaks, slice them thin, not thick as in beef steaks. My favorite is to cook them in mushroom soup, not cream of mushroom soup. Also, I do not dilute the soup mixture with water.

If you have never prepared venison before, try cooking spaghetti, chili or a stew. For stew I prefer to cut small (1/2 inch cubes) chunks of venison and then brown them before placing them in the stew mixture. For the mixture, I prefer potatoes, carrots, onions, tomatoes and peas; however, you can use whatever you like.

For spaghetti, brown a pound of ground venison. Add it to your favorite spaghetti sauce, which could be either made from scratch or one of the prepared sauces. If you like, chili can be prepared the same way. I also like to make either buritos or tacos in the same manner.

Spaghetti, chili, tacos and buritos are easy ones to try. Or, maybe you have not tried them and need something to liven up a meal.

But whatever the case, with these healthy meals you should be well on your way to a meal that will bring many smiles to those who have placed their feet under your dinner table.

James L. Cummins is Executive Director of the Mississippi Fish and Wildlife Foundation in Stoneville, Mississippi. Known as "Wildlife Mississippi," the Foundation is a non-profit, conservation organization founded to conserve, restore and enhance fish, wildlife and plant resources throughout Mississippi.