Anyone cooking deer innards

[RoadKill44]

Way back when I first started hunting I hunted out of a camp with my dad, brother and others. Of course my field dressing skills developed under the same tutors. Through those years the last step of "gutting" was to pick out the heart and liver, place them into a plastic bag and carry them back to camp while dragging the deer. The following day the liver was sliced up, flopped in flour and fried with butter. That coupled with fried potatoes made for a delicious supper. Maybe a day or two later a couple of hearts would be boiled up, cooled and sliced for sandwiches. Homemade bread and a little miracle whip -- Mmmmm Mmm a great lunch.

 

Years later when hunting with my brother-in-law I dragged a doe in but when I presented the heart and liver I got a very unwelcome response. "Eew - You don't eat the guts do you?".  I was totally unaware that most people don't salvage those parts. For me it was the third best parts after the T-loins and back straps.

 

How do you feel about harvesting hearts and/or liver? Is there anyone using other unusual innards?

[Critter4321]

I always take the hearts there great pickled or fried, The liver I cannot eat its not just deer liver its all liver

[RoadKill44]

I got to have your pickling recipe. I tried pickling once slicing boiled heart into vinegar and hot pepper marinade. Other than preserving it, the meat didn't pick up any of the pickling flavors.

[Critter4321]

Ok here is the one I use 1 part water (well or non chlorinated works best)  to 2 parts vinegar in the vinegar and water add

 

 1 tablespoon muster seed

 3-4 chilly peppers

 3-4 bay leaves

 1 clove of garlic crushed

 1 tablespoon dried onion

 1 teaspoon salt

 1 tablespoon crushed pepper

 

 

bring all ingredients to a hard boil pour into a glass jar and add your sliced boiled hearts (I cut mine in about 1/4'' thick slices)

 

I use this recipe in a gallon glass jar you might need to split it down to what size jar you have I also start checking them every couple days as they tend to get strong after a while in the pickle juice   

Edited January 26, 2016 by Critter4321

[RoadKill44]

How bit is 1 part. (a quart?) and 2 parts (2 quarts?). I need to cut it down for one boiled heart. certainly don't need a gallon jar.

[Otto]

I've kept the hearts and ate them, delicious! I have been tempted to try the liver too, but just can't bring myself to that. I barely like beef liver, but Pâté is great!

[Critter4321]

sorry about that just mix 2/3 vinegar to 1/3 water 

[Paula]

I keep the hearts, would like to keep the livers for dog treats. Maybe even tongue for dogs.

[grampy]

My zombie BIL, likes the brains. ????

[wolc123]

I keep the hearts from all of them for pickling (hopefully my wife will do a couple for me for valentines day again this year).  I keep the livers from 1-1/2  and 1/2 year old deer (those tender morsels are the best, fried medium rare, with olive oil and onions, a meal fit for a king, better even than tenderloins).  The livers from older deer are tough and not worth bringing out of the woods.  My mother in law even cooked up some "Adirondack mountain oysters" from a 4-1/2 + year old buck, a couple Thanksgivings ago, and they were ok. If you give that a try, I would recommend slitting them with a knife a bit before frying to reduce the mess in the frying pan when they "explode".            

[518BowSlayer]

love the heart, not the liver

[RoadKill44]

If any daring soles out there want to try venison liver here is how I prepare it.

 

Liver is sliced across its width, not lengthwise.

Slice the liver about 1/4 inch thick.

Flop the slices on a dinner plate with ample flour to coat both sides of each slice.

Let all slices rest on the flour as you get the frypan ready.

Put a large frypan on medium heat with two tablespoons of butter.

A cast iron skillet works best.

 

Important Note: Once in the frypan, you want to handle the liver as little as possible. Moving it, flopping it and flexing the meat will toughen it.  

 

Place the liver slices next to one another were you want them to stay.

Again don’t move them around and salt as desired.

Experience will tell you when they are ready to turn. About 2 minutes.

Turn them over only once, leaving them where they fall.

Some blood may rise through the top cooked side. This is ok.

Experience will tell you when they are ready to serve. About 2 minutes.

If too much blood surfaces, you might have to flip them again for a short time to seer the blood.

Liver should be cooked through. (Not red in the center)

 

A large frypan should hold about eight slices of liver.

Should you need to fry a second or third batch, scrape the pan a little and add two tablespoons of butter for each batch.

 

We usually fry onions with butter ahead of time in a separate smaller frypan.

Cook the onions browning them slightly.

Serve a teaspoon of fried onions in each liver slice.

 

Liver is often coupled with a side of fried sliced potatoes.

 

 

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Love heart and liver. Only difference in how we do it is fry in bacon grease instead of butter. 

Edited January 27, 2016 by Culvercreek hunt club

[Otto]

Thanks Roadkill, next young deer, I'm going to try it.

[blackradio]

I keep the heart usually. Slice it thin, cover in flour/pepper/salt/paprika and pan fry. I really enjoy it. I don't keep the liver but I should try it once.

[johnplav]

Heart gets trimmed up and pan fried as soon as possible.  Liver gets cooked up with bacon and onions for sandwiches.  Organ meat is best fresh, but isnt too bad frozen if its a young deer.  I havent experimented with any other organs; brains, kidneys, etc.

[RoadKill44]

Several years ago, a young hunter brought in the spleen instead of liver. Spleen is the same color and from the same general area but it's more gelatinous and definitely not liver.

 

The kid took a kind ribbing and now he knows the difference.  

 

On the left are heart and liver. The right shows the smaller spleen.

Size, shape and skin gloss is one way to tell. Also the liver is attached to the diaphragm. In left hand photo the attachment would have been on the upper right opposite the feathered edge. 

Edited January 27, 2016 by RoadKill44

[Critter4321]

might sound good but nope still not eating liver!!

[genesee_mohican]

I pickle the heart. I wonder if you could make tripe like they do with cows.

 

[crappyice]

I was thinking of taking two or three livers and having liverwurst made. I think there's a guy up by rhinebeck that makes them-the smoke hays or something???

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[RoadKill44]

I was thinking of taking two or three livers and having liverwurst made. I think there's a guy up by rhinebeck that makes them-the smoke hays or something???

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I've been there and done that. Just be aware that you'll get three pounds of liverwurst for each pound of liver you take in. I wasn't paying attention to that ratio and the three livers I took in had me purchasing 14 pounds of liverwurst. Don't get me wrong. It was delicious, and kept well frozen. It was just a surprise when I picked it up and paid for it. I would do it again but with one liver at a time.

[crappyice]

Good advice roadkill. Thanks

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[NFA-ADK]

Fresh heart is always tasty when fried and fresh.  If I take it I cook it that night.  Liver I will skip on.

[Trial153]

If i am close to home i usually keep the heart...