Venison Heart

[Paula]

I kept my heart, I will probably dredge it fry it. I kept the liver for the dogs. I got The tenderloins and back straps and the rest I got grind and I'm giving it to my friend that lost her job and then someone else that needs it. 

[wolc123]

47 minutes ago, Moho81 said:

When I forget a plastic bag I just toss the heart back in the cavity where it came from. Haven't had one pop out yet during transport back to the cabin. 

I tried that, but I had to manually drag that one down from near the top of an Adirondack mountain ridge.  Considerable twisting and rolling of the carcass was involved, resulting in the loss of the heart and liver.  

The doe had to have been at least 3.5 years old, so they probably would have been tough anyhow, based on how chewy a tenderloin was for breakfast the next morning.  

I retraced my drag path several times looking for them, but it was about half a mile of mostly wet brown leaves, so no luck finding them.  It wouldn’t have been a problem at home in wny, where I can usually drive a tractor or side by side right up to where I gut them.

[Steuben Jerry]

On 11/23/2021 at 10:35 PM, Steuben Jerry said:

I gave it a go, and like John, added some onion. And threw in a bay leaf for the visual. Do they add taste or are they just for decoration? I can’t taste them.

Update, I gave it most of a week. Freakin delicious! I’ll do this every year.

[Enigma]

Cut heart into 3 or 4 pieces and clean thoroughly. In a saucepan cover heart with water, add one beef bouillon cube and parboil until tender. Remove heart, saving the broth. Chill both overnight. Next day strain broth with a fine strainer to remove fat. Layer sliced heart and thin sliced raw onions in a jar. Add 1/4 tsp basil on top. Add equal parts broth and white vinegar to the jar to cover contents. Refrigerate and enjoy in 2 - 3 days. Simple and delicious. 

 

[Fletch]

So I came into 10 deer hearts, don’t ask I’m not telling lol. I am going to be pickling at least half. These are all good sized adults. what should I expect to get, a pint per heart? any extra tips. I am going to use Wolc’s Moms recipe with onion added I think. This needs to be super as some is going to the source and if it is a hit maybe the source continues which would be stellar!

How do I get ahold of Mike to trim the hearts as it specifies in the recipe?


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[New York Hillbilly]

16 minutes ago, Fletch said:

So I came into 10 deer hearts, don’t ask I’m not telling lol. I am going to be pickling at least half. These are all good sized adults. what should I expect to get, a pint per heart? any extra tips. I am going to use Wolc’s Moms recipe with onion added I think. This needs to be super as some is going to the source and if it is a hit maybe the source continues which would be stellar!

How do I get ahold of Mike to trim the hearts as it specifies in the recipe?


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I'm jealous! I made pickled heart this year and LOVE it! Grew up eating pickled beef and lamb tongue but never had heart pickled. I'm hooked!

Edited December 15, 2021 by New York Hillbilly

[Fletch]

Well 3 pints packed. We will see!



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[PraiseDiana]

I was ready to try the heart this year but in my excitement I left it in the gut pile

[wolc123]

On 12/16/2021 at 8:12 PM, Fletch said:

Well 3 pints packed. We will see!



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How did those turn out ?  I hope to get one or two more added to the Valentine’s day pot over the next 7 days.

[Fletch]

It was pretty good but I would use less sugar if I did again. We still like fried the best but a nice second option.


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[mlammerhirt]

@wolc......do you boil the heart for around an hr. Befpre pickeling? My buddy shot a nice buck last night so I saved the heart from the yote pile.

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[wolc123]

4 minutes ago, mlammerhirt said:

@wolc......do you boil the heart for around an hr. Befpre pickeling? My buddy shot a nice buck last night so I saved the heart from the yote pile.

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It looks like it was about an hour and 15 minutes per a recent  note that my wife must have added (see hand written recipe card on prior page).

I have (3) deer hearts in the freezer now and will keep trying for another, until 20 minutes past sunset tomorrow.  I also have a couple of beef tongues in the freezer that will go in the kettle.  
 

[mlammerhirt]

Ready to pickel tomorrow.....need to pick up the pickeling spice mix in the monring.

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[wolc123]

I secured a 4th deer heart tonight, so my wife should be good to go on Valentine’s Day.  

[suburbanfarmer]

2 hours ago, wolc123 said:

I secured a 4th deer heart tonight, so my wife should be good to go on Valentine’s Day.  

God willing, in 2022 I can save 10 deer heart for you between my friends and family hunts.

[wolc123]

3 hours ago, suburbanfarmer said:

God willing, in 2022 I can save 10 deer heart for you between my friends and family hunts.

Thanks, I appreciate your kind offer, but my wife usually has plenty, with 3 or four a year.  Unlike my grandmother and mother, my wife does the job of preparing them somewhat reluctantly, and is a little grossed out by it (especially the slicing up part and the skinning of the tongues).  
 

The beef tongues are actually my favorites, but they seem to gross her out more than the deer hearts.  
 

The Valentine’s Day cooking date works out well for our annual President’s day weekend ice fishing trip, up to her parent’s place, in the Adirondacks.  Her folks think the tongue is gross, so she keeps the hearts separate for them (they really like that).  Most of what I end up eating is the beef tongue (deer tongues are too small to mess with).  
 

We raised beef cattle when I was a kid, and the pickled hearts and tongues that my grandma and mom made were some of my fondest childhood memories.  From the time I started eating solid food, the pickled tongue has been my favorite.  
 

It’s funny you mention saving around 10.  One of my best friends, at my first job, after I graduated college, would save about that many for me every year.  He and his friends hunted deer with big drives down in the southern tier, where he had a camp. My mom never minded making that many for me. 

Edited January 2, 2022 by wolc123