Venison For Breakfast

Yesterday I came home to a package on my doorstep.

Left on my doorstep.

I opened it to find two hind legs and a back strap of a deer.  A friend who is a hunter had left it.

My first thought was “urgh!… more meat to cut up!”, but we love venison, so I was grateful.

It is always an interesting dilemma this time of year with with so much meat around:

Shall we be gluttons and eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner?

Should we make a big pot of chili?

Grind it up with some pork fat and make sausage?

Freeze it and pull out small portions at a time?

Or ~ all of the above?

The temperature has been in the high 20’s so I can leave it on our screened porch (in a cooler so my dog or cat can’t get at it) and slice off pieces as needed. If it stays cold, there will be no need to do anything else as it seems to be holding at that almost frozen, perfect for slicing, temperature.

Another friend had left us a bag of West Tisbury oysters so I feel flush with local protein.

So, this morning, we are eating oysters and venison for breakfast.

It may seem a bit heavy in the protein, but if I am really eating locally, most of the food we are gathering these days from local sources, is protein.

I do have a stock of beets, carrots, potatoes, and cabbage and my neighbors provide me with kale, but it’s really the protein that we get excited about.

I question myself:

Can I really serve only venison and oysters for breakfast?

Will anyone in my family comment?

I add some leftover veggies (non-local broccoli) and yams from last night’s dinner just to balance out the meal.

Not even, Oren (age 12) had a comment about this morning’s breakfast.  It was just as though this is common fare.

The back strap or tenderloin is the easiest cut to prepare and eat. I slice it thin and quick sear it in a pan with peanut oil (or bacon fat).  I have meticulously removed every sliver of sliver skin from my meat.  This removes the chewiness of the meat, but also the stronger “gamey” taste from it.

I eat venison so often that I have come to prefer the taste of venison over grass-fed beef.

So, let’s see ~ what’s for lunch?

Perhaps pork and sausage!