Good venison/game cookbook?

Hi all,
My husband just bagged his first deer up in Wisconsin yesterday (in a non CWD area, thankfully), and I'm excited to butcher and cook it (he quartered it, but is leaving the intricate work up to me, since even he admits I'm better at that kind of stuff). I did find plenty of info out there on the net, but I do love actual books, so I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for a good venison or more general game cookbook that also covered the best way to butcher the animal (or even two books--one for recipes and one for dressing, butchering, etc.).
Now I just need to find time in my schedule to go hunting myself and get my own deer!
And my am I looking forward to that deer liver. Never had it before, but heard it's very delicate. He didn't know to keep the heart though--too bad. (I'm the variety meats lover in the family, not him.)
Thanks for any cookbook/butchering book reviews!
Anna

Ted Nugent's "Kill It and Grill It" might be an option. Reviews are great, and it includes info on everything from dressing the game right through to cooking it, as opposed to some game books that assume you're buying your venison at the store.

When I needed help to butcher a deer, I found youtube quite helpful.

My favorite hunt and fishing family just posted their annual moose butchering video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCnuMLmTdR0

Cathy2 wrote:When I needed help to butcher a deer, I found youtube quite helpful.

My favorite hunt and fishing family just posted their annual moose butchering video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCnuMLmTdR0

I watch these guys regularly and I was excited to see this series of informative and interesting videos because it feels like ~50% of their videos are about trips to Costco.

I've never had moose (or don't remember having had it). For those who know, how different does it taste from beef?

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:\I've never had moose (or don't remember having had it). For those who know, how different does it taste from beef=R=

Hard to tell the dif between moose and squirrel.

Jazzfood wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:I've never had moose (or don't remember having had it). For those who know, how different does it taste from beef

=R=

Hard to tell the dif between moose and squirrel.

Lol. Thanks, Natasha!

Hi,

I regularly watch a program on Youtube called 'This Alaska Life.' It features a family who fish and hunt to bring protein to the table.

They describe moose meat as lean beef. If they make any sausage, they mix in pork or pork fat. They also highlighted you cannot buy moose, though someone can gift you.

It is interesting their reactions to Costco's pricing for meat and fish. They are very impressed by their savings.

Regards,
Cathy2

I have always processed the game I have shot over the decades but Moose has not been one of the species.
Elk and venison are very fat free and there are only two ways of cooking unless you grind and make burgers where the addition of fat is required.
I never have sausage made as that just adds lots of fat, salt and preservatives.
My hunting buddy always had Perkins in Crivitz where I mostly hunted make a double garlic sausage which I really could not tell from most commercial brands.
For Elk/Venison tenderloin/steaks, seared rare , served piping hot is the only way for those cuts. A splash of Dale's or make your own from grated ginger and shoyu adds salt.
The other cuts require long slow moisture brazing.
There is definite taste difference between venison from Northern Wisconsin/ Upper Michigan and venison from South Eastern Wisconsin. Up North, the deer feed on browse that could contain anything they can reach standing on their hind legs.
In Kenosha county the deer prepare for the Winter on corn, soybeans. A much milder taste.
Squirrel does not taste like anything other than wild turkey legs/wings as they both eat acorns.
Squirrel is very hard to clean as the skin is very tough. Cook either like fried chicken or long and slow. For wild turkey the breast can be cooked like a domestic turkey and the leg/thigh and wings crock potted. Add sour cream at the end if desired.
Bear is another story , probably the best wild game of the non-flying species.
It must be well done but because of the high fat content, it's like Prime Roast Beef.
So there you have it in a 'nutshell' so to speak for cooking four legged species found in Wisconsin.
-Richard

When you worked with bear, did you eat the hand (claws)? In Chinese culture it is considered a delicacy.

Regards,
Cathy2

We did not eat the claws/hands or any internal organs.
The paws/claws and head are left attached to the hide for a rug.
A form replaces the actual skull in a bear rug.
The actual skull is left for maggots to clean and then teated with bleach.
Bears have parasites and the meat must be 175F but the high fat content makes the meat palatable.
The gall is discarded at the site of gutting. It's worth a lot of money on the Black Market.
"Wisconsin law prohibits the sale, purchase, or possession of bear gallbladders, making it illegal to possess any part of a bear, except for the hide that includes the claws, head, and teeth, according to Wisconsin statutes".
-Richard