Southeast Arkansas is the best place in Arkansas to hunt the big bucks.Even though I grew up in Lake Village, Arkansas, I was unaware of this fact up until three weeks ago when I went on a conservation hunt. What makes this realization even more astounding is the fact that my father, Paul Michael, owned a hunting camp called Georgetown that practiced wildlife management. I went all the time for social purposes; the best meals are made around a campfire but I never went on a hunt.
Three weeks ago, I went on Georgia Pellegrini s Texas Big GameAdventure Getaway. I wasn’t sure I would bite the literal bullet and hunt. I went through all the motions hunter’s safety, bought my hunting license, sighted in my rifle, and practiced – I was actually a good shot! Surrounded by a group of like-minded, supportive women, I decided that yes! I can do it! As Georgia says, in hunting, I learned to pay the karmic price of my meal.
We learned about wildlife management, foraging edible plants, tracking animals, falconry, and, yes, processing and cooking your deer. While I didn’t get my deer that weekend, I went back to my roots and hunted in SoutheastArkansas the very next weekend. My patient brother-in-law took me. We woke up early. Shooting first light. I harvested a doe.
I insisted on processing the deer. Here’s what I learned. You may be wondering what this has to do with the recipe, but it is VERY important for the flavor of your dish. Full disclosure, if you are a vegan,vegetarian or pescatarian
you will probably be disgusted beyond this point (if you haven’t already been.)
- In Texas, our deer was aged. Mine was not. When you harvest a deer you must, must, must get as much blood out as possible. I recommend aging it if you can.
- I did not have a way to age my deer in Downtown Little Rock. First, I gave the meat an ice bath for about 12 hours, changing out the water and ice about every four hours. Apparently, that was not enough. Also, Georgia warned me not to do the ice bath for too long because I could “waterlog” the meat.
- My good friend told me to truly remove the gaminess, soak the meat in milk, preferably buttermilk. I did this for about another four hours.
While I cannot tell you the best method (aging, ice bath, buttermilk), I do know you must do this before you proceed.
Sixty pounds of meat later, we’ve tried tons of different recipes and preparation methods. I ground about 20 pounds of the meat, and have been trying a lot of recipes involving ground venison. This has been our favorite.
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 cup minced onion
- 1 cup minced carrot
- 1 cup minced celery
- 3 pounds ground venison
- 2 cups of sliced baby bella mushrooms
- 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
- 1 cup of broth (venison, beef or chicken)
- 1 cup of white wine
- 1 cup of milk or buttermilk
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- Worcestershire sauce to taste
- Pasta (penne) or sub for brown rice or quinoa
- Grated Romano and/or Parmesan cheese for garnish
Instructions
- Melt butter over medium-high heat in a big heavy pot. You will not need a lid.
- Add the onion, celery and carrots and cook gently, constantly stirring. Sprinkle with salt as they cook and do not over cook. They do not need to be browned.
- Stir in the chopped mushrooms, splash of water and tomato paste and allow everything to cook for 3 to 4 minutes while constantly stirring.
- When the mixture turns from bright red to a burgundy, add the ground meat, mushrooms and broth. Reduce from to a medium-low heat and allow to simmer, stirring from every once in a while. Continue until the liquid mostly evaporates.
- Add the white wine and repeat the process. This is a great excuse to open and drink a bottle of white wine. Continue until the liquid mostly evaporates.
- Begin to cook your penne, rice or quinoa. You should probably know how to cook these three things. If you don’t... Google it, or something.
- Add the milk, nutmeg and black pepper and stir well. Bring to a simmer and add salt to taste. Let this cook until the liquid evaporates and you are happy with the consistency.
- Once the sauce is thick, pour it over your pasta, rice or quinoa. Toss to combine, if desired. I served it family style in a large pasta bowl.
- Grate the cheese over the top and serve.
- Enjoy!
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Elizabeth (Lizzie) was born and raised in the Delta, then left “the most southern place on Earth” for Villanova University, near Philadelphia. She then returned home to Arkansas and the family business, the Paul Michael Company. She now work at Arkansas’s best ad agency, CJRW, where she works in the digital department as the director of content and social strategy. In her free time, she plays tennis, cooks and constantly redecorates. She grew up in a big hunting family but had never hunted herself – until now. Her new found love of the hunt is inspired by wildlife management and conservation efforts.
Snapchat: lizzymmichael
I’m in Northwest Arkansas and my husband has been hunting here just about his whole life (except for the stint in the military). He got a beautiful 8 point last year and put 90 lbs of venison in our freezer. I like to use buttermilk as I feel it helps with getting rid of the “gamy” flavor.
I applaud you for going out and getting your own food – and for processing it. Not a lot of people know or understand (or want to know) where their food comes from. SO important. I love this post- and by the way, I am totally going to make this recipe. 🙂
I miss getting to have venison since my dad is deceased. My duck hunting hubs has never had an interest in deer hunting. Looks like I need to take up the sport:)
Lizzie, this was a treat to read, especially “google it or something”! I just laughed!
I was surprised at the ingredients, and wonder: Does the venison have to be ground? Can it be shredded, instead? (Hate to clean the grinder for one recipe…)
Yay, for the patient brother-in-law!