Stuffed Back Strap How To

Craig Newnam of Fort Worth, TX wrote:

You had a show on stuffed back strap, but I did not see it. Could you post the recipe? 

Hello Craig,

Here is the Stuffed Venison BackStrap segment:

You can make some great products from wild game meats if you just think outside the box a little bit. I made a crown roast from a bone in backstrap once that was a big hit! Oftentimes, I inject my backstraps, marinate for a day and then grill them whole just like prime rib, slice medium rare and serve. Shayna Bane with Weston Brands has some great wild game recipes that you may want to check out as well: Blog.WestonProducts.com.

Thanks Craig and have a great hunting season.

Brad Lockwood

How to Make Canadian Bacon from Venison Backstrap

Travis from Hancock, MD wrote in:

Watched your marination video. How do you make the Canadian bacon you mentioned in the video?


Hello Travis,

The process of injecting venison backstraps to make Canadian bacon is very similar to the video segments that you watched for making cured and smoked venison hams. Mix your brine and inject every inch all over the product. The muscle tissue will only hold so much liquid and the rest will run out. The only change that I typically make is to increase the salt content of the brine. Typically the brine for bacon contains more salt than that of a ham, however you can use the ham recipe as a base formula and just add some additional salt to give it that bacon flavor. I would recommend increasing the salt content of a standard ham brine by 4% and that should give you that salty flavor you've come to know and love in a bacon type product. Follow the brine directions for hams, smoke the product in the same fashion you normally would and you'll have a great product.

Thanks for the question and good luck! Let me know how it turns out!

Brad Lockwood

How to Make Low-Sodium Sausage

Greg wrote in:

I ordered the advanced game processing library & learned a lot. Is there a way to make sausages, summer sausages and the like with no sodium or very little sodium? Due to my health, I had to go to a no/low salt diet.


Hello Greg,

Have you ever heard of Nutra Salt?

I've used this product many times for low sodium recipes and it works very well. There are cooking recipes that allow you to use different fruit juices to increase salt flavor without increasing sodium drastically, but in meat products you can't do this because the acid from the fruits breaks the protein bind in the meat and your product will turn to mush. Take a look at the Nutra Salt product and I think you will find that it works very well for providing salt flavor without the high sodium content and it also comes with other various flavors that make it pretty interesting! The spicy Cajun works well in jerky products!

Good luck Greg and thanks for the question.

Brad Lockwood

How do you make Venison Bacon?

Dave from Elkridge, MD asked:

How do you make venison bacon? Any good procedures? Is it ground venison, pork shoulder and buck board bacon cure - pressed into a mold?

Thanks!


Hello Dave and thanks for the question.

Yes, you are correct. Venison bacon is made in the same fashion as turkey bacon, the meat can be ground to a couple different textures or plate sizes if you would like and mixed very well to extract as much protein as possible so the product binds together tightly when you press it into the pans.

There are three very important, key processing points that must be done properly to make the product work.

- I like to grind about 3/4 of the meat through the fine grinding plate twice and the other 1/4 through the coarse sausage plate to provide some larger pieces of meat for texture when eating the final product.

- Mixing: After the product is ground you will need to mix for a solid 5 minutes very vigorously to get as much protein extraction as possible. You want that meat batch to be as sticky as possible.

- Spray your pans with a non-stick spray and pack the meat in tightly with no air pockets.

During the grinding process, it's important to add your seasoning and non fat dry milk to the product as a binder, or if you can find it: sodium tripoly phosphate works very well. If you enjoy making these type of products, getting my Mastering Marination DVD would be a wise choice. In that DVD, we make a variety of product similar to restructured Bacon as well, I think you would really enjoy it.

Thanks and good luck with the product.

Brad Lockwood

What's the Process for Dry Cured Venison Hams?

Dave from Elkridge, MD asked:

I'm going to take a hind quarter of a deer and make a ham - bone in. With hogs, I salt them for 21 days, take them out and wash them, then use a sugar cane, red pepper & honey cure and let it hang at 38 degrees until ready.

Can I use this same procedure on a whole deer quarter, or do you suggest something else?

Hello Dave,

Old-fashioned dry-cured hams! Yes sir, you can process those venison hams in the same exact fashion but you'll find that the drying process will be a little shorter because of the moisture content difference between pork and venison. 

Pork contains a higher moisture content and takes longer to dry. If you really want to speed up the process, you can smoke those hams up to an internal temperature of 138°F and hold that temperature for 1 hour. Then remove that well-smoked ham from the smoker and hang in the cooler to finish the drying process. I like this step because it speeds up the drying time and adds that great smoked flavor.

Good luck this hunting season and thanks for the question.

Brad Lockwood

Bobcat / Cougar / Mountain Lion Recipes

Dave from Port Angeles, WA asked:

Do you have any good recipes or recommendations for Bobcat or Cougar? I can't seem to find many recipes, or people for that matter, that seem interested in eating these animals.

Hello Dave,

Mountain Lion and Cougar! Now that is a field I don't have a lot of experience in - but I have dabbled with it some. The meat is very lean, but it's also wet - a little like turkey, so it soaks up seasoning well. So be sure not to overdo it on the seasoning! Don't add that little extra that we often times tend to do. 

I've enjoyed the overall flavor of Mountain Lion, but the texture always seems to be tough and chewy - so I highly recommend marinating the meat and using a tenderizer to break the muscle fibers down so you can enjoy the eating experience. Just keep in mind not to over do it with the marinade because lion meat absorbs seasoning very well.

I hope this helps and let us know how it turns out!

Thanks,

Brad Lockwood

Soaking Wild Boar in Water

Dave from Elkridge, MD wrote:

Hi Brad,
Come this fall, we are fixing to go boar hunting to get a couple hogs in the 250lb range. Now we know that wild hogs are red meat.

Question is: How do I get the hogs to the right shade color of meat - like in a store? I have been told that you soak the hogs for a few days in pure ice water, changing water each day till you reach the color you want. Do you have any insight on this? 

Thanks, 

Dave


Hello Dave,

That's a crazy wild hog question! I've never been a big fan of soaking meat in water. I like to dry age and let the body moisture come out of the carcass for flavor reasons, rather than soak meat in water adding additional body moisture.

The only experience I've had soaking meat in cold water is when it's down in a cure brine. Rather than dry rub bacon, I make a brine and soak them for 6-7 days and then rinse and smoke. You get a more consistent product that way. Often times, pork bellies will have serious inconsistencies. Some are fat, some are lean, some are moist and some are dry on the surface. When you dry rub these bellies, each one seems to take the dry rub a little differently. With soaking in a brine, the moisture penetrates more consistently.

Why the concern about color? It won't affect the flavor. Soaking the meat in water for several days may change the flavor - it will certainly water log it. To answer your question: I would dry age and not soak in water. I would focus on the flavor rather than the color.

Good luck on your hunt and I hope these little tips help you!

Brad Lockwood

How Do I Make Dry Chipped Venison?

Dave from Elk Ridge, MD asked:

Wanting to make dried chipped venison, just like dried chipped beef you would buy in the store. Any idea how I would go about it? Remember the stuff in the store is paper-thin.

Hello Dave!

I have two words for you... Mastering Marination! This DVD that I have produced makes that exact product! I'll do my best to describe it here, but I still highly recommend that DVD as it will be much easier to follow.

The method I use follows: 

1. Inject and brine your venison ham with the bone in. I use Hi Mountain's BuckBoard Bacon brine, and cut it with some brown sugar to sweeten it up a bit. I have a specific pattern that I use to inject that covers each primary muscle inch by inch, top round, then bottom round and onto the sirloin tip. 

2. After injecting, I then create a 50/50 brine using the remaining brine and water, I cover the product and soak for 5-6 days. 

3. My next step is to pull the bone and seam the product into the individual muscles. 

4. This next step is rather fun! I macerate the surface of all the muscles. To do this, I take my knife and create a cube steak looking surface. This will help the product bind and knit together.

5. I then take a 50/50 blend of salt and sugar and gently sprinkle the surface of the meat, like seasoning a steak. 

6. Next, rub the surface of the meat vigorously with the palm of your hand until you see the white protein beginning to rise to the surface. The surface will begin to get a paste feeling to it - this protein will bind the product when smoking. 

7. Place the sections of meat back together and press into a cotton ham sock. I pack it as tightly as I can, pressing out as many air pockets as possible. Then I take cotton butcher twine and tie strings around it like I'm preparing a rump roast. This process will really hold the product together tightly. 

8. Now you're ready to smoke. I usually smoke for 2 hours and then begin increasing the house temperature until I reach an internal temperature of 156F, which is fully cooked. 

9. Cool the product, remove the netting, and chip very thin using a Weston Electric Meat Slicer.


This is not an easy product to make, so I would highly recommend getting the Mastering Marination DVD before taking a stab at it. The DVD does a great job showing this step by step process. Don't mess up an entire hind quarter trying it. Spend the few bucks and get the DVD  - you'll be happy you did.

Good luck and thanks for the great question!

Brad Lockwood, Love of the Hunt TV host

Safe Consumption of Non-Recovered Game

Rodney from St. Louis, MO asked:

This is a question that I have been unable to find anyone who could answer and I hope you can...When hunting in cold or warm weather, what is the time limit for safe human consumption of an animal that has been shot and not found? I hope that you have an answer for me.


Rodney,

This is a very good question and I'm glad you asked. Often times you will hear hunters on TV saying they made a less than perfect shot so they decided to let the animal go overnight, meaning 8-10, sometimes even 12 hours later. Here is the issue: I have made many "less than perfect shots" and had animals expire very quickly. I have also made shots that looked to me to be perfect and never recovered the animal at ALL!

I can only provide you with what the USDA has given to us in the meat processing industry. Their information says that you have 2 hours to get the hide and internal organs out of the animal. 

Is this reasonable in a hunting condition? Probably not. 

Therefore, I would simply say this: Recover the animal as quickly as possible and remove the internal organs and hide as quickly as possible. No matter if I BELIEVE I have made a perfect shot or less than perfect shot, I always give the animal 45 minutes to an hour to expire and then I go the first 100 yards and see what the blood trail is looking like. Give the animal and your meat the benefit of the doubt and go the first 100 yards to see what you have. If you have to back out and resume tracking the next day then so be it but you owe it to the animal and your meat to try and recover the animal as quickly as possible.

If you do get into a situation where you must leave the animal overnight and then you do in fact recover the animal, never save the inside tenders (fillets) as they lay next to the intestines and often times gas will be released from the stomach and intestines into this area. I always check between the hind legs for off color meat on the inside of the thighs so to speak. In the pelvis area, this meat will take on a green tint, If I see spoilage in this area I automatically assume I have lost my hind quarters. I would rather be safe than sick!

So in closing, I would say always give the animal the benefit of the doubt and try to recover the animal as quickly as possible. I have even recovered gut shot animals that went less than 100 yards and expired in less than 1 hour. If you do have to let the animal go overnight, do a complete inspection of the meat coloration before consuming. I hope this helps answer your question.

"The Meat Man"
Brad Lockwood

Transporting Wild Game Meat in Plastic Bags

Bruce from Phoenix, Arizona wrote in:

While watching your de-boning video, we noticed that after packing the meat in deer bags, you do not also cover them with plastic bags before you start transporting the meat.
Is there a reason for this? We were concerned about dust.


Thanks for the question Bruce.

Putting warm meat into plastic bags is not a good practice. After the body heat has evaporated and dissipated from the meat it's okay, but I would refrain from putting it in plastic while the carcass is still warm. Warm meat in plastic bags will sour very quickly.

I know what you mean about the dust. The cotton bags will catch a lot of it and the rest can be trimmed off during final processing. It's much better to lose a little than potentially lose it all.

Good luck this fall!


"The Meat Man"
Brad Lockwood  

What to do with Bloodshot Meat?

Jeff from Clio, MI asked:

I noticed that in your DVDs, the deer and cow elk appeared to be pen raised, as they had no apparent injuries. Therefore, you haven't had a chance to talk about how to deal with bloodshot meat or damaged tissue. What do you do in that case?

Thanks Brad! I am a real fan of yours as well as Outdoor Edge Knives, as I have most they make.


Hi Jeff!

You are correct, the deer we use for our videos are pen raised deer. They are head shot so we don't have the blood in the chest cavity when filming field dressing. This way, the chest is clean and everyone can see the organs whole and intact. It makes it easier to explain the field dressing process this way. As far as blood shot meat, you only have one choice and that's throw it away. Often times if I'm shooting a deer with a gun, I will hold back off the shoulder on the rib cage just to avoid blowing up so much meat in the shoulders. Be careful not to shoot too far back! Ya know what happens then!

Thank you for your question and your support!

"The Meat Man"
Brad Lockwood  

Trimming Fat & Sinew from Wild Game Before Grinding

Jeff from Clio, MI wrote:

Hi Brad, 

I have all of your DVDs and have learned a lot about things that I thought I knew well. 

I was wondering: It seems as though, when trimming sinew before grinding, you can't trim all of the sinew away from the muscle. Does that end up in the ground meat? Does the grinder separate the meat from waste? Does the waste wrap around the auger of the grinder or does it all end up in the ground meat? 


Thanks for the compliments Jeff and I'm glad you enjoyed the DVDs!

We have a saying in the meat industry: "Trim the heavy." What this means is: trim the heavy gristle; if it's visible and large, we trim it. If not, you are exactly correct! The grinder blade will catch it and it will not make it into your product. I've had my Weston Grinder blades catch bones, bullets, BB's and even broad heads. The important thing here is to let your grinder work and perform the way it was designed to. If you notice the grinder slowing down and not grinding as fast, then stop and clean the gristle and connective tissue out of the head. Never ever force feed your grinder; if it's slowing down and binding up, take the head apart and find out why. If the problem continues, then it's time for new plates and knives.

Thanks for the question and we appreciate your support!

"The Meat Man"
Brad Lockwood  

Making The Most Out Of Wild Turkey

Bob from Eau Claire, WI wrote:

I will be hunting for my first turkey this year. In your turkey jerky video, you say something I've been hearing a lot: That people don't like wild turkey. You also say there are 101 ways to prepare it.

Can you share some other ways you like it?


Wild turkeys are very good eating Bob! It doesn't matter if you make jerky, sausage, or marinate them; they can be great table fair! Here's my recommendation...

Check out a couple of these Love of the Hunt Butcher Block videos on processing wild turkey products:
Soy Ginger Turkey Breasts
Turkey Sausage
Turkey Jerky

If you need more information, see my Mastering Marination DVD. This DVD has segments on marinating turkey, upland game birds, waterfowl, fish and much more.

The only real issue I've ever experienced with wild turkeys is that they tend to get dry, so baking them in the traditional "Butterball" fashion doesn't work well. You have to improvise a little to get a good product. Marinating is a great method for preparing wild turkeys and Hi Mountain Seasonings have a great injectable marinade just for turkeys.

If you're going to bake the breast, I always use a Reynolds Oven Bag to help hold in the moisture as much as possible during smoking or baking. You can purchase these bags at any grocery store.

Be sure to watch those videos I recommended and I'm sure you will come up with some great ideas when you bag your bird this spring!

Good luck!

"The Meat Man"
Brad Lockwood

Beginning Processing

Darrel from Alvin, Texas asked:
 
I am a new hunter at 52 years old and want to process my own game - So far just whitetail and hog. Please help!


Darrel,

Thanks for the question. When answering questions I generally try to refrain from talking about specific products and selling items to people - but in this case I have no choice.

The best thing to do is purchase the Deer and Big Game Processing DVD, available for purchase by clicking here. I created this DVD for this exact reason. This DVD will take you step by step, with exact detail and extreme close ups on the proper field dressing techniques of a trophy animal and a meat animal. It then covers step by step the proper skinning of a meat animal, as well as preparing a trophy animal for a taxidermy mount. It covers proper aging of the carcass and then spends a great deal of time de-boning and sectioning all the primary muscles from each quarter of the animal and explaining the various cuts available from each section of meat. It also covers basic grinding and packaging.

This DVD is a must for every hunter no matter if you've been processing deer your entire life or just starting. I promise there are tips and techniques in this DVD for every hunter. If you really want to get head over heals into it, look at the Advanced Game Processing Library that has all 4 titles in it. Elk, Sausage, Jerky and the Deer Processing DVD.

Take my advice here, a little knowledge can go a long, long way when it comes to game processing. It's not rocket science but a few basic tips and techniques can really make your job much easier and more enjoyable.

"The Meat Man"
Brad Lockwood

How to Prepare Heart?

Clint from Similkameen, British Columbia wrote:   

Hey Brad, 

I have been hunting since my grandpa took me out when I was three. He made some spectacular liver when I got my first moose. He used onions, garlic, and a bunch of other ingredients that I do not remember (I was five). He passed away when I was eight, and my grandma does not know his recipe for spectacular heart and liver. 

Now that I am older and have a family of my own, I was wanting a new way to cook liver and heart up. I do the old style "flour-salt-pepper" and the "garlic butter" style, but I wanted to know if you knew some spectacular way to cook up liver and heart. 

Clint,

I can advise you on heart, but liver has never been one of my favorites!

I always prepare heart fresh and in a hot skillet with pure butter! Brown and serve it with caramelized onions and peppers! I love smoked venison heart! It's been tops on my list for a Butcher Block video segment! I smoke mine in a Bradley Smoker, then thin slice it with a Weston Meat Slicer and add a little Hi Mountain Trail Dust seasoning, and it's perfect!

Thanks for the question, and I wish I had some fancy reply for you, but sometimes simple is best!

Brad Lockwood
Outdoor Edge's LOH TV

Goose Marinades

Megan from Drayton Valley, Alberta asked: 
Do you have any videos or recipes on goose marinades? 

Megan,

We sure do! Check out our Mastering Marination DVD on The Hunter's Butcher Shop website! Great DVD with tips and techniques for processing geese and ducks! Check it out!

"The Meat Man"
Brad Lockwood
Outdoor Edge's LOH TV

How to Can Venison

Jill from Lodgepole NE asked:
Just watched an episode where you were canning venison. I was wondering just how much water is being placed in the jars with the venison, beef boullion and dried onions? The cans were cooked on high till steam came out then turned to low for how long? Where can you find the CanCooker that was used in this episode too?

Jill,

Thanks for the question and just so you know, I had to call in the real expert on this one! My Wife! Here are her answers: Always leave 1" of space at the top of the jar and fill it with water. Use the handle of your spoon to to make holes for the water to soak down into the meat. After the CanCooker starts to steam, cook for 90 minutes. Make sure all your lids are boiled and the tops of the jars are clean with no chips. If the jar lids do not pop inward and seal, refrigerate and eat the meat as you normally would. As long as the jars seal, you can store your canned venison for a year or more just as you would any store purchased canned product. The CanCooker is available on The Hunter's Butcher Shop website so check it out! Great product!

"The Meat Man"
Brad Lockwood
Outdoor Edge's LOH TV

Eating Fresh Game Right After a Hunt

Michael from Courtice, Ontario, CA wrote:

Brad,

My question is about eating freshly killed game meat. I watch a lot of hunting shows on Canada's "Wild TV" and I see guys get so excited after they kill a deer/elk/moose, etc. and they say "We'll have those back-straps on the BBQ tonight back at the camp." I don't know a lot about meat preparation and the aging process. But I would have thought that eating a freshly harvested game meat (same day) would not be the best way to enjoy the meat.

So, would it not be better to dry age the meat 3 or 4 days before cooking it? Or, can you get the same tasting meat from a fresh kill as you would if you dry age it? I am a brand new hunter, in fact I just took Ontario's mandatory "Hunter Safety Course" a few weeks ago and I was surprised that they don't discuss safe preparation/consumption of game meat - other than field dressing/transporting back to camp and keeping it cool as soon as possible after harvesting the animal.

So, before I get out there and harvest my first animal, I would like to know how best to enjoy a fresh kill.

Very best regards!

Michael,

You are correct! Aging meat properly is the best way to truly enjoy wild game meats! Be sure to look around on our blog page as there are several great questions and replies under the aging meat link.

Yes, you are correct and I have done it many times myself! Harvest an animal and just for tradition cook up some fresh meat for a celebration. It's more tradition than enjoyment but anytime you can eat what you harvest it's all good! To properly explain how to process meat and perform proper field dressing would take more typing than I can do!

My best advice here would be our Deer & Big Game Processing DVD, which deals with field dressing a trophy animal & a meat animal, skinning and caping your trophy, aging your animal and then deboning all the quarters of the animal and defining all the cuts from each and every primary muscle in the animal. This DVD is a must have for every hunter - Beginner to Advanced. It's used by many states here in the USA during the hunter's safety classes to instruct students on proper field dressing.

I would check it out and good luck in your new adventure!

"The Meat Man"
Brad Lockwood
Outdoor Edge's LOH TV

Which tastes better: Moose or Deer?

Jason from Columbus, NC asked

My wife's family is from Maine - well known for lobster and moose. We were watching your show when you were making moose steaks in the smoker and were curious: How much of a difference is there between moose and deer, and which one do you prefer?

Oh my Jason - no question about it: moose is the best wild game meat I've ever tasted! Doe antelope is a very close second. Go get yourself one and enjoy!

Brad Lockwood
Outdoor Edge's LOH TV

Do you remove glands when processing wild game?

Steve from Chandler, AZ asked:

My buddy and I have processed four mule deer on our own now. He was always taught to take out some type of gland in the rear hind quarters. I have your processing videos and have not seen you do this. Do you know anything about this gland and is it necessary to take it out? It doesn't look very appetizing! Thanks for your help.

Steve,

I always remove all the glands that I find in my game meats. There's danger from a health perspective plus they do have a very unappetizing look to them! So yes I remove all the glands I find in my game meats. Good luck this season!

Brad Lockwood, Love of the Hunt TV
"The Meat Man"