Oh Deer

As you may know, I reside in the great state of Alabama. This means that we have plenty of wildlife and plenty of hunters. I, nor my husband, are hunters so when I want deer meat, I have to ask around. My friend Yano Serra came into my store last week and had fresh deer meat in a cooler in the back of his truck. He so generously gave me a whole ham that I in turn had my grandfather process for me. When Grampa brought it back the next day, I was ready to put it to good use.

I started by tenderizing it, or as I call it, "beating the crap out of it." I then dusted it with salt and pepper and got my skillet ready.

While I was waiting on the skillet to heat up, I stared some rice and minced some garlic.

In a sauce pan I sauteed my garlic in butter until soft.

My skillet was ready for the deer meat, so I threw it in there to brown on each side.

When my garlic was soft I added a can of diced tomatoes, red pepper flakes and oregano. I let that simmer until the meat was finished.

When all of the elements were ready I scooped some rice onto a plate, topped with the deer meat and poured the sauce on top. Talk about good!

Some people will tell you that you need to soak your deer meat in milk overnight to neutralize the "game" taste, but I like the way wild game tastes. You do have to tenderize deer meat very well in order for it to not be rubbery and tough.

If you have never tried deer meat, you need to. It is an acquired taste, but you at least have to give it a shot. If you can't find it anywhere, just ask around. I'm sure someones brothers, cousins, uncle knows a guy, that knows a guy that can get you some deer meat.