Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Farm & Home News

Deer season has once again rolled around in Arkansas and Nevada County. I would guess that a lot of vacation days have been taken in pursuit of this seasonal interest.

Since many deer hunters will bag a deer this year, I have listed a few recommendations taken from the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service fact sheet FSA 9001 Make the Most of Your Deer Kill.

Hind and fore shank  Use the shank for soups, stew and ground meat.

Round  Venison round steaks should be Swissed or braised unless they are tenderized or are from a young animal, in which case they may be broiled. The lower part of the round is suitable for pot roasting, simmering or grinding. If the leg of venison is small, you may roast it in one piece in an uncovered pan as you would a leg of lamb.

Shoulder or chuck  Use these cuts for pot roasting, corning or canning; or grind and use as ground venison or in mincemeat.

Rump  This is usually best if pot roasted. If from a tender young animal, rump makes a good uncovered oven roast. If it is roasted uncovered, baste it with bacon drippings or other fat. It may also be used for corning or canning.

Neck, flank and breast  The flank and breast contain a lot of meat. They are more palatable when ground for sausage, meat loaf, deer burgers or used for soup or a stew. The neck is tender after tendons are removed. The neck may be made into pot roasts or neck slices for stew, mincemeat or ground meat.

Sausage  Venison may be cured, dried and smoked, corned, canned or made into sausage. Use least tender cuts for sausage. Mix venison and fat pork (50 to 60 percent lean) in equal parts and season with six ounces of salt and one ounce of pepper for each 20 pounds of ground meat. Season to taste with rubbed sage. If the sausage is to be frozen, pack it unseasoned. Unseasoned sausage will keep fresh five or six months in the freezer whereas the frozen seasoned sausage will become flat and rancid after 30 to 45 days.

Many people will carry their deer to a meat processor and some will choose to do it themselves. I hope that the above information will be helpful to both the seasoned and beginner deer hunter.

If you are interested we would be more than happy to provide you with a copy of fact sheet FSA 9001 or any other Extension publication. Just stop by the Extension office in Prescott where we are open from 8:00 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, or you can call us at 887-2818.