Deer meat

“ The soiled and blood-stained garments of the half-score figures gathered around the cheerful, crackling fire, in attitudes of careless ease, for the most part with pipe in mouth, the half-picked bones and fragments of meat scattered profusely here and there, telling of a hearty meal just passed by. The horses, rudely hoppled, grazing eagerly hard-by, their sides still wet with sweat; the plentiful supply of rudely-butchered meat that hung suspended from the trees around, mostly of buffalo and deer, all told plainly that this was the bivouac of hunters, resting after a successful day’s chase. ”

“ The dried meat was generally cooked by roasting in hot embers, and then beaten to soften it before being eaten.
A young hunter never ate any of the first deer he killed, as he believed that if he did so he would never succeed in killing another. ”

“ The flesh of game, with the exception of wild duck and wild geese, is tender, contains less fat than poultry, is of fine though strong flavor, and easy of digestion. Game meat is usually of dark color, partridge and quail being exceptions, and is usually cooked rare. Venison, the flesh of deer, is short-fibred, dark-colored, highly savored, tender, and easy of digestion; being highly savored, it often disagrees with those of weak digestion. ”

“ At their first halt after killing a deer, they cut the meat into pieces two or three inches square, transfix them with a long stick, and carry the stick upon their shoulder, every now and then pulling off a piece and eating it as they go along. In this manner the flesh of a deer vanishes in a wonderfully short time. Very little meat is preserved, the Ahts generally eating it as soon as the animal is killed. ”

“ Certain parts of the first deer killed must be eaten raw, others discarded, and others must be eaten cooked. The dogs must not be allowed to taste of the flesh, and not until an abundance has been obtained must they be allowed to gnaw at the leg bones, lest the guardian spirit of the deer be offended and refuse to send further supplies. If by some misfortune the dogs get at the meat, a piece of the offending dog’s tail is cut off or his ear is cropped to allow a flow of blood. ”

“ Nearly all the meat food consumed in the United States is derived from cattle, sheep, and swine. Goat flesh is eaten only to a limited extent and horse meat scarcely at all, and the only other meats of importance are those of [12] wild animals. The principal wild animals used for food are the deer, bear, rabbit, and squirrel. Many other wild animals, however, are eaten and in some cases highly prized. In this manual only the principal meat foods both of domesticated and wild animals will be mentioned. ”

“ The flesh-meats they usually eat are the buffalo, the deer, the bear, and the dog: they eat of all kind of water-fowl and fish; but they have no other way of dressing their meat but by roasting or boiling. The following is their manner of roasting their meat when they are in the fields hunting: they plant a stake in the ground sloping towards the fire, and on the point of this stake they spit their meat, which they turn from time to time. To preserve what they do not use, they cut it into thin pieces, which they dry, or rather half-roast, upon a grate made of canes placed cross-ways. ”

“ The coffee and sugar promise to hold out. When William can no longer serve “bull gravy” with his fried meat I shall have many regrets, but they are swamped by the probabilities of a tobacco famine, which is imminent. We get deer every day, but to one not used to a strictly meat diet it begins to pall. The Indian hunter takes the stomach of a deer, fills it with meat, and deposits it under the coals. We roast it in slices and chunks, but I like it better when “jerked” brown, as it then affords somewhat more mystery to a taste already jaded with venison. ”

“ In the course of the summer, when the animals are easily hunted, and there is water transport everywhere, the more industrious families usually bring to their Fort a bale of "dried meat," consisting of the fleshy parts of the deer cut into large slices and dried in the sun, with a bladder or two containing fat ”

“ It is best at the season when the deer are fat and juicy, from having plenty of wild berries to feed on. I do not consider winter-venison worth eating, when the meat is poor and hard, and affords no gravy, and also is black from being kept too long. When venison is fresh and in good order it yields a fine soup, allowing a small quart of water to each pound of meat. When it has boiled well, and been skimmed, put in some small dumplings made of flour and minced suet, or drippings. ”

“ Of course Faye has shot other deer, and mountain sheep also, since we have been here, but this was the first he had killed when alone.
Of all the large game we have ever had—buffalo, antelope, black-tail deer, white-tail deer—the mountain sheep is the most delicious. The meat is very tender and juicy and exceedingly rich in flavor. ”

“ By proper cooking, however, much of this flavor, if it happens to be a disagreeable one, can be driven off.
The general composition of the flesh of various kinds of game does not differ greatly from that of similar domestic animals or birds. For instance, the flesh of bear is similar in its composition to that of fat beef, as bear is one of the wild animals that is very fat. Venison, or the meat obtained from deer, contains much less fat, and its composition resembles closely that of very lean beef. Rabbits and most of the wild birds are quite lean ”

“ The flesh of the deer forms an agreeable change from our salt provisions. Venison is often quite plenty. From the hare and partridge our cook serves a delicious pot-pie. The flesh of the moose and bear are very good. Were it not for the unprepossessing appearance of the latter, his flesh would be esteemed before most wild meat. The flesh of a young black bear a year old, if fat, is not easily distinguished, when cooked, from a good pork spare rib. ”

“ To begin with, the country is ill-adapted to the raising of deer, as it is mostly made up of lake and swamp; and as a further reason, the demand for venison here would be small, since the Russian orthodox church prohibits meat for quite half the year. ”

“ The wild hog, the tapir, and deer supply most of the meat, which is cured in the same way as fish: some cutting the meat in strips, and curing it on the buccan, or grate of sticks, while others prefer the barbecue method which is to smoke-dry the whole animal. ”

“ Now, when the bill of fare offers such tempting viands as buffalo beef, venison, mountain mutton, turkey, grouse, wildfowl, hares, rabbits, beaver and their tails, &c., &c., the station assigned to "dog" as No. 2 in the list can be well appreciated—No. 1, in delicacy of flavour, richness of meat, and other good qualities, being the flesh of panthers, which surpasses every other, and all put together.
"Painter meat can't 'shine' with this," says a hunter, to express the delicious flavour of an extraordinary cut of "tender loin," or delicate fleece. ”

“ Nice lard is much better than butter for basting roasted meats, or for frying. To choose butchers’ meat, you must see that the fat is not yellow, and that the lean parts are of a fine close grain, a lively colour, and will feel tender when pinched. Poultry should be well covered with white fat; if the bottom of the breast bone be gristly, it is young, but if it be a hard bone, it is an old one. Fish are judged by the liveliness of their eyes, and bright red of their gills. Dredge every thing with flour before it is put on to boil, and be sure to add salt to the water. ”

“ The lean of good fresh beef is of a bright red color, a fine close grain, and feels tender to the touch on pinching it between your thumb and finger. The fat is firm and very nearly white. The suet about the kidney, firm and quite white. If, on the contrary, the lean is coarse, tough, and of a dull color, and the fat scanty, yellow, and moist, do not buy that meat for any purpose. The same rules will apply to mutton. If the weather is so cold that the meat is frozen, thaw it by lying it all night or early in the morning in a tub of cold water. ”

“ We breed and fatten a large number of pigs on the clearings round the shanty. These we butcher in batches of six or eight, as required, and turn into salt pork, bacon, and ham. We have occasionally sent a cask or two of pork, some flitches or hams, to market; but as a rule we consume our pigs on the farm. Pig-meat is most reliable as a staple. One does not tire of it so utterly as one does of either mutton or beef, if one of these be the invariable daily food.
Beef we rarely see in our shanty. The steers we breed are too valuable to be used by ourselves; they have to go to market. ”

“ But neither beef nor mutton require to be so well done as pork, lamb, and veal.—Pork, in particular, requires to be thoroughly done. It must be basted with salt and water; and the skin or rind of the leg, loin, and spare-rib, must be scored, with a sharp knife, after it has been some time at the fire, to make it eat the better. Geese, pigs, and young pork, require a brisk fire, and should be turned quickly.
Great care should be taken in spitting the meat, that the prime part of the joint be not injured:—to balance it on the spit, cook-holds and loaded skewers are very handy. ”

“ If the animal’s age is less than 17 to 18 months, the properly prepared cooked meat should be relatively tender. Yearlings just off the cow with perhaps a short period on grass, weighing 400 to 600 pounds, will produce meat low in fat. This meat will be less flavorful than meat from grain-fed animals but should be acceptably tender. Many persons who slaughter on the farm expect the meat from an 800-pound forage-fed steer to taste like U.S. Choice or Prime.
Meat Yield
Well-fed steers from most beef breeds yield a dressed carcass weighing approximately 60 percent of the animal’s live weight. ”

“ Cut up the rabbits, and if two, put the pieces into water sufficient to cover them; let it boil slowly, and take off all the scum; when no more rises, add two quarts of good stock (or soft water) , prepared of shin of beef and veal, or of knuckle of veal alone, or of trimmings of veal and two or three shanks of mutton: this stock must be already flavoured with onions or eschalots, white peppercorns, and mace; simmer gently till the meat is quite tender, and then put it by till next day. Take off all fat before you re-warm it ”

“ Milk, butter, and cheese in endless variety are derived chiefly from this group. More or less wild are the red deer, the fallow deer, and the roe deer. As game, the hare and rabbit; abroad, the bison, wild boar, bear, chamois, and kangaroo, are esteemed for food among civilized nations; but many other animals are eaten by half-civilized and savage peoples. All these are rich in nitrogen, fatty matters, and saline materials. ”

“ Procure from a freshly killed deer a fine leg of about five pounds weight; remove the noix, cut it into six steaks; pare and flatten them nicely. Put them on a plate to season with a good pinch of salt, a pinch of pepper, the third of a pinch of nutmeg, and one tablespoonful of oil. Roll them in well, and put them to broil for five minutes on each side. Dress on a hot dish, and spread a gill of maître-d’hôtel butter (No. 145) over; decorate the dish with a little watercress, and serve. ”

“ The first (being the second generation) during their growth had for their eatables bread of unbolted wheat meal and meat soups, thickened with such meal, and they had a great proportion of wild meat of animals, fowls and fishes, which were yet plentiful here at that time. These diets their children did not have during the time of their growth, excepting a meal of fresh wild meat sometimes. They had rye bread and pork and beef, preserved with salt. This meat was generally used for dinner, together with some potatoes, turnips, and other kinds of roots and vegetables. ”

“ Much of this trouble is owing to the fact that large shippers kill the Chickens, dry pick them or scald them, and the food that remains in the intestines ferments and taints the meat, with the result that the Chicken, when cooked, has an abominable taste.
When a Butcher is so situated that he can dress his own Chickens, and he would be fully justified in making all preparations in that direction, he ought to open, draw and wash out thoroughly every chicken as fast as it is killed, just as he would wash out Hogs, Calves or Sheep. ”

“ In plump young lamb and pork all cuts are tender. With veal, rib and loin are generally more tender than the rest of the carcass. The cheaper cuts of lamb, pork, and veal—that is, shoulder, breast, and shank meat—make good chops, roasts, pot roasts, and stews.
Learn the cuts of meat so you can name them when you see them. The best teacher is the reliable meat dealer. Arrange to do your marketing at the time of day when he can help you. ”

“ For this reason many butchers breed pigs, and let them find their living in their slaughter houses. Beware, therefore, good reader, of butcher pork.
We are told that in the great establishments in France for the rearing of chickens and fowls, that they are fed upon horse flesh, which they eat voraciously. If carnivorous feeding makes our pigs’ flesh poisonous, it is very probable that a like system of feeding will make our delicate chicken meat a curse rather than a blessing to invalids. We may feel pretty sure that the horse flesh is not of the most healthy kind or of the freshest quality. ”