From the look on his face, Pedro isn’t too hungry. He’s only eaten half his corn dog and a couple of forkfuls of his green beans. His juice box remains opened, and his daily portion of tater tots are stacked in a neat pyramid on his school-lunch tray.
Meanwhile, Napoleon is famished. His gaze darts from his conversation with Pedro to those uneaten spuds.
Pedro shakes his head.
Without hesitation, Napoleon grabs all the Tots in one hand and stuff them in his pocket for later.
I think we’ve all been there. Waste not, want not. I think we can all agree on that, but what about when it comes to a steaming whitetail gut pile? Have you … or anyone you know … said “you gonna eat that?” on the high hopes of scoring some extra meat for the freezer?
You’d be surprised at how many folks do, especially when it comes to the following gut-pile delicacies.
1. Heart
Many deer hunters do not let this go to waste, and for good reason. The heart from a 150-pound deer will weigh in at about 2.2 pounds and — cooked or pickled — venison heart is a good stand-alone meal with mashed potatoes and buttered carrots, or a fine base for thinly sliced sandwiches. No matter which venison heart recipe you choose, once a year indulgence is perfectly fine. I like mine with a sliced onion, cheddar cheese and a smear (or two) of fresh horseradish sauce. Pack that sandwich along with an apple, small bag of Fritos® and a Thermos-full of hot coffee, and you’ll be all set for another day in the swamp.
2. Liver
Venison liver isn’t as popular as heart, but its benefits are equal if not better. This well-known super food is rich in iron, thiamine, manganese, Vitamin A, C, B6, B12 and other things like phosphorus and selenium.
One serving of venison liver has just 195 calories and 5.7 grams of fat. However, it packs in 15 mg of iron and a whopping 30 grams of protein — that’s 60% of your daily requirement!
The downside is, well, it’s liver. If you didn’t grow up before 1980, chances are you never had a weekly dinner of “liver and onions” at home. Not the sweetest-smelling thing to come home to, but the acquired taste is something us older folks have come to enjoy.
And … one liver from an average-sized white-tailed deer will put nearly 6 pounds of meat on the table. That’s at least 24 portions of protein-packed food! Venison liver recipes are everywhere, and the common theme is don’t overcook it!
3. Kidneys
I’ve never eaten kidneys, but I do know my European ancestors ate these things raw. After seeing a recipe for fried breakfast scramble (featuring venison kidney), I’ll try them at least once.
As is the case with any organ meat, preparation time is critical. Soak them in cold water, salt brine or even buttermilk for at least a day. Drain as needed and re-soak. You must get the “googie stuff” out of it before taking them to the butcher block and trimming away all connective tissue, etc.
Once ready for cooking, cut the kidneys into bite-sized cubes. Fry on medium heat with onions, peppers, garlic, etc., and add to a bed of hashbrowns. An over-easy egg with some buttered toast points will seal the deal on a once-a-year deer-camp treat.
Two deer kidneys will yield just shy of 2 pounds of dinner meat.
4. Caul Fat
This menu option is the fourth and final one that I’ll use myself when processing a deer. If you have never utilized caul fat, it is the lacey “netting” that covers the deer’s intestines. You’ll see it immediately upon opening a deer’s cavity during the field-dressing process.
Granted, it’s kind of gross to see a web of fat that’s touching the intestines and saying, “Hmm, I’ll eat that,” but it’s not as bad as you think. In fact, it’s downright delectable if you retrieve it correctly.
First off, forget about trying this if the intestines are at all ruptured. This exercise should be limited to cleanly killed deer (lung shots with no stomach cavity damage). Carefully extract the webbing and save as much as possible. It’s extremely difficult to get the whole caul fat web out in one piece, but you don’t need it all to enjoy it’s benefits.
This delicate fat layer is ideal for wrapping roasts, large steaks and/or burgers. It is not the same as the thicky chalky fat you find on the backstrap or hams. It renders down quite nicely and adds a superb flavoring to large and dryer cuts.
5. Internal Fat
OK, it’s not exactly a delicacy, but shoot any Midwest deer, and you’ll find gobs of internal fat — from inside and around the guts to the hip flexors and pelvic tunnel. Field-dress a warm deer, and you’ll literally be able to scoop out handfuls of globby fat. Most folks leave it right there in the gut pile. I’ve don’t that hundreds of times, but not so much anymore. That’s because I discovered that deer fat (tallow) makes for dynamite suet cakes for my feathered friends. Watch here.
This past fall I shot a plump doe in October and saved all the inside tallow. It lasted me well into January. When my metal suet cages went empty, I’d just reach for the small ice-cream pail full of deer fat that was in my freezer. The chickadees, nuthatches and various woodpeckers absolutely loved it.
6. Testicles
I’ve never ate ’em, but a lot people I know swear by Rocky Mountain oysters, Meatball Sliders, Deer Plucks and a whole array of other terms to distract from what they are: testicles. I don’t have much to say on this topic other than if you find a good recipe for deer testicles, try it out and let me know if the hype is all they say it is. One thing is certain: venison testicles are a true super food. A 3-ounce serving has only 110 calories and 4 grams of fat, but delivers a whopping 18 grams of protein. I’m just assuming this is a once-a-year treat for most folks, so the fact that a serving has relatively high cholesterol levels (445 mg) shouldn’t be a concern.
Other Menu Items
Yes, we are living in modern times, and yes, most of us will never be inclined to eat all this stuff. However, our ancestors didn’t have that option. They utilized every scrap out of necessity. That’s why you will hear about saving things like the intestines (for sausage casings); the paunch casing (for haggis); and even a buck’s testicles.
It might sound overly gross, but all three of those gut-pile inclusions are used even today by some folks. I’ve had sausage that was made in stomach casings, but I’ve never tried the other two. And I would never for a moment consider eating anything made from lung meat or the diaphragm wall membrane — mostly because both can easily become tainted with stomach fluids and acids. It’s just not worth it, IMO.
How to field-dress a buck with Daniel Schmidt video: