Lookee what we found whilst wandering....

[Andy]

For Easter dinner, I made Redneck Tacos using the neck roast from the doe that I harvested during muzzleloading season. I removed as much fat as possible, applied a dry rub, dumped on a jar of salsa and set the crockpot to low for about 8 hours. They came out AMAZING:

 

[Bruce]

This past weekend, this old bear was on the mountain to get the tractor back up and running. Here is proof we succeeded:

Next up, the old man in a pair of dungaree coveralls, no shirt, beat up straw hat, with one boobie hanging out! hehe

 

[Boki Ar]

 

[Andy]

Mike got his first deer today. With the muzzleloader. A nice sized doe. Free range organic transported by zero emissions:

 

[Uwe]

Earlier pic:

 

[Uwe]

Nice ice storm this morning. Power is out up here. Internet only while the UPSs hold out.

 

[Andy]

Today was the last day of muzzleloading season and the first chance I had to hunt so far this year (we were cleaning up fallen trees and branches from the ice storm that has still left us without grid power). About 1/2 hr after settling down in the tree stand, this 8 pointer walked from the woods at my 5 o'clock position about 20 yards away:

 

[Andy]

This morning I got another buck, presumably a brawler since his main antlers appear to have been broken off a while ago. Call him a 3 pointer now ... who knows how many points he had originally? I heard him walking behind the tree stand and followed him out onto the driveway where I had good shot. I used my 1969 Remington 700 in .30-06 using handloads I made specifically for hunting with a 150gr Hornady GMX all copper bullet:

Bruce was able to back the tractor into the woods so we could load the buck onto the basket with minimal difficulty:

 

[Andy]

I vacuum sealed and froze the inside tenderloin from the 8 pointer and 3 pointer:

I brought one from each deer down to my brother's for Thanksgiving and I grilled them for Black Friday breakfast (with sea salt, black pepper, and olive oil cooking spray):

Cooked to medium-rare, they served as a fine accompaniment for eggs:

I told my hosts that deer taste like what they eat. My sister-in-law quipped "Well these deer must have been eating steak!".

 

[Andy]

Emptying out the last of my venison from last year to make room in the freezer for this year's harvest, here's some teriaki marinated round steaks:

They were great on Saturday night and I stashed away one skewer for lunch on Sunday:

Cold venison, roasted veggies, swiss, and spicy creamy horseradish sauce on garlic naan. Soooooo good.

 

[Andy]

Thanks to Uwe for picking up the venison from the butcher. Not including Mike’s doe here’s the yield from my 2 bucks:

By my math that’s 114.2 lb of meat.

 

[Uwe]

Anyone ever notice when you're hunting deer, you see lots of squirrels?

Well guess what happens when you're hunting squirrels?

Answer here:
https://i.imgur.com/7nevEeK.mp4

 

[Andy]

I should get some actual picture frames but the 2018 8-pointer is now up on my office wall next to the 2017 8-pointer and the 2015 9-pointer.

 

[Uwe]

8 + 8 + 9 = 25.

How about 51?
https://chicago.cbslocal.com/2018/12/13/record-buck-illinois-hunting/

 

[Andy]

You may want to double check your math.

Wow, those antlers almost look like pin oak leaves.

 

[Andy]

I made some venison jerky over the weekend using round steaks (slices of thigh) from the 8-pointer marinated overnight in Mojo marinade (citrus juice/garlic/etc). About half the batch is "wit" red pepper flakes and half is "wit-out". After 7 hours in the dehydrator at 145*F it reached pretty ideal consistency, a bit chewy without being hard or crunchy:

24 oz. of raw steak yielded about 11 oz. of jerky, or about a 55% reduction in moisture. The ring-shaped piece had the 1" femur in the center, needless to say it shrunk dramatically.

 

[Andy]

RTHQ last night at about 5:45pm:

The deer were aware of my presence, didn't care. Out of season, in a dense residential/commercial area, at night, and they know an e-tron is not an acceptable weapon for the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

 

[Uwe]

This morning:

 

[Andy]

Since Gawie is in town from South Africa, I asked for his help making Biltong using some of last fall's venison round steaks, trimmed but left as natural cuts. We marinated the meat in apple cider vinegar for 1 hours, then patted it dry and covered with kosher salt, black pepper, and freshly toasted and cracked whole coriander.

It will be left to dehydrate at 35*C/95*F for 24 hours, then we will check consistency and give it more time if needed.

 

[Andy]

After 23hr at 95*F:

The thinner pieces are quite edible and tasty now, I know the South Africans say this isn't jerky but it sure tastes like jerky to me. Since there's no cayenne or chile pepper, and no sugar it's a strictly savory experience. As Gawie says "lekker".