I have way too many deer, so I've installed 5' wire mesh fencing (2"x4") a foot above the ground, around 3/4 of my property (1 acre-rural/suburban) setting- zoning interferes with road frontage). Now, I only have 3-5 deer coming through (so far!) used to be 24+. Nothing was safe---they ate hellebores, forsythia, peonies, lillies (all types), foxglove (once/twice-not three times), monarda, daisies, jack-in-the pulpit, trillium, yucca, ferns, anything green, including houseplants ; dieffenbachia, pothos, spider plants, and philodendron; anything that wasn't protected by fencing---ferns and Boston (and English) ivy too! Commercial sprays were just salad dressing for them! Poppies, liatris, and Echinacea, were ignored by deer (goroundhogs had a different opinion) The yearlings (Adults are too big) still try to crawl under the fence, but don't like the feeling of being trapped---only one way out (two . . . if you include the crawling method), Hungry deer will eat anything/everything

Love venison and live on it when I can. I'm guessing you mean whitetail venison... mule deer and elk are different meats all together. My current lust is cajun venison. Hot frying pan of bacon grease and toss in venison coated with cajun spice. I like mine rather rare... it will turn to jerky if you go for well done (which is not all bad). If it is home butchered watch close for any stray hair. One stray hair and the whole pan will take on a oily gamey taste. The hair has a protective oil that keeps the deer dry when they run around outside. Home butchered is often best given a quick rinse with cold running water before it hits the pan... I don't rinse but then I have years practice butchering so no stray hair or other booboo. If you pan fry it and it strikes you as gamey I highly recommend A-1 steak sauce... that should keep it edible to even the most sensitive taste buds. I don't recommend tomato based dishes unless you eat venison regular. There is a chemical in many meats that gives the "gamey" taste. After awhile your sense of tastes adjusts so that it is not remarkable. Tomato will bring out that taste and highlight it... as in venison chili. I eat venison chili but vension is regular table fare for me. My dad always likes a stroganoff dish. Fry venison, make cream sauce, stir in cooked noodles (kluski!). My grandfather's favorite burger was half venison and half pork. I don't recommend boiling venison. It won't be ruined and I boil scraps from butchering for my animals. I have tasted boiled venison... not bad. My cat Tuna loved it that way and could eat her own weight in just a couple days. For human consumption you want the meat juices to get on the hot pan and turn to a sweet brown carmel... the browning on meat. Buffalo venison I don't recommend as anything other then ground meat. It is so lean it starts shoe leather tough and gets tougher. Elk is one of the finest meats in the world. More fat then whitetail/buff so it can be panfried. The sweetest and mildest of the venison family that I have tried. Mule Deer are fairly fatty with a beef like texture. I find it stringy but tastey. So... don't let it sit in the freezer! Get out a package and make something. If it tastes bad give it to the dog and try again. Letting it sit until freezer burned is a waste... it won't improve with age. : ) lyra

Here are a few to get you started: Poor Man's Salami 2-21/2 lb ground venison 1 cup water 1/2 tsp each garlic powder, onion powder, mustard seed 2 tbls liquid smoke 3 tbls Morton's Tender Quick salt Combine all the ingredients and form the mixture into two 8-inch long rolls. Wrap in foil with the shiny side next to the meat. Refrigerate for 24 hours. Pierce the foil in several places on the bottom side of the roll with a toothpick. Place the rolls on the oven rack over a pan containing 1/2 cup water. Bake at 225 derees for about 2 hours. Venison Breakfast Sausage 4 lbs ground venison 2 lbs ground pork 1/2 Burgundy 1tsp garlic powder 2 onions, liquified in blender 4 tsp basic smoke salt* 4 tsp marjoram 3 tbls mustard with horseradish 1 tbls pepper 2 tsp sage 1 tsp cayenne pepper 1 tsp thyme 1 tsp ground nutmeg 3/4 tsp rosemary Combine all ingredients well. Form into patties and fry. Or stuff casings to make breakfast links. *Basic Smoke Salt This is a seasoned salt mixture I devised years ago for smoking meats. It's a great general seasoning salt as well: 1 package table salt (1 lb 10 oz) 1 tbls onion salt 2 tbls celery salt 1 tbls garlic salt 2 tbls paprika 4 tbls white pepper 2 tbls dill salt 4 tbls white sugar Combine all ingredients and store in an airtight container (canning jars work great) Spicy Game Sausages 1 3/4 lb venison or other game meat, ground 1 3/4 lb pork, ground 1 tbls smoke salt 2 tsp chili powder 2 tsp black pepper 5 garlic cloves, crushed 2 tsp rubbed sage 1/4 tsp ground allspeice variations: 1 tbls curry powder 2 tsp cumin seed Combine all ingredients. Stuff into casings or make into chubs. For people with dietary restrictions forbidding pork, this next is particularly suitible. Scott Darrohn's venison sausage 4 lb venison,ground 1 lb beef fat 2 tsp salt 1 tsp black pepper 1/8 tsp cayenne 2 tsp ground sage 1/2 tsp ground allspice Combine venison, beef fat, and seasonings and pass through meat grinder. With hands, shape; meat into 4-ounce patties. The sausage can be prepared any way you like it, or frozen for later use. This next is reminescent of Boudin sausages, but actually has a totally different flavor: Venison & Potato Sausage 10 lbs ground lean venison 10 tsp salt 2 tsp pepper 10 lbs ground raw potato 3 lb ground raw onion Sausage casings Grind meat, potatoes and onions separately first, then mix all together with salt & pepper and put through meat grinder a second time. Fill sausage casings by hand or with a sausage stuffer attachment on your meat grinder. Tie off or twist sausage into individual links or leave whole. Do not pack casings too tightly or they will burst when cooked. Wrap in meal sized packages and freeze. To serve, punch a few holes in the casing to release pressure as the sausage expands while cooking. Put frozen sausage in boiling water and let simmer for 45 minutes. If preferred you can add up to 3 lbs ground pork to the mixture before stuffing the casings. BTW, if all you have is ground meat, that's fine. But if you're starting with whole cuts, it's best to spread the herbs and spices on the meat before grinding. Then double grind the meat. This assures that the herbs and spices are evenly distributed throughout.

I've never had venison. I would like to try it once, but I have to agree with not being comfortable with those who hunt just for sport. Even so, we have a whitetail overpopulation problem here, so the herd is not healthy and the woods won't be either if it continues. In that case, I think they should let the hunters thin the herd and give the meat to the food banks (if the clients will eat it, that is). I had never had lamb or mutton until I was an adult. We had mutton on the Navajo reservation and liked it. Lamb korma is one of my favorite dishes now. It took me awhile to like sheep's or goat's milk cheese -- some I still don't like. And I haven't yet found a taste for goat -- that smells and tastes nasty to me.