November is the beginning of the holidays for everyone. I go into my cooking mode for the next two months. I spend more money during the next two months than I spend in a whole year. And remember my money tree died. When you have 14 grandchildren, the presents seem to grow every year. At least, the price of the presents. No more dollies and little toy cars and trucks because now it’s real cars and trucks or whatever can be mounted onto them.
November also brings deer season. I have two grandsons who live for this time of the year. The oldest has been squirrel hunting since he could walk, and the one who would camp over in our pasture night and day if he could just to get that big deer, he has been hunting for two years. Well, yesterday about 5 o’clock that big buck walked out into the open field, and Sam was laying on top of the hay piles anticipating the feeding that he knew the big buck would be coming for.
The deer slipped out of the thicket, and BOOM; he lodged his first shot into the big 250-pound stag, dropped him in his tracks.
I don’t know how he got him loaded and back to our house, except for the adrenalin that was pumping so hard he had the strength of Samson. Now duck season opens this week, and he has a trained dog, Kodak, who has had extensive training at retrieving all the feathered prey Sam can shoot.
This deer was his first big kill and the first of the season for our boys, but I’m sure it will not be the last.
This is Sam’s recipe for deer backstrap:
2 pound backstrap
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Mix together and seal the deer meat and marinade into a plastic bag for at least 4 hours or overnight. Grill over direct heat of 500* for about 5 minutes on each side. Let rest covered with tinfoil for about 10 minutes. If you like it more done, grill a few minutes longer.
