By Maggie Conklin
Heart and Liver
As you may know by now, I like to hunt. Much of the enjoyment I get from doing this is simply spending time in the forests, and much of it is the satisfaction I get from filling my freezer with wholesome, fresh, organic protein.
Please understand that I have a very strict code when it comes to hunting; I only take what I eat, and will never take something just for the sport of it.
It is all about living the way my ancestors have lived for millennia.
Imagine your ancestors perhaps 300 years ago, living in a cute little hut or cabin on a hill overlooking a pond or creek. They had a small vegetable garden in their side yard and knew how to forage for herbs and hunt for game to fill their bellies.
Some form of this story is how all our ancestors lived for thousands of years, and I choose to live as closely to this today as I can.
So, I hunt for food when I can. I was able to harvest a young buck and, with help from friends, cleaned it and brought it to Blue Star Meat for them to package it.
Yes, I could package it, but that takes more time and energy than I could muster, and they do a much more thorough job than I ever could. In the end I filled a shelf in my upright freezer for a little over $3 per pound.
Have you checked the price of hamburger lately?
For me, one of the best parts of taking a young deer is not only lowering the local population so fewer are hit by cars, but cooking and eating the fresh heart and liver.
Our ancestors knew the organ meats were the prize parts, the healthiest parts, and often gave them to pregnant women because they understood this.
I like to cook them simply, by slicing thin, dredging in flour and frying in butter. My heart and my liver thanked me.
Enjoy!