Mount the Head & Stuff the Hind Quarter

As Elwood pulled into the Extension Office parking lot, Ken climbed out of his pickup carrying a spiral bound book with the picture of a native American, bow in hand, leaning over a fallen buck on the cover. As they walked towards the office, Elwood said, "What the bit with the book?" To which Ken replied - I brought it in for Harry. Yesterday Harry said there was a big buck in his apple orchard. If he got the buck, he wanted to mount the head and hang it in his summer cottage. Harry asked if I had any advice on preparing the head for mounting.

Last night Marilyn reminded me that the book, Quality Venison: Homemade Recipes & Homespun Deer Tales which we bought because Mariyln liked the recipes, has a section called "Caping Your Buck for Mounting," a section on skinning a deer so you can use the hide, instructions for butchering, photographs which show different cuts, and some great recipes. I think Quality Venison is one of the best venison books I have seen.

As he approached his office, Elwood said, "Would you mind if I borrowed the book later. Yesterday a caller wanted to know how to skin a deer and prepare the hide."

After lunch Ken stopped at Elwood's office with Quality Venison. Handing the book to Elwood, Ken said, "After Harry read the section on capping and looked at some of the recipes, he decided to buy his own copy of Quality Venison."

As soon as Ken left, Elwood opened Quality Venison: Homemade Recipes & Homespun Deer Tales and quickly found the section called "Skinning Your Deer." Elwood was pleased to see that the section not only contained step by step instructions, but that there were 19 drawings showing just how the deer should be skinned and the hide prepared.

Since Ken had spoken so enthusiastically about the recipes, Elwood next turned to the recipe section. The recipe for Holiday Tradition Sausage Stuffed Venison on page 135 seemed particularly appealing. The recipe called for seasoning the cavity of a hind quarter of venison that had been boned out with garlic, green onions, salt and pepper. Then stuffing the seasoned cavity with Italian sausage. The roast is then covered with bacon and placed in a large roasting bag with some red wine before roasting 3 hours at 350° F.

As soon as he closed the book, Elwood called Harry and said, "Would you mind picking up a second copy of Quality Venison at the bookstore? It has some great recipes as well as a wealth of information I can pass on to callers."

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