I wasn't very prepared when I field dressed my buck (no ziploc bags) to save the organs. I did tell the butcher to cut the bones for me so I'm going to try the marrow. there's not going to be nearly as much as a cow, but he was a huge bodied buck, so there should be at least enough there to get a taste.
I'm planning on getting a doe and I think I'm going to try some offal. obviously the liver can be cooked just like a beef liver and I've read some good things about venison heart tartare. I'm definitely not going to be one of those dipshits that takes a bite out of the heart in the field, but I did feel pretty wasteful leaving all the perfectly good organs in the gut pile for the coyotes. not sure I'm prepared to try brains yet and I don't think there would be enough cheek meat on a doe to even bother with.
any of you hunters have any experience eating anything but the meat?
I've had deer liver before. Did a little looking around, found these...
http://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/other/recipes/2004/12/adventures-venison
http://gocarnivore.com/tag/offal/
I imagine you can accomplish a lot with the rest of the animal. Stews would be a good vehicle for liver and kidneys, etc. Use those bones to create a stock. I've never done it, but have heard some positive things. I have a book at home that I will check for any deer offal recipes. I seem to remember there being at least one.
I always make all the bones from my deer into stock, you can get alot of it, and since i eat most of my deer in chili form, it just makes good sense.
what is the flavor profile? do you get the gameyness in it?
not really offal related, but I had my first pleasant experience with dealing with a butcher on wednesday. he agreed to hang it for me for a week to let it age. he tried to tell me it wouldn't do any good since there's no fat (which is a myth, by the way) and there'd be a bunch of mold that he'd have to cut off and I'd lose meat, but then he told me he'd be careful and not cut too much off. then I asked him about the bones for marrow and he said he'd never heard of that and they'd be really small compared to cows, but he'd cut the bones for me on this one to see if I liked it. first time I've ever dealt with a butcher that was anything but a grumpy old bastard that treated me like a pain in his ass. kid in his 20's, so he probably hasn't been hardened like the rest of them.
anyway, I'm really interested to see how the flavor is different after it's aged. I've never had the ability or a proper place to let a deer age before but everything I've read says it makes a world of difference in flavor and texture. apparently it makes it really tender and takes away a lot of the "gameyness."
That is all i have read about deer meat, that you absolutely have to let it age to get the best out of it. i'm assuming the dude has a space set up with the proper conditions?
Tell the grumps to spray down the inner cavity with a spritzer bottle full of vinegar/water, this will prevent mold from forming on the meat, though you will loose some meat to rind formation, but the meat underneath will be more tender and less gamey.
Flavor profile tastes like normal stock you might get at the grocers... not gamey even if the meat that was on it has some. i make mine off an alton brown recipe for chicken stock, in that i add onion/celery/carrots/spices (
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/chicken-stock-recipe/index.html) I use it mostly for chili (really like chili, you guise) but i've used it in soups and stews too.
You end up with alot of stock, in the past i'd freeze the stock in 1qt mason jars, but they can burst if you overfill and it takes up alot of freezer space. This season i think i might buy a pressure canner so i can just can the stock.