Was gifted with some wild venison, so tonight I had a go with some of the loin. I generally like my red meat on the rare side of medium-rare, but was reluctant to get too rare with wild game meat for bacterial concerns (the picture is deceiving as it ended up more on the pink side than red/purple side). Served it with a balsamic-blackberry gastrique, maple-chipotle butternut squash puree, and sauteed summer squash. My attempt at artistic plating........



I was surprised to find it wasn't as gamey as I expected, nor wash hoping for, even when I ate it straight up without any sauce.

Looks wonderful! Same neighbor gave me some venison bacon that I've yet to try.

Last winter on the way to a family gathering my uncle saw someone else hit a deer and then just drive off and leave it dead/dying by the side of the road. Being a deer hunter himself, he hated to see the waste, so he continued to the family gathering and got a few more family members and a pickup truck to come back and get the deer. The family gathering turned into a deer butchering. I wasn't there (and of all the family gatherings to miss, I definitely regret missing this one) but some of the meat made its way to my freezer. I've been a bit unsure what to do with it, partly because when I got the meat, no one was quite sure which cuts they'd given me. As I was deciding what to make for the LTH picnic, I realized that I could use the venison in my freezer for a pate, no matter what the cut was. So, I have a pate sitting in my fridge right now waiting for the picnic tomorrow. Here's hoping it tastes as good as it smells.