Never thought I'd say this, but...

... I actually feel a little sad that I don't have a single piece of venison waiting for me in the freezer!

(I fully expect this post to disturb certain of my urban readers)

2 years ago, I was introduced to the wonders of corned venison. As a non-hunter, I depend upon M. to supply the meat for me to corn. He shoots it and butchers it, I corn it and can it. This year, he shot two deer, and the season's still got legs. Distribution of labor works every time.

Except not this time. He decided to just grind EVERYTHING except for the backstraps and the tenderloins and make it into sausage. While I am pretty excited to have a whole lot of venison sausage, I mourned the opening of my final jar of 2011 corned venison earlier this week.

I know. It sounds gross. To start, it's venison (which used to skeeve me. See how I've grown?). Then, you soak it in liquid for at least a full week. Then you pack it in a jar and put it in a pressure canner for a long time. The final result is kinda weird looking. But. It tastes AMAZING. If we hadn't just scarfed the last can earlier this week, I'd share a photo. Instead, I'll just share some link love in case you're inspired to follow in my footsteps.

How I learned to stop worrying and love the venison (or, how I corn meat).

How I canned the venison.

What I did with the last jar of venison.

As a tip: the venison becomes absolutely falling-apart tender after pressure canning. It's not really good for sandwiches like that, but it's divine in a hash. Last time, I did chunks, but if I ever do it again, I'll probably do strips. I feel like it would pack easier. If I had more freezer space, I might be inclined to just freeze the cooked meat, but I don't.

Miraculous Update: M's very good friend is willing to cough up a roast or two from his venison stash. Yesssss!