Hunting

If you don't like looking at dead animals, this is not the post for you!

A few snapshots of this year's hunting days...

Riley sighting in his gun.

The field-dressed doe hanging until we're ready to butcher. 

We put 16 pounds of meat in the freezer from this yearling.

Bucket of parts saved for luring traps.

Jerky in the making. Thinly sliced meat in a pan ready to be coated with marinade in the bowl.

Deer Jerky

3 lb deer roast or loin, sliced 1/4"

1/2 c soy sauce

2 Tbsp liquid smoke

2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

several dashes of hot pepper sauce

Mix marinade ingredients and pour over meat. Soak at least 8 hours. (I have left it in the fridge, covered, up to 48 hours.) Lay meat pieces on cooling racks placed in jellyroll pans. Sprinkle with freshly ground black pepper. Bake 10 hours at 180*. Jerky should bend, not snap apart. I have also put the strips in a dehydrator, but the jerky had a slightly different flavor our family didn't like as well.

Little sister gets to take a turn sitting, waiting, watching, reading, and possibly videoing.

Two turkeys, just in time for Christmas dinner.

The second doe, shot in January, was the last chance for meat this season. We kept 30 pounds from this one, mostly canned chunks for soups and casseroles.