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"Help! What am I going to do with all this deer meat?"
 (Brandon, Mississippi) When a freezer full of the season's harvest finds you scrambling for unique ways to prepare a venison meal, look no further than The Complete Venison Cookbook (Quail Ridge Press, paperbound with convenient lay-flat binding, 432 pages, $19.95) by Harold W. Webster, Jr.
The Complete Venison Cookbook solves the riddle of why some venison is tough and has a strong taste and how to prevent it completely and addresses virtually every aspect of venison processing, preparation, cooking and preservation. From basic recipes for home and camp to elegant dining occasions, over 700 delicious venison recipes for steaks, chops, roasts and ribs, chilies, stews, stroganoff, meat loaves, and burgers are included, plus over 250 recipes that complement venison.
Many cooks are afraid to prepare venison because of its alleged dryness, toughness and unpleasant flavor, but that certainly doesn't have to be. Cooking delicious venison is easy once a few basic harvesting and cooking procedures have been learned.
"There is absolutely no reason why your venison should not taste as good as the finest grain-fed beef," Webster said.
In truth, venison is a fine, delicately textured and virtually fat-free meat. Even though many cuts of venison look like other meats, venison has one overall characteristic that distinguishes it-venison is a low- or no-fat meat. Therefore, during cooking it needs added moisture.
"For many years venison has been misunderstood, and its reputation has been badly tarnished. This misunderstanding is based on five very separate and distinct non-truths: that venison is smelly, that venison is tough, that venison is hard to cook, that venison has limited cooking possibilities, and that venison recipes are few in number," said Webster. "Venison is not at fault-we have forgotten the rules, the old recipes, and as a result, experimentation has ceased."
During visits with family friends in Leakesville, Mississippi, Webster was invited over for Sunday dinners and barbecues. "The venison I was served was glorious," he said. Then, at last, he discovered why many of these old families preferred venison to beef. They harvested their deer by still hunting and cooked their venison in moist recipes. "My attitude towards venison was changed forever," he said.
"I don't remember anyone telling me how the venison used in those particular recipes were harvested. When I would ask what made the venison taste so good, I would be blessed with sympathetic smiles and mumbled replies," Webster said. "It wasn't time for me to know the secret. For the time being, I would have to be satisfied with little real information. Hunting magazines, large generic cookbooks, and general game cookbooks provided a few basic recipes, mostly featuring descriptions of complicated marinades promoted as a means of masking the 'wild' taste of venison. I was not a very successful venison chef. In time, the secrets would be shared with me, and my adventure would begin."
Webster's search to discover why the venison he was served in his youth bore no resemblance to the venison described by his grandfather started a life-long venture to develop recipes and to rediscover the harvesting techniques and cooking procedures that would make cooking and eating venison a pleasure rather than an ordeal.
A graduate of the University of Arkansas and a veteran of the Marine Corps, Webster has hunted and cooked venison across the United States from Maine to Nevada. He has traveled and explored the world, and along the way, has sampled, enjoyed and gained an appreciation for the many varied ways to cook venison. He has utilized his knowledge and skill to create a classic venison cookbook.
The Complete Venison Cookbook is available in local sports, outdoor and gift shops or direct from the publisher by calling 1-800-343-1583 or visiting www.quailridge.com.
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For more information or to schedule an interview with the author, contact Dana Walker at 1-800-343-1583 or via email at dwalker@quailridge.com.
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