# deer heart



## jack2 (Mar 19, 2010)

i have 2 fresh deer hearts and was about to cube them up for my sausage. i was just wondering if y'all keep the heart and if you do, how do you cook it? it was really tender when i tried my friends cajun fried.
jack


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## MrFish (Aug 21, 2009)

I bread it and pan fry it.


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## Splittine (Nov 24, 2007)

Coyotes love it.


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## Bodupp (Oct 3, 2007)

Soak it in Dale's or Moore's and throw it on the grill.


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## jack2 (Mar 19, 2010)

Splittine said:


> Coyotes love it.


are you a coyote?
jack


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## jwilson1978 (Mar 23, 2021)

jack2 said:


> i have 2 fresh deer hearts and was about to cube them up for my sausage. i was just wondering if y'all keep the heart and if you do, how do you cook it? it was really tender when i tried my friends cajun fried.
> jack


Garlic salt lightly grilled.watch out tho The last couple of years I have found 3 with hart worms about has turned me off! Parisites are tough on me mentally


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## jack2 (Mar 19, 2010)

never heard of deer gettin heart worms.
jack


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## ironman172 (Sep 28, 2007)

Tried baking once , not a fan at all ..... something might eat it in the woods ??


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## jwilson1978 (Mar 23, 2021)

jack2 said:


> never heard of deer gettin heart worms.
> jack


Me either never heard of or seen it until the last couple of years. All three have come from the same place so it may be a isolated thing.If I get the wild hair to go bust one I will see if it has them and post it.


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## jwilson1978 (Mar 23, 2021)

jwilson1978 said:


> Me either never heard of or seen it until the last couple of years. All three have come from the same place so it may be a isolated thing.If I get the wild hair to go bust one I will see if it has them and post it.


And I did work in the biggest processor around when I was young. I thought I had seen it all!


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## smooth move (Sep 25, 2012)

i clean em real good with water, then slice cross ways. the pieces look kinda like a pretzel. then season, dip in egg wash, roll in flour and fry. love em!


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## John B. (Oct 2, 2007)

There is a very thin membrane on the outside that can be peeled off after a quick soak in ice water. That is the key to tender deer heart. 

Sent from my SM-G981V using Tapatalk


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## jwilson1978 (Mar 23, 2021)

John B. said:


> There is a very thin membrane on the outside that can be peeled off after a quick soak in ice water. That is the key to tender deer heart.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G981V using Tapatalk


I have always done the hart fresh. Like when cleaning. If it gets done at all and like it. Will it get tougher with time or does it matter?


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## Walton County (Aug 23, 2016)

I unwrap the layer(I think it’s called a pericardium) off it. 
Then I fillet it flat.
Cut the arteries off the top.
Grill it with olive oil and salt.
It needs to be medium rare at most.


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## kmerr80 (Oct 28, 2013)

Save that shit for a pinfish basket or crab trap, geez


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## jwilson1978 (Mar 23, 2021)

kmerr80 said:


> Save that shit for a pinfish basket or crab trap, geez


Don't knock it to you try it. There are a lot worse things to eat. From the woods or a farm.


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## MrFish (Aug 21, 2009)

kmerr80 said:


> Save that shit for a pinfish basket or crab trap, geez


Man, deer heart is goooood. Beef heart is purty strong.


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## Splittine (Nov 24, 2007)

jwilson1978 said:


> Don't knock it to you try it. There are a lot worse things to eat. From the woods or a farm.


I’ve tried it. There’s more things better than it opposed to worse.


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## kmerr80 (Oct 28, 2013)

Not much left of the heart once i squeeze the trigger 😬


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## CurDog (Nov 14, 2010)

Ah come on, you gotta be a real savage hunter and eat it raw. My cousin would field dress them and eat half of the heart raw take the rest home to fry.


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## jwilson1978 (Mar 23, 2021)

Splittine said:


> I’ve tried it. There’s more things better than it opposed to worse.


Maybe so but it's better than any duck or any liver. But that's opinion and we all know how those go. And no I would not seek it out or buy it. If it's taken care of and cooked right its not bad. And it's something to do around the camp.Just fun caveman shit to do while drinking and having fun.Everyone has different taste. My favorite thing is people that like lamb.Next time your around a grown buck smell that tarsal gland In my mind that's all I taste. LOL


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## kmerr80 (Oct 28, 2013)

Jack gonna be asking for deer nutz recipe next


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## jwilson1978 (Mar 23, 2021)

kmerr80 said:


> Jack gonna be asking for deer nutz recipe next


I have a friend that grew up in Southern Sportsman.He was almost as wild as me but they had money.He and his buddy would roll into the lodge late at night and have the cook get up and make them something to eat. As the story goes after she got woke up to cook a few times she started making them the BEST country fried steak they ever had. So they showed up early one night before their late night rampage and ask for it while the normal adults where still up. His friend had slipped back to the Kitchen. to see her running deer nutts through the cuber.


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## CurDog (Nov 14, 2010)

jwilson1978 said:


> My favorite thing is people that like lamb.


I tried lamb maybe 20 years ago. It stunk so bad frying, I tossed it in the outside garbage can before the wife crowned me with a skillet for stinking up the house. I guess you either have to acquire a taste for it or I didn't prepare it right? Whatever it is, I've never attempted to try it again.


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## jwilson1978 (Mar 23, 2021)

CurDog said:


> I tried lamb maybe 20 years ago. It stunk so bad frying, I tossed it in the outside garbage can before the wife crowned me with a skillet for stinking up the house. I guess you either have to acquire a taste for it or I didn't prepare it right? Whatever it is, I've never attempted to try it again.


No its has to be a acquired taste like licking butt. I have had it many times it is terrible. Even bought it and tried to cover up the musky buck gland taste.Thats a no go! You have to like that off putting taste to eat that.


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## MrFish (Aug 21, 2009)

Rare lamb chops are the bees knees.


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## MrFish (Aug 21, 2009)

I also like duck. Liver is nasty unless it's in boudin.


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## CurDog (Nov 14, 2010)

jwilson1978 said:


> No its has to be a acquired taste like licking butt. I have had it many times it is terrible. Even bought it and tried to cover up the musky buck gland taste.Thats a no go! You have to like that off putting taste to eat that.


Exactly. It smelled like Sheit when I was frying it. Nastier smelling than cooking tainted boar meat.


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## DLo (Oct 2, 2007)

MrFish said:


> Rare lamb chops are the bees knees.


Chops is the only way I’ve had it, but cooked it medium and really liked it.


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## CurDog (Nov 14, 2010)

MrFish said:


> I also like duck. Liver is nasty unless it's in boudin.


I like beef liver and duck. But duck meat is strong tasting before I learned to soak it overnight in butter milk and some wine. Took a lot of that strong taste away. 

** well wood ducks have a strong wild taste if you don't doctor it before cooking. Those are the only ones I've ate, some not sure about other breeds.


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## jwilson1978 (Mar 23, 2021)

MrFish said:


> I also like duck. Liver is nasty unless it's in boudin.


No liver is good to me not even in boudin. I can do wood duck or teal they are almost as good as crow lol yes I have had crow they all have to be rare.Big ducks not so. A goose is like eating a tire that taste like cow shit. I just am not fond of liver.Just don't like it.


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## CurDog (Nov 14, 2010)

Come on buddy, nothing like sauteed beef liver in onion and gravy, topped off with mashed taters. Hard to beat.


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## jwilson1978 (Mar 23, 2021)

CurDog said:


> Exactly. It smelled like Sheit when I was frying it. Nastier smelling than cooking tainted boar meat.


Old musky Boar that has been living in a palmetto swamp is better to me but still not fit to eat.


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## jwilson1978 (Mar 23, 2021)

CurDog said:


> Come on buddy, nothing like sauteed beef liver in onion and gravy, topped off with mashed taters. Hard to beat.


Can't seem to like it and I have ate some crazy things.leave the liver out and throw in some other meat sounds good


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## ChileRelleno (Jul 7, 2012)

Hearts, liver, kidneys, thymus glands, cheeks and tongue.
Man give it all to me, I'll cook it up and make it taste great.
Deer, rabbit, squirrel, duck, hog, lamb, goat and more, prepared right it all rocks.


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## MrFish (Aug 21, 2009)

ChileRelleno said:


> Hearts, liver, kidneys, thymus glands, cheeks and tongue.
> Man give it all to me, I'll cook it up and make it taste great.
> Deer, rabbit, squirrel, duck, hog, lamb, goat and more, prepared right it all rocks.


You leave out the lights on purpose?


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## jwilson1978 (Mar 23, 2021)

ChileRelleno said:


> Hearts, liver, kidneys, thymus glands, cheeks and tongue.
> Man give it all to me, I'll cook it up and make it taste great.
> Deer, rabbit, squirrel, duck, hog, lamb, goat and more, prepared right it all rocks.


Yes sir all the above Except! For bigger ducks/Canadian geese and lamb.No way to cover that up.For me.Don't get me wrong It's not about what it is I promise I have ate way more trashy vermin.Just not something I can actually eat and say its not bad.But then again the way you throw down I would try it all again


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## ChileRelleno (Jul 7, 2012)

MrFish said:


> You leave out the lights on purpose?


I've ate lamb fries and mountain oysters, didn't mind them, not bad at all, but I don't salivate when I think of'em... Same goes for eyeballs, meh.


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## ChileRelleno (Jul 7, 2012)

jwilson1978 said:


> Yes sir all the above Except! For bigger ducks/Canadian geese and lamb.No way to cover that up.For me.Don't get me wrong It's not about what it is I promise I have ate way more trashy vermin.Just not something I can actually eat and say its not bad.But then again the way you throw down I would try it all again


Give me a big, fat Canvasback, yum!
Dude, I could put lamb chops or leg of lamb on your plate and blindfolded you'd eat and love it.


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## CurDog (Nov 14, 2010)

jwilson1978 said:


> Old musky Boar that has been living in a palmetto swamp is better to me but still not fit to eat.


That's not entirely true not fit to eat. You just gotta know how to clean them and not hit any of those stink glands. 
Once you hit one, the juice floods the meat quickly, almost as fast as a drop of gasoline in water (the rainbow effect). 
Otherwise, it'll taste just like store bought ham. No matter if it's an old 400 pound swamp boar


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## MrFish (Aug 21, 2009)

You telling me that diet has no effect on the taste of the meat??? Yea right.


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## jwilson1978 (Mar 23, 2021)

ChileRelleno said:


> Give me a big, fat Canvasback, yum!
> Dude, I could put lamb chops or leg of lamb on your plate and blindfolded you'd eat and love it.


Well I have not had a Canvasback so you me have me there. I just think there is no way I will ever like lamb its just so musky tasting. Hell a grown billy goat is not that strong tasting.And you would think it would be by the way they smell.


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## jwilson1978 (Mar 23, 2021)

CurDog said:


> That's not entirely true not fit to eat. You just gotta know how to clean them and not hit any of those stink glands.
> Once you hit one, the juice floods the meat quickly, almost as fast as a drop of gasoline in water (the rainbow effect).
> Otherwise, it'll taste just like store bought ham. No matter if it's an old 400 pound swamp boar


Yes your right about not busting the glands and not trying to be a smart ass but I use to be real mad at pigs I mean REAL! mad at them and the one's in the delta do not compare taste wize as the ones that eat out of the feeders on the high end clubs or out of the ag fields up here.Diet does play apart. Even on deer or wild cows.


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## CurDog (Nov 14, 2010)

I'm just saying a boar hog has about 6 glands he uses to mark territory and himself, I guess for getting the sows. Anyway, if you nick one while skinning, that stuff spreads fast and it's on your knife blade now, and each cut is also spreading the skink gland juices. So when you get a boar, you clean it and cook it, if it stinks up the house, you hit one of the glands or more. If it doesn't stink, you cleaned it right. 
And if it stinks, don't bother trying to check the rest of it, cause all of it is going to be bad. 
Just take it to the dump. 
My friend who showed me how to avoid those glands, has killed upteen big old boars off eglin, and if you put a piece of store bought ham and the boar ham side by side taste test, you'd be hard pressed to pick the store bought ham. I cannot tell the difference eating the two. Yes, I know this because I called BS when he told me. I got a 250 pound razorback boar and after he cleaned it, I tried his bet. I couldn't tell the difference.


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## jwilson1978 (Mar 23, 2021)

CurDog said:


> I'm just saying a boar hog has about 6 glands he uses to mark territory and himself, I guess for getting the sows. Anyway, if you nick one while skinning, that stuff spreads fast and it's on your knife blade now, and each cut is also spreading the skink gland juices. So when you get a boar, you clean it and cook it, if it stinks up the house, you hit one of the glands or more. If it doesn't stink, you cleaned it right.
> And if it stinks, don't bother trying to check the rest of it, cause all of it is going to be bad.
> Just take it to the dump.
> My friend who showed me how to avoid those glands, has killed upteen big old boars off eglin, and if you put a piece of store bought ham and the boar ham side by side taste test, you'd be hard pressed to pick the store bought ham. I cannot tell the difference eating the two. Yes, I know this because I called BS when he told me. I got a 250 pound razorback boar and after he cleaned it, I tried his bet. I couldn't tell the difference.


I don't disagree Prep is everything with a lot of game. Where the animal is shot makes a world of difference also. Bust the hart all the hormones can't be pumped. double lung hart still works. Shoot them if the face every gland in a animal can dump into the blood stream. A head shot can be the worst for meat. Don't believe that try it watch how the animal thrashes around and how quick they get stiff.It's like being run by a dog for miles and then being killed.


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## Yellow River Cat (May 3, 2008)

Many years ago as a 13 year old I spent the night at my friends house
I thought I was getting Southern Fried Steak or thick pork chop when I put that gawd awful liver on my plate 
I did what I was raised to do and ate it but I’ve never put a piece of meat on my plate since without knowing what it was 


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## CurDog (Nov 14, 2010)

jwilson1978 said:


> I don't disagree Prep is everything with a lot of game. Where the animal is shot makes a world of difference also. Bust the hart all the hormones can't be pumped. double lung hart still works. Shoot them if the face every gland in a animal can dump into the blood stream. A head shot can be the worst for meat. Don't believe that try it watch how the animal thrashes around and how quick they get stiff.It's like being run by a dog for miles and then being killed.


That's just it, if you do a heart shot and it killed over right there zero thrashing about, and while cleaning it, you nick or cut thru any of those stink glands between the hide and meat, the whole hog is now not fit to eat. I could get into some deeper pre-cleaning and what you should do right soon after you shoot one. Might be distasteful for some so I won't. 
But there are a few steps to take before you try and clean it. 

And you're right about shooting different body shots makes a world of difference, especially with a big old boar hawg. If your bullet hits any of those glands, the meat will be ruined. But you may not necessarily know this unless you know where those glands are located and you can see you hit one. Otherwise, the telltale sign is when you cook it, you'll know then.


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## CurDog (Nov 14, 2010)

I'll get up with my buddy after I clear this covid I got, and see if he'll agree to let me video him doing it. I'll put it on youtube and post it up. But he is a bit odd about telling any of his secrets, and yes, he feels this is a secret, how not to cut/nick stink glands and the pre-cleaning as well as what to do soon after you down one.

And if anyone happens to kill a big boar hog and doesn't want it, let me know, my buddy will most likely take it. If anyone might happen to get one over this way or you'll deliver for free (he's poor) I'll give you my phone number.
He does prefer head shots, temple or straight on. Less chance of hitting a gland this way.


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## YELLOWCAT (Oct 25, 2017)

Refer back to my comment on the deer rib post. The heart will also be inside the rib cage! As far as a boar hog is concerned unless they are under 60 pounds they are buzzard food also.


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## jack2 (Mar 19, 2010)

when curdog mentioned swamp pig, this is what i thought of.
a friend in a hunting club on the cahawba river basin gave me this boar in jan. of '20. 60 days cured with salt and br. sugar and then smoked for 3 days. nobody complained, nobody died soooo......












View attachment 1085172


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## jack2 (Mar 19, 2010)

here's a better pic of the boar to give y'all an idea of how big he was. about #400 maybe?


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## jwilson1978 (Mar 23, 2021)

That dude looks like a escape from a pig farm


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## MrFish (Aug 21, 2009)

Looks a out like the ones we used to get for a whole hog BBQ. I'd say close to 400.


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## stevenattsu (Apr 24, 2009)

You need Bob's whole hog sausage recipe


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## stevenattsu (Apr 24, 2009)

The Best Whole Hog Country Sausage EVER


The Best Whole Hog Country Sausage EVER




forums.floridasportsman.com


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## jack2 (Mar 19, 2010)

steven, you are ruining my thread with that bullshit. lol.
jack


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