The Trenches

[woods89]

I've tried tons of different recipes and cuts at this point, heart/liver/tongue/ etc.

My wife and I just aren't huge fans osso buco, and it's a time suck, we've made it some but shanks just ended up living in the freezer forever.



I know what we use and what we don't, and what is easy to make on a week night and what's not worth it.

Doesn't mean folks shouldn't keep shanks, simply that in keeping with the "in the trenches" it was one of man areas where it wasn't worth my time. I also haven't made lengua tacos in a bit and I haven't kept a heart in about 5 years.

I sort of get it, braising is always a commitment, but having had braised shank chili I could not grind a shank again.

On the part of quick meals, my wife cans quite a bit of cubed venison every year. She can pull it out and flour and fry, make tacos, barbecue sandwich meat, etc. You never have to worry about thawing it. We also make quite a bit of breakfast sausage every year, and although it has to be thawed, she uses it in all sorts of simple dishes.

 

[TOGIE]

I just try and be honest with myself about what I have time for, and what I want to spend my free time doing.

i think that's what it boils down to. i've always had a big passion for cooking. so i do enjoy spending free time doing that. but when the free time keeps getting squeezed, sometimes to nearly nonexistent, the inevitable reevaluation of priorities changes things, as always.

we like to save the bones because one of our special meals that we like to cook is mule deer steaks with oven/smoker roasted bone marrow slathered all over it, but usually it's just the grass fed bone cuts from whole foods/sprouts or whatever that we use. so it's fun to do that with wild game bones, even if the bone marrow in a mule deer is pretty paltry compared to an elk or beef cow. but it's in there and we love it.

 

[Irrelevant]

My wife was on a jerky kick during her first trimester, I made about 15lbs of elk backstrap into jerky.

Flip side my buddy wanted to make osso bucco and other shank dishes so we packed out my caribou this year bone-in and he kept all the shakes.

I just try and be honest with myself about what I have time for, and what I want to spend my free time doing.

There are these things called crock pots, they're like a personal chef but cheap.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

There are these things called crock pots, they're like a personal chef but cheap.

I don't think even a personal chef could sell my wife on any wild game in the roast/ slow cooking genre.

18 years of roasts 2-3x a week will do that to a person, apparently.

 

[Irrelevant]

I don't think even a personal chef could sell my wife on any wild game in the roast/ slow cooking genre.

18 years of roasts 2-3x a week will do that to a person, apparently.

Hear me out...


tacos.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

Hear me out...
tacos.

Muley shank tacos

 

[Irrelevant]

Muley shank tacos

 

[TOGIE]

it really hit me last time i made mule deer barbacoa that when you spend a half day seasoning, smoking, crockpotting, and shredding your shanks to put on tacos, they're really like only 20% better than just frying up ground meat to throw in a tortilla. i'm realizing it can be hard to justify the extra effort.

what makes a quality taco IMO is quality tortillas, fresh onions, fresh cilantro, quality spicy salsa or green chile sauce, and quality cheese. throw a shoe in that and you've something good.

 

[woods89]

it really hit me last time i made mule deer barbacoa that when you spend a half day seasoning, smoking, crockpotting, and shredding your shanks to put on tacos, they're really like only 20% better than just frying up ground meat to throw in a tortilla. i'm realizing it can be hard to justify the extra effort.

what makes a quality taco IMO is quality tortillas, fresh onions, fresh cilantro, quality spicy salsa or green chile sauce, and quality cheese. throw a shoe in that and you've something good.

I cannot agree with this.

Same with chili, anything with ground meat in it from now on is second tier.

 

[Irrelevant]

it really hit me last time i made mule deer barbacoa that when you spend a half day seasoning, smoking, crockpotting, and shredding your shanks to put on tacos, they're really like only 20% better than just frying up ground meat to throw in a tortilla. i'm realizing it can be hard to justify the extra effort.

what makes a quality taco IMO is quality tortillas, fresh onions, fresh cilantro, quality spicy salsa or green chile sauce, and quality cheese. throw a shoe in that and you've something good.

IDK, seems like it's more than that, but there is also the time savings of simply not doing anything with it, I don't have to cut it up, don't have to grind it, don't have to brown it (though it's better if I do), just from critter to crockpot to tortilla.

 

[woods89]

I will say, my wife spent time in Mexico when she was young and sometimes makes homemade tortillas. Now THAT takes things up a notch pretty quickly....

 

[Irrelevant]

I will say, my wife spent time in Mexico when she was young and sometimes makes homemade tortillas. Now THAT takes things up a notch pretty quickly....

I attempt them all the time, but mine don't puff, so apparently I can't get married.

 

[TOGIE]

I cannot agree with this.

Same with chili, anything with ground meat in it from now on is second tier.

sounds like, as you alluded to, you need to find some better tortillas

it's kinda like a burger for me. best burger in the world filled with the worlds most prime ground well seasoned seared patty can become totally worthless with a faulty bun and shitty not crunchy onions.

or maybe better cheese. @wllm can set you straight.

or just do homemade taco bell. a homemade cheesy gordita crunch filled with ground anything will set you straight

 

[Jbotto]

IDK, seems like it's more than that, but there is also the time savings of simply not doing anything with it, I don't have to cut it up, don't have to grind it, don't have to brown it (though it's better if I do), just from critter to crockpot to tortilla.

I align with this. Saw off meatless bottom of leg. Cut shank at joint. Wrap and freeze. Keeps it simple and the process as quick as can be. Roasts come out with only the thickest silver skin removed. Steaks stay in roast-size pieces to freeze. Shoulder is cut at the joint for shanks and then the upper and lower shoulder is wrapped basically whole. Little to no trimming depending on shot placement.

This is so timely. I’ve had two deer hanging in good temps since last weekend. Tomorrow is my night to get most of it done. Wife is on call, so if her phone rings my plans go to crap. Our boy is 7 months old and we just discussed this weekend how everything we do takes at least twice as long as it used to.

 

[TOGIE]

Sous vide broke. It did 5 euros before this, so still was a good purchase, I’ll get another soon.

On to whitening. Catching breaks during nap time and while thawing some deer from last year for dinner. I’m all about the hot peroxide bath

 

[noharleyyet]

Hear me out...


tacos.

 

[Wild Bill]

Had to reread this thread as I’m rocking boy #2 to sleep and boy #1 is somewhere in the living room (?) playing.
#2 compared to #1 is comparing apples and asteroids. At the time we thought #1 was difficult. Ha. #2 is such a sh*tty sleeper it’s driving us insane. We’ve even went as far as paying some sleep consultant $1,500 for their program or whatever. I never thought it would work (shocker, it hasn’t) but desperation is an ugly perfume.
I knew #1 needing attention and being a crazy 3 year old compounds the situation, but my goodness, #2 is a different kind of crab ass.
Just needed to bring this one back to ensure myself I’m not going insane.
Fall is getting near and I’m starting to get scared my wife is going to kill me when I head to WY for pronghorn and elk and she’s gotta deal with them both for 2 full weeks.

 

[Jbotto]

Had to reread this thread as I’m rocking boy #2 to sleep and boy #1 is somewhere in the living room (?) playing.
#2 compared to #1 is comparing apples and asteroids. At the time we thought #1 was difficult. Ha. #2 is such a sh*tty sleeper it’s driving us insane. We’ve even went as far as paying some sleep consultant $1,500 for their program or whatever. I never thought it would work (shocker, it hasn’t) but desperation is an ugly perfume.
I knew #1 needing attention and being a crazy 3 year old compounds the situation, but my goodness, #2 is a different kind of crab ass.
Just needed to bring this one back to ensure myself I’m not going insane.
Fall is getting near and I’m starting to get scared my wife is going to kill me when I head to WY for pronghorn and elk and she’s gotta deal with them both for 2 full weeks.

This terrifies me. I have an older-than-one-year old ( I refuse to identify age by months for eternity) who’s currently asleep in my arms. He’s teething his first molars with a cold, and coughing himself awake at least hourly. Busiest time of year for me at work and hunting isn’t far off. Trying to be there for my bride as much as possible.

 

[TheTone]

Had to reread this thread as I’m rocking boy #2 to sleep and boy #1 is somewhere in the living room (?) playing.
#2 compared to #1 is comparing apples and asteroids. At the time we thought #1 was difficult. Ha. #2 is such a sh*tty sleeper it’s driving us insane. We’ve even went as far as paying some sleep consultant $1,500 for their program or whatever. I never thought it would work (shocker, it hasn’t) but desperation is an ugly perfume.
I knew #1 needing attention and being a crazy 3 year old compounds the situation, but my goodness, #2 is a different kind of crab ass.
Just needed to bring this one back to ensure myself I’m not going insane.
Fall is getting near and I’m starting to get scared my wife is going to kill me when I head to WY for pronghorn and elk and she’s gotta deal with them both for 2 full weeks.

In the past two years I’d guess I’ve maybe got 10 or so full nights sleep at home. I just don’t understand how some parents have kids that put themselves to sleep and also sleep through the night. The level of going backwards we have had in the last month has been an absolute killer. Tonight’s attempt at bed time was an absolute meltdown out of nowhere.

I truly have no idea how anyone has more than one child

 

[Moserkr]

Currently have a 67 month old who is starting to get some attitude, and its a chore to get him to eat dinner. Other than that hes a really great, smart kid. The 1+ year old is also awesome so the horror stories of #2 being worse than #1 are not always true. Both will sleep 12+ hours unless teething. Little girl can eat more than her big brother sometimes. I count my blessings after reading some parenting stories. Wife has a way with kids after working in schools so I can only take a little credit.

Kids will change though as they grow so heres to the later years being good... Cheers!