To be a priss, it's not "rodent," but "ungulate."

The first sentence I won't argue with. ("nature, red in tooth and claw," and all that) But I think you have been watching to many Rambo movies. Granted, for any given deer, the odds a being killed by a bowhunter are probably much less than by one using a modern rifle because of the difficulty of bow hunting, but the fact that you were going to eat it means this deer did not escape. While a skilled bowhunter can, on a good day, kill a deer pretty quickly, even a highly skilled hunter can have a bad day, and it can take hours or days for a deer to die. Being the forgiving sort, I won't wish being shot with an arrow on you, but being torn apart by pit bulls shouldn't take more than 10 or 15 minutes

Oops, missed this: "Bambi tasted like free-range Jesus" Um, I don't believe I've ever heard that phrase before. But Jeffery, wasn't the fictional (you hope) Jesus supposed to be a man? this seems a little strange even for the Stranger. Never mind about that pit bull thing, since you are going to Hell anyway (where the pit bulls aren't so quick about their work), I hope you live to a ripe old age and die peacefully in your sleep.

I love it. Is this an aesthetic response to your father's international-travel fine-dining blog?

Preheat oven to 400, heat up cast iron frying pan on the stove-top. put a little olive oil in the pan and braise the meat on both sides (for a flat piece) or all around for a roast; about 4 minutes per side. Once the outside is all cooked, put the pan into the oven to cook the whole thing through, 7-10 minutes should work.

I always figured game meat tasted better, because well, it IS better: leaner, more dense, higher protein muscle tissue.

Plus, on the rare occasions these days when I get my hands on deer or venison, I find I simply can't consume it in large quantities. A six-ounce portion is usually more than enough for me, I suppose because it is so protein-rich.

And damn, Dominic, nice accompaniments. Sounds like it was a terrific meal!

Deer are now also considered pest animals, but that is in the context of a couple of centuries of "wildlife management." Killing predators and harvesting bucks to maximize the deer harvest.

Venison = cook with fruit, dates, rasins, prunes = slow = moist = onion = salt and pepper

Elk the same.

Older game need marinate, some bacon bits sprinkled around will help tame the flavor.

Give bear to the dogs.

Antelope is THE finest, next to young wild goat.

Remember deer are plentiful, not at all endangered and must be harvested to avoid over population.

Thanks, Fnarf. The name's not after the car. It’s an Americanization of the German Hochfeld, meaning high field. The paternal grandparents changed it to Holden after escaping the Holocaust by the skin of their teeth.

Elk is awesome. Wild pig is excellent.

Deer fat is nasty, and should be removed when the animal is butchered. If you're making sausage, adding pork fat is recommended.