Saturday, January 16, 2016

Recipe: deer organ tacos

One of my son's favorite things I make after killing a deer is heart and liver tacos.  So, I figured that I would share with anybody interested.

I have learned that one whitetail heart basically will only make about 3 soft tacos, so I supplement with deer liver.

I prepare the heart first by cutting off any fat and tough skin on the outside.  I then cut out the stringy connective tissue around the heart cavity.  After doing that I then dice the meat into roughly 1/2" x 1/2" pieces.  I sprinkle a little salt on the meat after cutting.

I melt butter in a skillet and then sauté minced garlic in the butter.  Brown the heart meat in the butter and garlic sauce.

After the meat is brown I deglaze the skillet using the liquid of my choice and simmer the meat until the liquid evaporates.  My current favorite is a margarita mix.  I find it gives a nice flavor profile typical of traditional Mexican cuisine and leaves a nice rich coating on the meat.  We eat this on warm tortillas typically with just cilantro and diced onion (although sometimes we add sour cream).
If you have never tried deer heart I highly recommend it.  It is extremely mild and tender and takes on additional flavored very easily.  It is quickly becoming a favorite cut of meat for my family.


19" Clinch River Brown