Today Nick sits down with creator and CEO of the Sportsmen's Nation Podcast Network, Dan Johnson.  Dan harvested an incredible buck this past fall and wanted to try something new, the heart. We breakdown some of his initial expectations of the organ, and unpack the reaction from himself and the family members he served.  Along with some other banter, this is a great conversation. Enjoy.

Show Notes:

Dan Johnson is the Host of several podcasts including his own Nine Finger Chronicles.  Wanting to create a place where relatable, dedicated, and unique content would be available for a wide range of hunters, Dan created the Sportsmennation Podcast Network.  Not only has he assembled a great line up of Podcasts, but writers, videographers, and (Lord willing) a library of wild game recipes.

Dan harvested an impressive buck this year and for a chance to take something away from the gut pile he pulled the heart.  We discuss how the heart has it’s own unique characteristics that make it a desirable organ to keep, yet has a touch of odd factor that can turn away finicky eaters.  After some trimming of vessels and outer layer, the heart shows it’s unique grain. Because it being the heart, it has a richer, bold flavor. You can’t mistake the venison tones.  Dan referred to it as a slight “gamey” flavor, but not off putting. Together we draft up 3 dishes:

Dish One:  Heart Rings.  Basic, easy, hunt camp crowd pleaser.  Slice heart into ½” rings, season and sear.  On the larger rings, crack and egg on the inside, sear each side, serve.

Dish Two:  Heart fajitas.  Traditional Mexican dish, usually accompanied by tongue, liver, and tripe.  Slice thin and a quick marinade in some adobo sauce, lime, oil, or a basic mexican seasoning.  Pro Tip, add some cocoa powder to your Mexican sauces and marinade. Sear or grill, add to grilled veggies and tortillas.

Dish Three:  Iowa Jalepeno Heart Poppers

Easy on the eyes, a blast of flavor.  Half and core Jalepenos. Careful to not blast your face with juice or rub your eyes.  Fill with: cream cheese, cheese, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked Peprika. Slice heart thin and add a slice to the top of the spread, wrap in bacon, grill poppers to a nice sear/touch of char. 

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Nick chats with friend and greenhorn deer tracker, Tony Hill.  Tony is an experienced houndsman, raising beagles for bunnies. This past summer, he jumped into the blood and deer tracking game here in Michigan.  Providing a service to hunters, Tony and his dog Fred pick up the trail where hunters get stuck. We cover a basic dog training tactics, retell the story of one particular track, and Nick grills Tony about his trips out to Colorado for chasing elk.  All in all it is a great episode.

Show Notes:

Tony is a member Michigan Deer Trackers, a network of dogs and trainers who take pride in being able to help hunters find lost deer.  As Tony mentions, they are not miracle workers, and if it's not a killing shot, the dog isnt going to be able to help. However, the amazing traits of these dogs, to track animals is what is helping hunters recover more deer.  Fred, may be only a 6 month old pup, but he’s pulling off some great tracks. Particularly, a friend of mine had a low shot on a deer. Fred covered several hundred yards, through major thick brush, and found the buck that had rolled down a cliff and into a lake, incredible stuff.  Tony reminds hunters to connect with a tracker and their dog before season, and have a number stored. If that tracker can’t make it, the network of trackers should be able to connect you with someone. If not in Michigan, check to see if your state has a tracking dog service. After the shot, the goal becomes recovery, what better alias than dog with a good nose.

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Nick and Dustin are finally able to sit down and chat again.  November has been tough on them and their deer hunting. Dustin has been moving and Nick’s family has been plaugued with a month long sickness.  However, the guys are hopeful for the second half of the deer season and even getting gitty for small game soon.

October was good to the Huntavore crew. Nick and Dustin were on the board with does.  Nick was able to salvage a real nice 9 point buck from a friends backyard. November ended up being very busy in their personal lives, so shotgun season sits were pretty few.  Nick elaborates on the CWD testing on his doe and how it was a pretty simple process. Also a heart recipe is in the works for Dan Johnson’s buck heart. Nicks got a few ideas rolling around but need to get a plan written down.

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Will is from Kentucky where he enjoys chasing whitetails and squirrels.  As the Hunting Editor for Field and Stream Magazine, will is in a roll where he is writing for new and veteran hunters alike.  His articles are informative and quite detailed. Something about hunters, we always want to know caliber, gauge, pounds at draw, let off etc.

Will’s Article “Hunting is Much More than Meat: 

https://www.outdoorlife.com/hunting-is-about-much-more-than-meat/

Now it sounds like Will was put up to writing this article, not to blast the locavore movement, or foodies making elaborate wild game dishes.  However to not sell hunting short by making it glorified grocery shopping. Many hunters or new hunters have different motivations. While Nick’s may be the chance to gain a beautiful backstrap, Will’s motivation to get up early and get cold could be entirely different.  Another point that Will brought up was veteran hunters, who have served venison for decades and love it, are being off put by “newbies” who are telling them they are doing it wrong. It's a balancing act, as new hunters join and show their newness, veterans will be there to guide them, but don’t tell your mentor he overcooked his backstrap.

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Nick connects with the Great Lakes Director of QDMA, Josh Hillyard.  Josh was instrumental in launching a program here in Michigan, that is catching on nationwide called Field to Fork.  The goal of this program is; to get adults who have a desire to hunt yet lack guidance or knowhow, educated and connected with mentor hunters who can help in developing a lifelong pursuit.

Show Notes

Like most things surrounding food, I got really excited when I witnessed a presentation at the Michigan BHA rendezvous, and when sat in on one of the educational sessions Josh gave.  With both Josh and I being adult onset hunters ourselves, this type of programming resonates with us.

Field to Fork can range in programming.  What I saw was a day and a half in the “classroom”.  Learning the hows and whys of conservation and how hunting plays into all that. Along with deer habitat and behavior to help the new hunter know what to look for.  Then the next step is range time and getting acquainted with the mentor. That afternoon, hunter pairs (mentor and participant, head to their spot or stand for their hunt.  THe next day is followed up with more hunts and if possible, a demonstration of deer quartering and butchering. Along with followup and mentor contacts, Field to Fork is setup to recruit hunters for a lifetime.   

  If you yourself want to make the leap into hunting whitetails or want to volunteer as a mentor hunter.

For More info on Field to Fork :  https://www.qdma.com/recruit/field-to-fork/

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Nick tracks down Dr. Brent Race, a lead scientist from NIH (National Institutes of Health) who worked on the study; Inactivation of chronic wasting disease prions using sodium hypochlorite. The findings are exciting and promising for home or commercial processors who could be butchering infected deer. Using a solution of 40% bleach and a soak of 5 minutes, CWD prions can be inactivated, saving your cutlery, and non-porous cutting surfaces from infecting further butcher jobs, thus having to be pitched. With many parts of the country, including my home county in Michigan, having to face this growing problem that is showing to be very formidable. However, this may be a battle won in the ongoing war of CWD.

Show Notes

Dr. Race explained that deactivating other infectious prion diseases with bleach is “old news”, but no work had been done on CWD in cervides (classification of the deer species) with a bleach treatment. Running several simulations with infected brain matter, stainless steel rods were covered in infectious prions and submerged in different concentrations of bleach along with varying amounts of time. The now treated roda were moved over to a solution of healthy prion material. Activated infectious prions would begin mutating healthy prions, making them infectious. In-activated infectious prions can’t mutate healthy prions, meaning they couldn’t spread the infection.

Article: https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/household-bleach-inactivates-chronic-wasting-disease-prions

Actual Study (if you enjoy scientific reading):

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0223659

From the discussion, Huntavore has put together some procedures to think about when cutting up your own deer that could be infected. Mind you these are steps are being proactive, reacting to not knowing your deer is positive for CWD, rather than reactive and scrambling with the news of knowing your deer is positive,

Setup:

Put down a disposable ground covering, like plastic drop cloth or construction paper (the large rolls). Place cutting table on covered area. Might want to avoid the kitchen table.

Proceed cutting up the animal making sure keep cuts in non-porous containers

Bag, seal, wrap, whatever your storing method then box up, freeze, and wait for the results (hardest part). Try to avoid grinding meat at this point.

Clean Up:

Make sure the area is WELL ventilated.

Brush fat, and silverskin, small bits on the ground cover, rollup and bag up.

Wash and scrub both table/cutting boards, and used saws or knives per usual. Removing all remaining macro bits. Rinse and let dry (to not dilute the bleach treatment.

Sack up all sponges/rags/Brillo pads that were used (wait on the test results, if positive, toss with the meat. If ok, they can be used again.)

Mix up a container of 1 to 1 parts water and household bleach. Place all cutlery in the solution, making sure bleach can get to all surfaces. Set a timer for 5 minutes, watch carefully. Pull, rinse, let dry before putting away.

In a spray bottle, filled with full strength bleach, spray down cutting boards or cutting table, as long as they are non porous. Let set for 5-7 minutes, watching the surface so it’s not damaged by the bleach. When time is up, rinse off and let dry.

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Nick talks with Rich Wilson, host of the channel Death By Bunjie.  Rich and his trusty crossbow, Bunjie travel the north east in search of whitetails, and the occasional feral hog.  He’s an advocate for crossbows and their effectiveness along with knowing their limitations as archery equipment. A common argument is the discussion among hunters of crossbow vs vertical bow.  His passion is for the outdoors and wild feast he can aquire, method is merely a personal choice within legal means of take. 

His Channel has covered a whole host of topics revolving around crossbows, and hunting in general.  His videos are very informative, yet entertaining at the same time. He brings an old-school feel to a digital platform.  When your 2 dish breakdown involves canning venison and stuffed backstrap, you know this man is in it for all the right reasons.

Show Notes

Rich Wilson can be found at: Death by Bunjie on Youtube.  Along with conversations and group chats on Facebook through his page Death by Bunjie.

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Nick talks with Dan Hruska, host of HP Outdoors Podcast. Dan is gitty for all things waterfowl. From big old Canada Honkers to ducks of every kind. He and his friend Josh scour the country for the next opportunity all along with running a weekly waterfowl podcast.

Show Notes:

Dan hails from Pennsylvania where he pursues birds who are migrating along the eastern flyway. Nick gets some basics on the whys and hows of waterfowling. Couple big take-aways was paying attention to the wind, birds need the wind inorder to land or take off so setting your ambush with the wind at your back is key. Second, championship callers may make a whole library of calls, but when in the field, mimicking what the birds are doing is what callers are going for, and when push comes to shove, motion in your decoys is more effective than calling.

Now to the cutting board. Ducks are divided into divers and puddle. Divers having more of a streamline appearance (fighter jet) can have a fishy taste, especially in their fat. Trimming the colored fat helps mild flavor. Puddle ducks are more balanced in their body shape and can take off almost vertically (Helicopter). Have a milder flavor and their fat can have a very rich flavor. Saving rendered duck fat can be beneficial for enhancing dishes. Not to mention much saving the cash in not buying the store bought stuff.

Pro Tip: When getting a perfectly seared duck breast, start with a cold pan. As heat builds the fat renders allowing you to flip the breast and sear in its own fat. Medium-rare seems to be the target doneness for best flavor. Well done can be livery in taste.

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Nick and Dustin chat about the changes or non-changes to their archery setups.  At the time of this recording, there was 30 days, but realistically it's right around the corner.  Nick put together a formula to use when trying to figure out how much usable weight to expect off your deer. Plus the guys roll out the Otto/Isenhoff (Huntavore) Scoring System.

Show Notes:

Nick and Dustin try to answer the age old question of what am I going to get back from my deer.  With emotions running high you tell your processor you want steaks and sausage, only to return with a tiny box that is “your deer”.  The guys have created a formula to help you set expectations for yourself when picking up your “tiny” box or when you are processing your own.

Break Down of Useable Meat off a Deer

Figured Based on Field Dressed Animal

• Hide and hooves on
• All innards and entrails removed

FD x 1.26 = approx. live weight

FD /  1.331= hanging carcass

HC x .67 = ideal usable meat

IUM x .7 = realistic usable meat

Example:

 PLW’s Buck

Known: 110 is field dressed

110 x 1.26=138.6 Live wt.

110 / 1.331=82 carcass wt.

82 x .67= 55 ideal

55 x .7= 38.5 realistic

Range would be between 55 and 38 lbs

Boone and Crockett, Pope and Young, scoring systems that help measure the side of the animal taken.  However, there is a lot of the story lost in a score. It's not all about the inches. So we have rolled out a NEW scoring system called Otto and Isenoff.  It is more of a whole hunt score, than just about the antlers. So go ahead, and run your next deer through the OI or Huntavore Score.

Otto-Isenoff (Huntavore) Score:

Recovered Deer:  50 pts (15pt bonus if on public land)

    10pt for bringing kids/non-hunting friends on the recovery (max 10pts)

    1pt for every .25 mile unassisted drag/carry (sleds and additional pullers allowed)

Antler Points:  1 pt for every “point” that can hold a ring

5 pts bonus for each sticker (point off of a point) or split brow tine

5th Quarter:  5 pts for each organ recovered and kept (pairs are considered 1 organ)

Hanging Carcass:  1 pt for every pound above 100lbs at Field dressed

      2 pt for every pound above “realistic” side of usable meat scale

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Nick chats with Founder of Western Daughters Butcher Shop, Kate Kavanaugh. Recently, she was featured in the New York Times for her very interesting story of becoming a strict vegetarian in her youth to owning and operating a whole animal butcher shop in Colorado.

Show Notes:

Instagram: @kate_kavanaugh @westerndaughters

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