Deer Liver

[Buckmaster]

Jesse's deer heart thread got me thinking.....I've saved deer livers all fall long from my camp's kills. I have 8 of them plus a donation or two from friends.
I mainly wanted these for my training purposes for my deer tracking puppy. I have since found I only need a small piece about half the size of your hand for tracking training. I figured the smaller the smell...the better the nose...during my training.

Needless to say....I think I have way too much liver on hand.

I've never been a beef liver eater....always hated it growing up. My friend loves deer liver as its one of his favorite meals right behind deer kidney soup (yuck). I've tried deer liver once by slicing thin, soaking in buttermilk overnight, season with salt, pepper, and flour, and pan fry with butter and onion. I ate about 2 pieces before my dog at the time finished off the rest.

I'd like to bring myself back to trying it once again. These cold snowy weekends have prompted my interest the past couple of weekends for some experimental cooking.
I think I'll give it another try in the weekends ahead.

So....who likes deer liver.....and who doesn't. I believe I'm still in the "Don't Like" category.

Anyone have any good recipes that hide the bile taste more (I think I tried bacon grease once before)?

 

[Jason Short]

I hate any kind of liver. Put it on a hook and catch some catfish! Catfish taste a lot better anyway lol

 

[Redhunter1012]

I also hate any kind of liver. I will eat stuff that would make a Billy goat puke, liver aint one of them. I cant say I've ever tried deer liver. Like you, if someone prepared it differently I would give it a try.

 

[bowhunter1023]

Never tired it and don't plan on it. Joe will be along soon to tell you why... lmao

 

[Big_Holla]

I absolutely LOVE deer liver, cooked by dipping in flour and fried in a giant skillet with tons of butter and onions. With that said the last time I had deer liver I had killed a big doe back when I was in college that I kept the liver from. We had several of our friends together as we got to cooking it one night. Man did it smell great and boy the first couple of tidbits were incredible. That was until one of my slices found the little hidey-hole the liver fluke was living in. At first I wasn't sure what I had cut into. Thought maybe it was just an odd spot until we started looking at the thin slimy looking thing that spilled out. Sure enough it was indeed a liver fluke. As small as the hole was where he was hiding I could have very easily cut on both sides and fried up that little sucker and one of us could have eaten him. Damn that has ruined me ever since. My suggestion is to cut it as thin as possible BEFORE you waste the time frying everything up as you go. Will I ever eat it again?? Man I just don't know....

 

[MK111]

Been eating all kinds of liver since I was young. Growing up eating liver I always thought all food was to taste that way.

But like I posted in the deer heart section try this.
Fry thin sliced liver brown with flour, put it in a roasting pan and cover with purple plums and bake till done. That removes the strong liver taste and is damn good.
The wife always fries in onions.

 

[Lumber head 75]

We used to eat deer liver when we were kids and that probably why I won't eat it now. I do like deer heart though.

 

[brock ratcliff]

Liver ain't my thing. I've never tried a deer's, but I know folks that do. To a person, each claims you have to eat it fresh, never frozen. I would be as likely to eat it fresh out of the gut pile with blood on my hands as I would be to eat it from a skillet... probably isn't going to happen.

 

[Boarhead]

Cant stand the stuff.

 

[Joel]

My wife loves liver and onions but is not allowed to cook it in the house because the smell of it cooking makes me want to puke. Another vote for catfish bait.

 

[Buckmaster]

Another vote for catfish bait.

So happens I have 75 catfish in my pond. 50 will be 5 years old this Spring, 24-28 inchers. 25 will need harvested this Summer.

Turning some liver into catfish and snapping turtle bait....strongly possible.