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Just wondering if all of you have full support from your better half with regards to all the joys of hunting…I think I recently found my wife’s line in the sand so to speak…
I was blessed to take a pig with my bow this was my first somewhat big game animal with trad equip. I cleaned and quartered him out in the field and proceeded to bring him home. My wife was out shopping so I decided to use the kitchen to complete my deboning and meat prep project. I called a butcher friend of mine and we got busy. I guess we had created a bit of a mess in the kitched and I had an ice chest with unwanted portions of mr. pig. I did not notice at first that my wife had come home and was standing in the dining room looking at us in the kitchen and she did not look excited. She very quietly and politely said, ” I am going to leave now and when I get home I don’t want to know that this happend in my kitchen.” And she left…my buddy said, “That went pretty good.” and we finished up and we have not spoken of the event since.
I now know the line that is not to be crossed…
Have you found the line? Or are you blessed not to have one?
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Or are you blessed not to have one?
I’m not sure it’s a blessing, but I don’t have a wife… Is that what you meant?:shock:8)
I tend to peel the bark off a deer soon as I can, to let it cool…meat seems to taste better.
I’ve had to butcher them in my kitchen, but living alone, it’s not a problem.
I do tend to open windows, turn off the heat and set up my butcher table on sawhorses to keep the meat cool while cutting.
Then reduce to packing size cuts, vacuum seal and done.
The clean up is a mess. Did do one in a woman’s garage I was dating. Ummmm we’re not dating anymore and it took longer to clean up than to do the deer!:roll:
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I’ve cleaned a couple deer in the kitchen and it wasn’t too bad for the cleanup part but when the better half came home it was a different story. She’s getting used it by now.
Shawn
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My wife is in the kitchen helping clean and package the meat. Her Father was a butcher and meat inspector. She doesn’t care to work on fish much but really lends a hand when it is time to get to work on deer or elk. Now if I could just get her to quit cooking the venison too long.:)
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mgerard wrote: Now if I could just get her to quit cooking the venison too long.:)
That part made me laugh. here in the East, can’t hunt till you’re 12… when I brought home small game to start, Mom, a nurse by profession, would cremate the damn critter!!
When questioned, she’d say it “was wild so had to cook it hard to kill the germs!”
I learned to cook to preserve my game by age 12 and never stopped! Learned from our state Vet that you can kill any “diseases” in venison r even with pink center. That’s comforting. We were discussing tuberculosis in particular
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We all have a line that should not be crossed. I had a good talk with her. I did not leave a mess. I’ve cleaned fish, partridge, hare, deer. I’ve always cleaned up and disinfected. If she dared throw a hissy fit after that, well. We all have a line.
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Doc Noc – I was refering to not having a line to cross…not refering to not having a wife. I am so very blessed with my wife. She puts up with me and my hobbies and does it with a good sense of humor. We are best friends but she does have limits when it comes to her kitchen.
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If you work slowly and deliberately, you can get the line to move. One good sign in your favor is that she feels ownership of the kitchen…
My wife is a city girl who had no idea where meat came from. After many years of marriage, she now is right there helping grind the burger. It was a slow process that can’t be rushed.
If she owns the kitchen, then she values a good meal. Maybe an angle you could try is reading some good food books. Try reading “In Defense of Food” by Michael Pollen. There is a good section on hunting and serving pig. Then let your wife read it if she will. Pollen really puts perspective on how important good food is. And how well wild game fits into the human social / food puzzle.
Hunters are patient folk. Think of it as a long stalk.
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Cameron wrote: Doc Noc – I was referring to not having a line to cross…not referring to not having a wife. I am so very blessed with my wife. She puts up with me and my hobbies and does it with a good sense of humor. We are best friends but she does have limits when it comes to her kitchen.
😀 I figured that Cameron! Just playing with ya a bit and actually have a nostalgic spot reading such posts.
A GOOD woman is a great asset! Lesser is worser!
Congrats on a good bride. Lines with a good partner are part of the “give and take” that makes a good relationship! Kudos!
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Cameron – I’d suggest finding the best pork recipe you can, and knocking her socks off with an amazing meal that she’ll never forget. If she can at least experience the end result, she may be a little more understanding about the process…good luck!
I’m lucky enough to have a better half that loves cooking and eating wild game, and enjoys the butchering process.
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Smithhammer – you are right on with your advise. Even though I have not taken my own deer with a bow. I have a good friend that is generous and shares of his bounty. A few packages of Deer meat is like gold in my freezer! I shamelessly hoard it all for myself, and that is tough with two sons. If the boys hear I have deer meat it is gone. Two years ago I was feeling generous and offered a sample to my wife who in the past had declined and I was expecting her to decline once again but to my surprise she accepted. She loved it! And now encourages my efforts to put meat in the freezer, venison…that is.
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I have always de-boned out under the shed as I butcher. The coolers do need to come into the kitchen one at a time and I use a 5 gal bucket for trimmings. I don’t rinse meat so the sink area is only used to wash hands and utensils. If you are careful there really is no mess. The wife or my mom will pitch in and help. It is or was a common thing in the recent past. Today, things can be quite different and I can see how you might be challenged. As Steve said, a long stalk. Someone said “We all have a line” True. And these lines move over time. Sometimes for better, sometimes for worse.
I have a different problem. My wife has grown tired of venison. I think we had too much of it for some time. And we don’t need as much of it now that it is just us. So I am more reluctant to take a shot these days.
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Cameron wrote: And she left…my buddy said, “That went pretty good.”
Hahaha… Now that’s funny. My wife doesn’t help butcher but she doesn’t mind the process at all. She’ll hang around while I’m taking the carcass apart, scraping the hide, stuffing sausage, packaging meat, etc. Of course, we always enjoy a few brews while we’re at it.
I did have an incident two springs ago though…
You know, wild animals just don’t gorge themselves like domestic ones do. Well I bought a lamb. The farmer had told me he’d take the animal off the grass the night before, but he didn’t. I picked it up late morning, and its rumen was absolutely stuffed. I decided to go ahead with the process anyway and…barely nicked the rumen. What a mess. My wife took the kids to the city park and said, “I’ve got my phone. Call us when you’re done.” Lesson learned.
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My wife and teenage daughter are my two favorite hunting partners. Christine went two-for-two on whitetails last year, both double-lung pass-throughs with short blood trails. Rachel has yet to draw on a deer, but I’m hopeful she’ll fill her first tag this year.
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My wife is awesome. She is the only female in the house, including the pets! My two 14 y/o sons hunt and fish with me…and she’s thrilled by it. Long time ago, when we first met, she asked how much I love to hunt and fish. I told her, nicely, that I’ve been in the outdoors since three and that I’d be there forever, long before we met, and long after she’s gone… She looked at me, thought fora minute and asked if I’d show her what its like 😀
She did her final thesis, as a broadcast journalism major in a VERY liberal university in downtown Manhattan, on whitetail deer hunting 8)
She got the ring the next year 😆
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Animals are not allowed in the house until they become ‘recognizable’ cuts of meat.
I’m sure my wife could have been a crime scene investigator, a speck of blood or feather she will find it.
Strangely cleaning riding boots in the kitchen is OK.
The spaniels and I used to get ‘sent out’ on a regular bases fortunately the pub is within easy walking distance of our house and I haven’t been thrown out of the pub since the incident with the ferret.
OK Robin, what is TJ banned from doing in the house.
Mark.
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pothunter wrote: OK Robin, what is TJ banned from doing in the house.
He is such an animal lover than I hesitate to get chickens or horses…I fear they’d be sleeping on the bed!
Butchering is done in the kitchen and I help whenever I can. It’s a big job to do alone! It doesn’t matter where he plucks birds, feathers ALWAYS end up inside the house. I gave up a long time ago. 😀 I was not raised in a hunting family, so all this was new to me. It didn’t take me long to appreciate the taste of wild game, but I caught on to the “free food” line pretty quick. Need a new bow, a new truck, an Alaska hunt, taxidermy… I also enjoyed a little quiet time during hunting season and never understood why some wives get so upset. It’s a part of him I would never dream of trying to stop.
I do remember when the kids were little… Travis was about 7 and had gone elk hunting with T.J. and a friend. He proceeded to show his little sister how to blood trail…from the back of the truck, through the garage, and into the kitchen! 🙄
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My wife doesn’t hunt but she is very supportive and loves to have a freezer full of good, honest game. She always helps with the butchering (not the gutting, etc. though….8)) She’s even gotten used to having weird things looking back at her from the freezer. We do all the processing of the meat in the kitchen. If I’m lucky I can even get her and the kids to crank the ol’ meat grinder.
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It is a joy to read all your comments and stories. It just goes to show you that our tradition is a family affair. In a time when families are falling apart there are still healthy activites and lifestyles that bring family together! That is good news…
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