I love to cook, and love deer meat, even the heart and liver. And I hate to waste anything so I take care to keep the heart and liver to cook. There is an old joke that farmers use everything from a pig except the squeal. I don’t take using deer that far, but I try to use everything I can when I kill one.

Recently I shot a deer and hit it just right, blowing out the lungs without damaging the liver or heart. I try to shoot all deer like that, without damaging any meat. When I gutted the deer I carefully washed off the heart and liver and put them in a plastic bag so I could cook them.

When I got home I washed the liver and heart again, sliced both and put them in a Ziploc bag with salt water. That pulls out a lot of the blood and I think it helps give the meat a better flavor.

The next night I got the sliced meat out and dried it, then coated the half-inch thick slices with flour. I then heated olive oil and sauteed sliced onions until they started to brown. I use a lot of onions, I really like them, too!

After the onions are soft and browned I remove them and put the floured meat into the oil. When the meat is brown on one side, I flip it and put the onions back on top. The heat should be low enough to just fry the meat and brown it. Too hot and the liver will be tough.

After the meat browns on the second side I add enough warm water to cover the meat and let it simmer at very low heat. I use a spatula to make sure I scrape all the brown crust off the pan and get it mixed with the water. Again, too high heat makes the meat tough so keep it as low as possible to keep the sauce bubbling slightly. Stir it frequently.

The sauce will be white to start but brown as it simmers. I like the meat barely done, still a little pink inside. It is more tender and moist before it gets too well done.

While the meat simmers, usually for about 30 minutes, I slice potatoes and more onions and saute them in another pan until the potatoes are soft. This is a great dish with the meat. I have a salad with it – gotta get my green veggies! In the picture below the salad is all gone! I eat it first.

Fill your plate with meat and potatoes, cover all with gravy, and eat it up!