Sometimes its hard to look inward like you've done so good on you for noticing a change and searching for a way to deal with it. As others have said I think a dinner group would help empty that freezer quicker but as far as hunting less as to not bring back more wild game maybe try taking new hunters out and allow them to experience the satisfaction of spending time in nature and maybe the opportunity to fill the freezer. This last season was the first time I actually had to buy a bigger freezer because I shot my first deer and elk 2 weeks apart. (Mind you this is my 8th hunting season) Before that it was just trout, catfish, ducks and geese and the occasional elk steaks and ground I would get from my wifes uncle. My love language is also cooking and thankfully my wife and 2 daughters love deer and elk but I've noticed that I an not going through it as much as I thought I would. When I would get some wild game I would use it for special occasions or to try recipes likes ones you've written..so its hard to break from the mentality of not having much and using it sparingly. Its a blessing to be able to open the freezer and pull out a pack of ground or steaks for dinners but I've been considering have a wild game dinner and inviting some buddies over that don't hunt to share in my spoils. I think you'll learn to adjust and adapt to your new situation and we're happy to be along for the ride. Cheers fron Idaho!
Check with your local food bank to donate the extras. Or a local shelter- animal or human. Local charity or church to feed low income families. A senior or adult day care center. Food insecurity is everywhere.
I don’t hunt. I made my brother, an accomplished solo fisherman, hysterical when I brought a fish in a “to the moon” style. Reading about what you have in your freezer along with the freezers of your readers has me drooling. Wish I could help you all empty your freezers by purchasing a shipment of delectables! 🤔
Compelling piece, Hank. I have similar feelings about my freezers at times. Procuring and preparing wild meat for my wife, family, and friends is definitely part of my “love language” too. As my wife reach the end of our lives I wonder if I would keep hunting should she die before I do…
I have shared with my towns food bank. The volunteers there gladly take extra game I have. It's not given to the community. Produce from the garden too. Life just keeps changing, and I keep trying to learn acceptance. Letting go can be beautiful.
Idea: Sunday dinner at Hank's (or Saturday, or whatever) - neighbors, whoever's in St. Paul that week, invited guests. Get one day you do/cook something spectacular for folks to show them you love them.
I'm in a similar situation - I do all the cooking, and during Covid the process of meal planning an preparation became a beautiful addiction. Like a 6'3", hairy, whisky drinking Italian grandma.
Now both kids are in college, and while my wife loves my cooking she's tiny and eats about a 1/2 portion at best. She'll generally take leftovers for lunch, but I still end up dumping a couple Tupperware containers into the compost every week. I went on FOUR ungulate hunts last fall without killing an animal to bring home and I was genuinely happy (more than just OK) because I've got a ton of good stuff from last year sneering at me from the chest freezer. Maybe I'll follow my own advice and invite some folks over for dinner.
Hank, this is a wonderful observation of yourself. Although I can't explain it, after reading Thinking , Fast and Slow (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thinking,_Fast_and_Slow) I feel much more at ease with incentives, economy, and loss in my own daily living. I think you are digging up a bit of this in this post. Maybe teasing out your own incentives and recognizing the tension between them could help - that's the reason for the book recommendation. Cheers!
Hank this hit so home to me. This has been my own journey and transformation as well. I did not hunt deer last year because I killed five the year before and even after feeding many neighbors and friends I am still awash in venison. I noticed that some years there is less deer and maybe a few more ducks or doves and so the freezer or freezers change. But I have for the first time ever made a change to almost emptying the freezers before I charge them again. It is a form of conservation and respect for the animals we take as game. and more and more I enjoy just catching and releasing fish like Tarpon Bonefish etc only keeping enough eating fish when I need them. Your transformation is not unusual so don't worry your are just getting older and growing like the rest of us.
What about trying to start up a dinner club that meets every so often and can rotate between people? It may not get you through your freezer in a hurry, but being able to cook for and in turn share meals amongst friends is always enjoyable.
Another thought; attend your local hunting /fishing groups’ gatherings (DU banquets, etc.) and talk with members about sharing your harvest. Every year, I meet members who no longer hunting but would love to have a couple of processed ducks to eat again. Former hunters that just can’t get out anymore because of age or mobility issues may still love to eat wild game. Word of mouth can empty a freezer pretty fast.
My own grandmother loved my walleye fillet gifts well into her 90’s. Just a thought.
Once wild game is processed and in your freezer, it cannot be donated but, MInnesota, like a few other northern states, had a venison donation program. The MN DNR and Dept. of Agriculture collaborate on a venison donation program to food shelves. It costs nothing to the hunter and is funded by a $5 license fee that pays processors for processing the field dressed carcasses brought in by hunters. Just search for “Minnesota Venison Donation Program” and next time you harvest three deer…..😊
Looks like my freezer as well. Just added a whitetail. Now thanks to you I have livers, hearts, tongues that I collected from everyone else because you showed me how good they can be!
Sounds like you hit a nerve with a lot of people, including me. We cook for 2, but my wife's dietary restrictions (cholesterol/fats/sugars) and preferences (No meatloaf! Meatballs are little meatloafs! No stuffed peppers or stuffed cabbage! Elk gyros are Greek meatloaf!) limit somewhat how we use our wild game.
To be honest, I love to cook. I love to coax something special out of the wild game I've harvested, sort of the same way my woodworking coaxes the natural beauty from wood when I do a project. But preparing a successful recipe is only part of the equation- it's sharing it with someone to get that "Oh Wow!" reaction...that's the icing on the cake. That's why we invite the neighbors over for a wild game dinner, or when friends and relatives are in town, they know they will be eating game. Last Thanksgiving it was pheasant white chili on Wednesday, smoke roasted wild turkey breast on Thursday and Elk Osso Buco on Friday. They are still talking about those meals. Wouldn't be the same if we were eating alone.
In SE Minnesota potluck dinners are pretty common, so that's another outlet for our wild game recipes. I'm making venison Swedish meatballs for our annual meeting this weekend....no, my wife's not going. :-)
I don't have a good answer for you when it comes to cooking for one- just know that many of us out here are making your recipes and saying, "Oh Wow!". We're just not there for you to hear us.
I am right in there with all the comments below...and I hear you about the freezer screaming at you. Mine does the same thing. So, its always good to know your not alone. Most of what we have is waterfowl and pheasant in our freezers, along with beef from a farmer friend. If it were not for being in a waterfowl hunting club, it would be a lonely experience, though solitary hunts are a welcome time to really connect with thoughts and nature. The club gives a good comradery, a place to share recipes and dishes prepared at some of our get togethers. ...and of course, in my case, being involved in some dog training groups is an outlet for the same thing...and, it gives me a really skilled four legged hunting buddy! There is little things that compare to the connection and bond that a working dog trained and handled by the hunter has.
For me, the answer is grind it up! We use way more ground meat than anything else in the freezer. We've also added a freeze dryer to our tool box, which gives us the ability to store stuff in the pantry, or even a closet. We're still learning the ins and outs of our new tool, but our ultimate goal is long term food storage.
I, too, suffer from freezer tyranny (love the term - stealing it). I have rabbit, an almost entire lamb, and various precooked meals, made with the best of intentions. Like you, I'm single, and also, my live language is cooking for other people. What I lack, being AuDHD, is the impetus to use said food, especially in the winter (which is the whole reason for stockpiling in the first place). I am a committed carnivore, and not interested in more than one or two less meaty dishes a year. But, two freezer failures in the last year have finally made it through the fog (losses way less than expected), and I'm trying to "shop at home". Plus, it's just too freaking expensive to buy meat (or anything, really - green onions were $1.50 last week). This spring will include a garden reassessment. I was accused of having food insecurity - I don't - but I like good food, and , increasingly, that means making it myself, start to finish. I'm grateful that I have the ability to do that.
Sometimes its hard to look inward like you've done so good on you for noticing a change and searching for a way to deal with it. As others have said I think a dinner group would help empty that freezer quicker but as far as hunting less as to not bring back more wild game maybe try taking new hunters out and allow them to experience the satisfaction of spending time in nature and maybe the opportunity to fill the freezer. This last season was the first time I actually had to buy a bigger freezer because I shot my first deer and elk 2 weeks apart. (Mind you this is my 8th hunting season) Before that it was just trout, catfish, ducks and geese and the occasional elk steaks and ground I would get from my wifes uncle. My love language is also cooking and thankfully my wife and 2 daughters love deer and elk but I've noticed that I an not going through it as much as I thought I would. When I would get some wild game I would use it for special occasions or to try recipes likes ones you've written..so its hard to break from the mentality of not having much and using it sparingly. Its a blessing to be able to open the freezer and pull out a pack of ground or steaks for dinners but I've been considering have a wild game dinner and inviting some buddies over that don't hunt to share in my spoils. I think you'll learn to adjust and adapt to your new situation and we're happy to be along for the ride. Cheers fron Idaho!
Check with your local food bank to donate the extras. Or a local shelter- animal or human. Local charity or church to feed low income families. A senior or adult day care center. Food insecurity is everywhere.
I don’t hunt. I made my brother, an accomplished solo fisherman, hysterical when I brought a fish in a “to the moon” style. Reading about what you have in your freezer along with the freezers of your readers has me drooling. Wish I could help you all empty your freezers by purchasing a shipment of delectables! 🤔
Compelling piece, Hank. I have similar feelings about my freezers at times. Procuring and preparing wild meat for my wife, family, and friends is definitely part of my “love language” too. As my wife reach the end of our lives I wonder if I would keep hunting should she die before I do…
I have shared with my towns food bank. The volunteers there gladly take extra game I have. It's not given to the community. Produce from the garden too. Life just keeps changing, and I keep trying to learn acceptance. Letting go can be beautiful.
Idea: Sunday dinner at Hank's (or Saturday, or whatever) - neighbors, whoever's in St. Paul that week, invited guests. Get one day you do/cook something spectacular for folks to show them you love them.
I'm in a similar situation - I do all the cooking, and during Covid the process of meal planning an preparation became a beautiful addiction. Like a 6'3", hairy, whisky drinking Italian grandma.
Now both kids are in college, and while my wife loves my cooking she's tiny and eats about a 1/2 portion at best. She'll generally take leftovers for lunch, but I still end up dumping a couple Tupperware containers into the compost every week. I went on FOUR ungulate hunts last fall without killing an animal to bring home and I was genuinely happy (more than just OK) because I've got a ton of good stuff from last year sneering at me from the chest freezer. Maybe I'll follow my own advice and invite some folks over for dinner.
Hank, this is a wonderful observation of yourself. Although I can't explain it, after reading Thinking , Fast and Slow (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thinking,_Fast_and_Slow) I feel much more at ease with incentives, economy, and loss in my own daily living. I think you are digging up a bit of this in this post. Maybe teasing out your own incentives and recognizing the tension between them could help - that's the reason for the book recommendation. Cheers!
Hank this hit so home to me. This has been my own journey and transformation as well. I did not hunt deer last year because I killed five the year before and even after feeding many neighbors and friends I am still awash in venison. I noticed that some years there is less deer and maybe a few more ducks or doves and so the freezer or freezers change. But I have for the first time ever made a change to almost emptying the freezers before I charge them again. It is a form of conservation and respect for the animals we take as game. and more and more I enjoy just catching and releasing fish like Tarpon Bonefish etc only keeping enough eating fish when I need them. Your transformation is not unusual so don't worry your are just getting older and growing like the rest of us.
What about trying to start up a dinner club that meets every so often and can rotate between people? It may not get you through your freezer in a hurry, but being able to cook for and in turn share meals amongst friends is always enjoyable.
Another thought; attend your local hunting /fishing groups’ gatherings (DU banquets, etc.) and talk with members about sharing your harvest. Every year, I meet members who no longer hunting but would love to have a couple of processed ducks to eat again. Former hunters that just can’t get out anymore because of age or mobility issues may still love to eat wild game. Word of mouth can empty a freezer pretty fast.
My own grandmother loved my walleye fillet gifts well into her 90’s. Just a thought.
Once wild game is processed and in your freezer, it cannot be donated but, MInnesota, like a few other northern states, had a venison donation program. The MN DNR and Dept. of Agriculture collaborate on a venison donation program to food shelves. It costs nothing to the hunter and is funded by a $5 license fee that pays processors for processing the field dressed carcasses brought in by hunters. Just search for “Minnesota Venison Donation Program” and next time you harvest three deer…..😊
Looks like my freezer as well. Just added a whitetail. Now thanks to you I have livers, hearts, tongues that I collected from everyone else because you showed me how good they can be!
Sounds like you hit a nerve with a lot of people, including me. We cook for 2, but my wife's dietary restrictions (cholesterol/fats/sugars) and preferences (No meatloaf! Meatballs are little meatloafs! No stuffed peppers or stuffed cabbage! Elk gyros are Greek meatloaf!) limit somewhat how we use our wild game.
To be honest, I love to cook. I love to coax something special out of the wild game I've harvested, sort of the same way my woodworking coaxes the natural beauty from wood when I do a project. But preparing a successful recipe is only part of the equation- it's sharing it with someone to get that "Oh Wow!" reaction...that's the icing on the cake. That's why we invite the neighbors over for a wild game dinner, or when friends and relatives are in town, they know they will be eating game. Last Thanksgiving it was pheasant white chili on Wednesday, smoke roasted wild turkey breast on Thursday and Elk Osso Buco on Friday. They are still talking about those meals. Wouldn't be the same if we were eating alone.
In SE Minnesota potluck dinners are pretty common, so that's another outlet for our wild game recipes. I'm making venison Swedish meatballs for our annual meeting this weekend....no, my wife's not going. :-)
I don't have a good answer for you when it comes to cooking for one- just know that many of us out here are making your recipes and saying, "Oh Wow!". We're just not there for you to hear us.
I am right in there with all the comments below...and I hear you about the freezer screaming at you. Mine does the same thing. So, its always good to know your not alone. Most of what we have is waterfowl and pheasant in our freezers, along with beef from a farmer friend. If it were not for being in a waterfowl hunting club, it would be a lonely experience, though solitary hunts are a welcome time to really connect with thoughts and nature. The club gives a good comradery, a place to share recipes and dishes prepared at some of our get togethers. ...and of course, in my case, being involved in some dog training groups is an outlet for the same thing...and, it gives me a really skilled four legged hunting buddy! There is little things that compare to the connection and bond that a working dog trained and handled by the hunter has.
For me, the answer is grind it up! We use way more ground meat than anything else in the freezer. We've also added a freeze dryer to our tool box, which gives us the ability to store stuff in the pantry, or even a closet. We're still learning the ins and outs of our new tool, but our ultimate goal is long term food storage.
I, too, suffer from freezer tyranny (love the term - stealing it). I have rabbit, an almost entire lamb, and various precooked meals, made with the best of intentions. Like you, I'm single, and also, my live language is cooking for other people. What I lack, being AuDHD, is the impetus to use said food, especially in the winter (which is the whole reason for stockpiling in the first place). I am a committed carnivore, and not interested in more than one or two less meaty dishes a year. But, two freezer failures in the last year have finally made it through the fog (losses way less than expected), and I'm trying to "shop at home". Plus, it's just too freaking expensive to buy meat (or anything, really - green onions were $1.50 last week). This spring will include a garden reassessment. I was accused of having food insecurity - I don't - but I like good food, and , increasingly, that means making it myself, start to finish. I'm grateful that I have the ability to do that.