Bacon-Wrapped Venison Fillets

THE FIRST MORNING - DEER SEASON 2008

The first morning of the season was cold and wet. A chill wind came from the northwest. Nephew John and I went down from the Ridge Road and worked our way into the upper part of the hollow. We came to old structural pieces of stone and concrete but little else to suggest that this had been a home. An area once open was now spotted with small cedars but some open areas of deep grass. The bucks had been rubbing their antlers on saplings, shredding the bark while strengthening their necks for the fights to come over the does. There was one scrape started, a signpost in the mating ritual. John and I can converse about deer by looking together at sign and not talking. We sat for a short time but we weren’t very serious about killing an animal, which we would have to drag a mile or more. They would have hot coffee at deer camp -- and stories, though no deer.

How to Cook Venison Loin at Deer Camp

There is no better way to prepare venison than this. It takes a campfire burned down to hot coals, a grill and a freshly killed deer. When our hunters are coming back into camp on the first morning, there is invariably at least one deer. We always immediately field dress the animal where it fell. It is brought to camp hung, skinned and boned.

As soon as the deer is skinned, the loins (sometimes called backstraps) are taken off. One or both of them, depending on the number and appetite of the hunters, will be prepared as follows:

Deer Camp Dutch Oven Stew

Each season, my necessary things are stacked by the front door, awaiting my nephew who will pick me up at 4 a.m. as he has done each year now for more than twenty years.

The same Winchester model 70 that I have used now for more than 40 seasons (for you gun aficionados, it is a pre-1964), a sharp Buck knife in a sheath, cartridges, insulated coveralls, some pocket hand warmers, jerky, insulated boots, gloves, a down-filled parka, a blaze orange hat and vest -- and a Dutch oven filled with some hearty meal for the people down at the Brown Hollow deer camp.

The meal varies year to year. Venison chili, a game gumbo, one year chicken and noodles. All have been well received as a midday meal as the hunters make their way back into camp. I make the stew the day before opening day, let it cool, place in refrigerator, then take it to deer camp and warm it over the coals from the all-night campfire either by hanging on a rack or placing on a grill.