From the Forest to the Table: Venison Parmigiana Recipe

Above: Venison Parmigiana. Photo via Ryan Trapani.

By Ryan Trapani.

Deer hunting season officially ended in New York State on December 17th. Although gun season ended on December 8th, hunters were able to continue their deer hunting pursuit if they used either a bow or a black-powder fired muzzle-loader. A muzzle-loader is a rifle whose mortar or shell is loaded from the end of the barrel, reminiscent of the flint-lock guns of yester-year. However, the resemblance ends there; these rifles contain better rifling technology making for long-range accuracy. The length of the deer hunting season and its use of hunting implements vary across state boundaries too. My wife and I spent our New Year’s holiday visiting her hometown in Rockport, Massachusetts. Walking through the woods from Rockport to nearby Gloucester on New Year’s Eve, I stumbled across a middle-aged hunter decked out in orange and equipped with a muzzle-loader. He appeared concerned at first; I put him quickly at ease by asking, “Any luck? See anything?” He said he hadn’t, but asked if I did. I told him where I had seen deer and their sign in the past. “Around that swamp seems like a good funnel. I think they go around it and then make their way towards the ‘green pastures’ surrounding the transfer station.” I pumped him for information about the hunting season in Massachusetts. He told me it ended on the 1st of January. I was surprised and envied this fact, but quietly thought about my wife who was glad the season was over. We kindly nodded to each other and went our separate ways.

A couple hundred yards down the trail I saw another hunter decked out in orange and carrying a muzzle-loader. He was an older man and hadn’t seen me yet; he was walking quietly down the trail, peering into the woods. I took my camouflage cap off and turned its orange inside outwards so I could be easily seen. I walked heavily in order to be heard and waved the hat. He looked up and seemed like a friendly man. I asked him, “Any luck?” “No,” he replied. “I ran into another hunter a couple hundred yards down the trail,” I said. “Oh, that’s my son.” I asked him about the hunting around there, and he assured me there were deer around. Rockport and Gloucester sit on an island called Cape Ann. They are separated from the mainland and have been literally detached from the large herbivore’s impacts experienced by others throughout the eastern US. Behind beautiful New England houses sit vegetable gardens and finely manicured plants, shrubs, and trees that stand naked without any fencing, tubing, netting, repellants, or any other paraphernalia used to deter white-tailed deer. It seems that the island is twenty-five or so years behind the deer front. In some parts of the Hudson Valley, it has been said that the deer herd peaked in the 1990s; however less deer has not corresponded to fewer impacts, since fewer deer keep pace with less available vegetation to feed upon. Due to its island stature, Cape Anne’s moat has served to ebb the tide of this seaboard’s flow of deer. Deer here, in such low numbers and plenty to eat, seem to remain outside the view of humans, tucked away in the cover between small swamps, laurel, and briars. However, not even this island’s moat will be strong enough to hold off the rushing deer flow. Deer are beginning to browse at the edge of town. Arborvitaes – a deer favorite – are showing indications of a growing herd.

The hunter asked me where I was from and I told him, “The Catskill Mountains of New York State.” He didn’t seem to know where that was, and asked me why I hadn’t purchased a Massachusetts hunting permit. “We have plenty of deer where I live.” I was thinking of the 8 foot wire fence that guards the young apple trees behind my house from hungry deer. “Besides, I already spend too much on venison as it is.” His eyes lighted up and I could tell he really enjoyed venison, and the connection to the woods it brought him. “Yes,” he said. “The meat is great. These kids today; they don’t know meat that doesn’t come in a wrapper.” “As long as you don’t overcook it, right,” I interrupted. “Oh, yeah,” he agreed. “You can’t over-cook up. It’ll dry right up.” I could have talked to this man for a long time, but we were burning day-light. “You better get ready,” I said. “They should be moving right about this time.” He nodded his head, but didn’t seem in a rush to pursue. He just seemed so content to be out there, and I was content to have met him and shared the passion which is deer hunting.

I continued on my walk to Gloucester and thought about two things: (1) Cape Ann’s deer herd & (2) cooking venison.

Cape Ann Deer Herd

I wondered how the future will play out in Cape Ann as they encounter more deer and their impacts grow. These days, it’s not hard to find newsworthy stories including politics and deer. Some towns in New Jersey and New York have had to hire sharp-shooters to ebb the tide of deer. Others have simply ignored them and provided a niche market for entrepreneurs in the deer-repellant industry. Others like CFA take a more holistic approach and preach that simply blaming deer and treating them as a pest is not the answer. It is more about our connection with our woodlands that is the problem. Humans have removed themselves as participant in the woodland setting. Since we’re not making our living from the forest, we have less incentive to manage it properly for long-term benefits. Our forests, like our dinner tables, have been homogenized and offer less diversity in species composition, age classes, and size classes; ultimately less quality habitat to secure a healthy deer herd that now roams our backyards to seek a full belly. We can do better.

Cooking Venison

Speaking of full bellies and re-connecting to our woodlands; that brings me to (2) cooking venison. As the old hunter said, “These kids today; they don’t know meat that doesn’t come in a wrapper.” Venison doesn’t come in a wrapper, and deer don’t have instruction manuals either. The trick with venison is not to dry it out. Since deer meat is extremely lean and contains barely any fat, it is prone to drying out and becoming “leathery.” The challenge is to cook venison until it is either rare or medium-rare without losing too much moisture. The following contains a venison parmigiana recipe adapted from 500 Wild Game & Fish Recipes from Minocqua, Wisconsin. Added to the recipe are a few Catskill influences involving the maple tree, Dutch settlers, and other forest-y components. Enjoy!

Venison Parmigiana Recipe – Adapted from “500 Wild Game & Fish Recipes”