Day 62

Venison "Hunter Sticks": My parents lived in TX for 11 years, but recently moved back to the southeast. I didn't get to check out too much indigenous TX cuisine on my visits, but my dad had a friend there that did a lot of hunting. He'd always come back from his trips with more deer meat than he could handle, so he'd get it processed and give a lot to his friends. My dad managed to score some good stuff, and that's where today's entry comes from. These are apparently called "hunter sticks," and they're made from venison that's been cured and dried, then processed into a small salami-type stick. It's like a Slim Jim, only without a million preservatives and fillers.

I've actually had these in the freezer for awhile but never tried, so I thawed a few yesterday.  Each "stick" was a little less than a foot long, so I cut one in half to see what was inside. It looked like the venison was mostly lean, but a little fat was mixed in, which is ok with me. These blew away any Slim Jim I've ever eaten, and the firm snap of the casing gave way to a salty interior that was really tasty. It was also much less greasy than store-bought jerky, which was a nice surprise.

I hope my dad can score me some more of these when they visit TX. If you ever see these, definitely try!