Middle Ranch Fried Steak. And Beer. And Post-Catalina Update

So Wednesday night we needed to whip some meat up to feed a group that included us and Charlie's dad.  Vyki was already preparing some great vegetable dishes to go along.  Charlie had pulled a top round roast out of the freezer, but it wasn't totally thawed and besides the oven was taken.  When in doubt, and in a hurry, slice thin and fry, right?  Charlie was at first reluctant, since this is so stereotypically how many a wild game meal has been turned to leather, but I forged bravely ahead (yeah right, I was terrified).

And not a dog for the scraps...

The breading:  simple corn meal with salt, black pepper, red pepper, and parsley.  The oil:  half-and-half bacon fat and olive oil.  The pan:  cast iron.  The heat: high.  The result:  straight out of 1882.

Could be anything.  But was tasty!

The beer:  strong and abundant.

The leftovers:  Lunch!  That's the steak under the excellent guacamole on the right.  We had a tortilla casserole, red cabbage slaw, and rice as well.  Great meal! 

Friday I returned to Sunny FLA in an uneventful fashion.  Except it's not exactly warm here right now, a night in the lower 20's threatened the citrus Monday night.  I prepared the liver from the Queen Mother exactly as I prepared it for Miss Catalina, except it was a lot bigger so we had leftovers with even more bacon for breakfast.  I invited my friend over who will be repairing my kitchen (he's a professional) along with his wife, and I made a crock pot of top round cooked in dry white wine, onions, diced tomatoes, and a few spices including some caraway seeds.  We proceeded to all drink beer during the afternoon.  When the sun set we sat to eat, our guests loved the meat.  They had had bad experiences with venison before but I explained why this should be different and they raved about the flavor.  Made me feel like I almost knew what I was doing.  Sorry I don't have pics of any of it, but I might take one of the leftovers tonight.

Looking to the future, deer hunting is about over for me this year, freezer is full and opportunities are waning.  I may get to go up to John's a time or two still, but he's busy with a short hunting trip up to Georgia then that first son is going to pop out in a couple of weeks :)   Cousin George suggested I should hunt turkeys on his farm in SC the spring, I'm reading information about it already.  I've never even tried to hunt turkeys, but I'd love to give it a shot.  I'm also looking into hog hunting in the spring, but my only plan right now is essentially hiking with a shotgun full of 00 buckshot or slugs through the state forests.

Speaking of John, he's gone up to Georgia to deer hunt with some friends of his family, wish him luck.  He's had to forsake his bow for a rifle on this one.  His rifle is a WWII Japanese Arisaka that fires 7.7 X 58mm rounds, which are supposed to be equivalent to a .308 or so.  Little unusual but surely as effective as any in that class.

Sunday and Monday I'll be doing a non-hunting solo overnight backpacking trip down south, I'll post some pics when I get back.  Lets see if I can spot a Skunk Ape and become one of those weirdos.

P.S. Found out a couple of nights ago that preparing meat this way is basically a schnitzel.  Hmm, jaeger schnitzel may be in my future.