janie,

If you like sweet sauces with meat (some folks do not) flour & saute some cutlets of venison (the tenderloin strap works really well 'cause it's OH SO TENDER). When nearly done to your desired preference, throw in some dried cherries, deglaze the pan w/ whiskey, add a swig of beef boullion, and a couple tablespoons of currant jelly or cherry jelly, then whisk in a pat of whole butter and reduce to desired consistency. Delish!

It should be noted that some venison will just be tough.. Much depends on the life of the animal and also what it ate.

One should also keep in mind that there is very little fat in venison. It should be cooked accordingly. I suggest rare, to medium rare. Even cooking this meat to medium will seriously dry it out and toughen it up.

If there is any fat on the venison, REMOVE IT! Venison fat is horrible.

My sis emailed today that a neighbor of theirs got a 8 point buck today. Her hubby was gonna go down to their place and help them clean it. Unfortunately they didnt wait on him and tried to dress it on their own. The cut into the bowel and ruined it. They were still gonna try and use some of it but my sis's family told them they didnt want any of it.

Backstraps should still be good, and the meat on the upper half should be fine too. The rump however is probably fubar..

I think my sis's hubby was afraid of it after that happened.