Deer heart membrane question

[matemike]

I grew up hunting with a group of cardiologists. It was fun cleaning deer with them. We discected and learned about every part inside their chest cavities. (Tried to leave the guts alone). One particular heart surgeon tried to not let anything go to waste. He’d always make head/neck shots so as to keep the heart, liver, and even the kidneys. He was also an excellent Italian chef. I don’t ever remember him trimming off the heart membrane; he just got it really clean, and prepared same as mentioned above.

I’m not a big fan of liver, but man, that Doc could make deer liver and onions that anyone could enjoy. Seriously, deer lease meals were always fantastic.

[jsbhike]

I have tried cow heart and found it to be delicious. However, when I asked my experienced hunting friends about deer heart, they felt that organ meat of wild game wasn’t very safe due to risk of parasitic infection. Is this fear unfounded?


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I would think it is a risk with any part of any animal and assume (hope?) reducing the risk by thorough cooking and passing on anything that looks questionable on health.

After working at a questionable on safety steak house as a teen and hearing about similar(or worse) restaurants and grocery stores, I really think food borne illness is somewhere in the area of nearly making an effort to get sick and just that a person's number is up. That isn't to downplay food safety because I seem to lean to the paranoid side of cleanliness compared to most, but it does seem to be almost a random chance kind of thing.

[robbins290]

I have tried cow heart and found it to be delicious. However, when I asked my experienced hunting friends about deer heart, they felt that organ meat of wild game wasn’t very safe due to risk of parasitic infection. Is this fear unfounded?


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I dont think that is true. Maybe from fish with mercury. I was always told to look for certain signs while field dressing. Lumps inside the chest cavity. Spots or other things on the liver and organs. But as far as that. Most pathogens will be killed by cooking.

[teufelhund1918]

From what I've been told up to now, it is not a concern. But I don't really take this as 100% gospel though. You can tell if an animal is sick or not most of the time with experience. I'm not the great bwa-na hunter with tons of kills, but most deer kills I've had are not the quick snap shots that you see in movies. You have some time to observe them. I did start watching them before shooting them in the last few years. Especially with CWD coming into my area. The deer act different than a normal deer. Two years ago, CWD cause a massive kill off in the area. The majority of the deer were found dead around water sources. It makes them very thirsty. You can also have your deer tested in the state of Va for it by the VDGIF. If I get a deer that has CWD, I'm not taking the chance of being patient zero though! Also, look at the innards when you gut them out. You should be able to see any problems with organs then.