You may judge of the age of venison by looking at the hoof, which is always left on the leg. The deer is young if the cleft of the hoof is small and smooth; but large and rough, if he is old. Buck venison is considered better than the meat of the doe. The haunch, or hind-quarter, is the best part, and the fat upon it should, be thick and white. The shoulder, or fore-quarter, is the next best piece. The saddle comprises both hind-quarters; and these, for a large company, are always cooked together.
To eat venison in perfection, it should be killed when the deer can find plenty of fresh food in the forest, and when they have fattened on the abundance of wild berries, which they can obtain during the autumn. In winter, they are brought into the cities, lean, hard, dry, and black, and the meat infested all through with small threadlike white worms; showing that decomposition has commenced, and requiring the disguise of spices, wine, currant jelly, &c., to render it eatable, not wholesome, for every sort of food in the slightest degree tainted is utterly injurious to health, and cannot often be eaten with impunity.
It never was very fashionable, in America, to eat spoiled victuals, and it is now less so than ever. Fortunately, in our land of abundance, "we do not see the necessity".
HAUNCH OF VENISON.—
To prepare a haunch of venison for roasting (we will suppose it to be perfectly good and well kept,) wipe it thoroughly all over with clean cloths, dipped in lukewarm water, and then go over it with clean dry cloths. Trim off all unsightly parts. Lay over the fat a large sheet of thick brown paper, well buttered, and securely tied on with twine. Or else make a coarse paste of brown meal, and cover it with that. Place it before a good steady fire, and let it roast from three to four hours, according to its size. After roasting well for three hours, remove the covering of paper or paste, and baste the meat well all over; first with dripping or butter, and then with its own gravy, dredging it very slightly with browned flour. Skim the fat off the gravy, and send the venison to table plain, with sweet sauce of black currant jelly, or raspberry jam, in a glass dish with a spoon in it.
VENISON STEAKS, BROILED.—
Cut the steaks not quite an inch thick. Trim them nicely, and season them with a little black pepper and salt. Have ready, over a bed of clear bright hot coals from a wood fire, a gridiron with grooved bars to catch the gravy. Put down the steaks, and when one side is quite done turn the other, and broil that. Venison should always be very thoroughly done. Before you take up the steaks, lay a bit of nice fresh butter upon each. Take them up on a hot dish, and keep them warm. Pour off the gravy into a small saucepan. Give it a boil over the fire, and skim off all the fat from the surface. Stir into it some nice wine, and serve up with the steaks a deep dish of cranberry, or peach sauce, or a large cup of grape jelly.