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Oh,
Deer! I am not a meat eater, myself, although my vegetarianism is kind of casual. Still, it was with uneasy visions of Bambi in the back of my mind that I headed off to the Double T Ranch in Martinsville to look at some venison farming up close and personal. If I approached with trepidation, I left in awe. What an outstanding operation Tim Tague is running at the Double T. If all livestock farming were like that, the world would be a happier and healthier place for man and beast alike. It was an easy drive out to the ranch on a beautiful early spring evening. The terrain was familiar southern Indiana right up until we pulled into the drive and found ourselves in Dr. Doolittle-land. Two furious white geese were sounding the alarm that we had arrived, honking and flapping furiously. Their racket dispersed a couple of wild turkeys and summoned a lumbering fat black lab who rolled out, tail wagging, to see what was up. Just standing around placidly amid all this hullabaloo were the whole point of the operation — crowds of small, watchful, almost delicate-looking deer. I don't usually get to see deer that aren't fleeing me, or my car, or my dogs, in heart-pounding fear. These little guys were gazing at us, munching leaves, strolling up to the fence, looking a little wary, a little interested, but not afraid. No adrenalin rush, no fuss, not even that much curiosity. Alerted by the geese, Tim Tague came out to greet us. Fresh from work at the phone company, he was still wearing his Ameritech shirt, his ruddy face beaming with welcome and the enjoyable anticipation of getting to spend the next couple of hours talking about what he loves best. What Tim loves are his animals. When he talks about them his face glows and his voice rings with zest and conviction. When I comment on his enthusiasm for deer farming, he agrees. "I am passionate about it, just passionate about it," he says, nodding his head. To give us a better view of the objects of all this passion, Tim pours corn into a bin near where we are standing and the deer jostle to get close. Among them he points out the familiar whitetail, but also the smaller fallow, and the exotic axis and Japanese sika. Two rare albino whitetails stand out, glowing in the early dusk like unicorns who have lost their horns. Bossing everyone around and knocking away those who crowd her at the corn bin is a two year old fallow named Hannah. She looks familiar to me, and sure enough, she turns out to be the deer cuddling up to Tim on his web page, as friendly as a puppy. Bottle-raised and, like the albinos, a permanent resident of the deer farm, Hannah is as tame as a pet. A long time hunter, Tim had originally dreamed of running the Double T as a high fence hunting operation. Traveling around the country to see how such places work, however, gave him pause as he saw that some hunters behaved differently and, in his view, unethically, when hunting fenced animals. Knowing he'd have limited control over his clientele, he changed his plans and went into deer farming instead. When I remarked with surprise on his concern for the well being of the animals destined to be hunted, Tim looked disappointed in me. Just because you are a hunter doesn't mean you can't be an animal lover, he said. In fact, you may become more of one as you come to know so much about them. You could tell he'd had this conversation many times before, and was mildly frustrated with what he clearly considered to be a naïve and knee-jerk response on my part. Listening to him, I wondered sheepishly if his assessment wasn't right. Certainly Tim fits none of my hunting stereotypes. He knows everything there is to know about deer and is plainly smitten with them. His big glassed-in living room faces out onto the acreage where the deer live, and he has arranged a comfortable couch so that he can sit in the evening and watch them. He says with a sincerity that is hard to doubt, that there is no place he'd rather be than sitting right there. For all his affection for the animals, Tim is no soppy sentimentalist. It seems entirely natural to him that he raise the deer, give them an idyllic, protected life for a few years, and then harvest them, as he calls it, to provide wholesome nutrition for human beings. There is a natural order to this business that strikes him as right, and I have to admit, it starts to strike me that way too. Tim's goal is to expand the herd so that he can take up the ranching he loves full-time. His biggest challenge is dealing with the regulations that result from the fact that Indiana does not recognize deer as livestock and so requires him to fill out endless paperwork. To help alter this and to change the public perception of what he does, Tim is actively involved in the North American Deer Farmers Association, a whole network of people committed to educating people about raising deer and marketing venison. You don't need to persuade hunters of the virtues of eating venison, but the general public is a little harder sell. Thinking of venison as a tough and gamey meat, they have no idea that the farm raised version is another proposition altogether. My resident meat taster says the flavor is surprising — rich, but not at all gamey, or what Tim calls "woodsy." We've tried barbequed venison ribs with a dried cherry barbeque sauce, which came out succulent and delicious, served with creamy polenta and broccoli raab. Braised venison was fragrant and fork tender. Even grilled venison steaks were surprisingly mild and tasty. I came away from the Double T Ranch convinced that it is a class operation. I plan to go back in June to see the newly born fawns, the size of dachshunds, Tim says, and cute as can be. He extends a broad welcome to the public to call and arrange a visit. The ranch is child-friendly (some fawns are bottle-fed in the spring so kids can watch them) and even Bambi-lovers like me will feel right at home. Tim can reached at (888) 349-1889, or by e-mail at contact@venisondeerfarmer.com. He sells meat, snack sticks, jerky, sausage and, as his Web site says, "Pretty much anything else you could want from a deer." See his Web site at www.venisondeerfarmer.com. Double T Ranch venison, both frozen cuts and deli meats, are now also available at Bloomingfoods.
Barbequed Venison Ribs with Dried Cherry/Shagbark Hickory Barbeque Sauce
3/4 cup of cherry jelly (Dillman Farms makes a good one) 1 cup dried tart cherries 2 cups of ketchup 1 cup chopped onions 1/4 cup Shagbark Hickory Syrup (more, to taste) 1 cup water 1/2 cup cider vinegar 2 teaspoons chili powder (more to taste) (I like ancho chili powder for this) 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped pinch of cloves 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon salt and pepper 4 pounds venison ribs Combine all the ingredients for the sauce (everything except the ribs) in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until thick, about 20-30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and adjust seasonings to your taste. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Season ribs with salt and pepper. Roast in a roasting pan for an hour. Cover with the sauce. Raise temperature to 350 and roast for 1 1/2 hours, basting occasionally. It's OK if ribs start to blacken on top. Turn ribs and cover, roasting 1/2 hour more. Check to see that ribs are tender — if not, roast a while longer. Serve with polenta and broccoli raab. Serves four Suitable
sides Christine recommends these two accompaniments with barbequed venison ribs. Creamy Polenta with Corn and Green Onions 1 cup corn meal 4 cups water 1 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 stick butter 1 bunch green onions, cleaned and chopped 1 cup frozen corn, thawed salt and pepper Sauté green onions in butter just until they start to
wilt. Add corn and set aside. Bring water to boil in a medium saucepan. Add cornmeal slowly, in a steady stream, whisking all the while. Continue whisking for two minutes, cooking over medium heat. Reduce heat to low. Cook until thick and water is absorbed, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Stir in onions, corn and butter. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serves four. Broccoli Raab and Sun-dried Tomatoes This recipe balances the bitter broccoli raab with the sweetness of sun-dried tomatoes and onions. 1/4 cup oil 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped 1/2 medium onion, slivered 1 bunch broccoli raab (also called rappini), washed and trimmed salt and pepper Warm oil over medium heat. Add tomatoes and onions and cook slowly until soft and jamlike, about 20-25 minutes. Reduce heat if necessary — you don't want anything to brown here, just to melt together. Raise heat to medium, and add broccoli raab. Sauté until
the vegetable is cooked and tender. It tastes lovely if the mixture is all
stewed together for a while, but the broccoli raab will lose its bright green
color. It will be more tender, however. This is a matter of personal
preference. Salt and pepper to taste. Serves four. |
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