Hunting with your spouse is like day-to-day living as a married couple with the added challenge of surviving unpredictable Nature as well as one another — while trying to NOT screw up each other’s hunt.

If I could fashion my childhood memories into a quilt, I’d sew in a bunch of red squares to memorialize some of my brightest days as a kid.¬

A red cotton T-shirt or flannel was my dad’s usual hunting shirt of choice. He’d pair it with wool pants and add a jacket and blaze orange to complete the woods-ready outfit. Back then, camo wasn’t really the trend and he seldom wore it.

“Almost there”, I reassure myself, catching my breath before continuing on to the appointed meeting spot. Having just completed the steepest part of the trek, I note that I’m making good time, despite the vertical challenge. I am eager, of course, to reach my husband, Chris, and see the buck he just shot. But the other part of my eagerness stems from a desire to prove my worth as a packer. After all, Chris could have called his football-player-built buddy to help haul out his deer; instead, he called me: his barely-five-foot-tall, eighty-nine-pound wife.

If you’ve never cooked venison before, perhaps you’re excited, because you’ve heard that it’s pretty much like beef. On the other hand, maybe you’re a bit intimidated because you’ve also heard that it can be tough and gamey.

As with most things in life, it is what you make it. With some practice and care, you can make venison absolutely delicious. The following tips may prove useful in your venison-cooking journey.