The Hunter’s Haunch: What You Dona’t Know about Deer and Venison That Will Change the Way You Cook

A new way to look at hunting and deer meat that anyone who owns a venison cookbook must read

Is a doe better eating than a buck? Is hanging really necessary? Why can't venison be aged? Will soaking in milk make that gamy taste go away? The Hunter's Haunch provides straightforward and fascinating answers for these and other questions that every hunter-cook has faced, delving into myths, folklore, hunting history, and modern culinary science in order to explain why certain techniques still work and others don't.

Many wild game cookbooks offer recipes for venison chili, venison burgers, venison sausage, and other solutions that make tough and gamy meat edible. By contrast, The Hunter's Haunch aims to rethink the entire process so that rescuing tough meat never becomes necessary in the first place. Focusing on the relationship of the hunt to the rhythms of nature, The Hunter's Haunch examines the deer as a living creature in the wild, showing how the skills of the hunter affect its treatment in the kitchen, and ultimately how the venison tastes when served at the table.

Covering the history of deer hunting, practical lessons in game anatomy, and indispensable tips for dressing and prep, The Hunter's Haunch is an essential read for anyone who hopes to transform their quarry into the best possible venison.

Skyhorse Publishing is proud to publish a broad range of books for hunters and firearms enthusiasts. We publish books about shotguns, rifles, handguns, target shooting, gun collecting, self-defense, archery, ammunition, knives, gunsmithing, gun repair, and wilderness survival. We publish books on deer hunting, big game hunting, small game hunting, wing shooting, turkey hunting, deer stands, duck blinds, bowhunting, wing shooting, hunting dogs, and more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Paula Young Lee is a former vegetarian who writes frequently on topics related to meat, animals, and hunting for food. She is the author of five books, including Meat, Modernity, and the Rise of the Slaughterhouse (editor); Game: A Global History; and the memoir Deer Hunting in Paris: a Memoir of God, Guns, and Game Meat, which describes her adventures learning to hunt, butcher, and cook wild game. She now hunts, forages, or raises most of her food, and splits her time between Maine and Massachusetts.