A true delicacy...the venison hanger steak

Jessica's Hanger Steaks

Tonight I treated myself to a rare delicacy, two venison hanger steaks.  These were my first and I have been into the finer side of venison for over 35 years.  They were absolutely awesome....very tender. 

Why is this a rare delicacy?  There are tons of deer that come through deer camp, yet know one ever cuts a hanger steak and my money is 99% of amateur venison butchers have never even seen them.  I think there are several reasons for this.

One reason is that the steaks are very small and coming off very big deer.  The two in this picture are probably 4-5 inches long and came off of Jessica's 200lb+ buck.  Anything smaller and they are just plain too small.

Another reason is that it is located in the part of the deer where someone not being extremely careful in cleaning the deer can easily expose the steaks to the elements that gives venison a gamey taste.  So often they taste gamey.  On this particular deer I was very conscious about cleaning it as to find the hanger steaks and it paid off as my steaks were far from gamey tasting.

If you like fine dining, I cannot say enough good things about the venison hanger steak.....and it is yet another reason to stay patient in the woods waiting for the big buck!