Last year in New York, nearly 210,000 deer were harvested by hunters, with some 179,000 of those in the Southern Zone of New York state. In Chautauqua County alone, some 8,886 deer were killed by hunters through the combined archery and firearm seasons. That’s an average of 3.7 adult male bucks and 3.4 adult female deer per square mile. That’s a lot of venison to store, and if you are like most hunters who enjoy the fat-free, GMO-free, protein-filled red meat of local healthy whitetail deer, there are various ways that folks use to keep their meat tasty and safe to consume.

In the past, deer butchers would wrap the cut meats in wax-coated butcher paper and masking tape, identify the cuts and burger, and off you went with your meat box to the freezer. However, this method had its drawbacks, as freezer burn could set in if the meat wasn’t consumed quickly. Since then, affordable vacuum sealer machines have entered the consumer market, offering a solution to this problem. Vacuum sealing removes the air, preventing freezer burn and preserving the meat for up to 12 to 15 months and longer. Air leakage is the enemy. I’ve found some of my vacuum-packed burger meat in the back of the freezer three years old with no air leaks, and it tasted perfectly fine. If a vacuum sealer is outside the budget, I learned one inexpensive way to go from a hog-meat burger processor in Florida. Form burger rolls of about one pound each, then tightly wrap the burger rolls with plastic wrap to remove all the air, then overwrap the roll with butcher paper and tape — this works almost as well as vacuum packing! The secret is no air in there whatever method you use — or, you need to consume it within a few months of storage.

It’s crucial to ensure your freezer is at or below zero degrees Fahrenheit (I discovered our freezer runs at minus 7 degrees). This is because maintaining such low temperatures helps preserve the quality and flavor of your venison. Eating your harvest sooner rather than later also contributes to maintaining the fresh meat quality and flavor you seek. As the week goes on, we’ll share some tasty recipes for fat-free venison.

For those of us who are keeping track of healthy viddles from the wild game woods, there’s valuable news. In Chautauqua County alone, the DEC ran Chronic Wasting Disease tests on 178 deer samples to discover ZERO cases of CWD last year. Similar numbers of tests were conducted in Erie County and Allegany County, with all results coming back negative. This means that southwest New York state has been CWD-free for all time. That’s really good news for southwest New York. We are CWD-free here, and our deer population is safe and healthy.

Photo courtesy of Forrest Fisher Lean, hearty venison chili is delicious with the combined flavors of hunter-favorite seasonings, beans, tomatoes, chili peppers and your favorite beverage.

There was one incident in Oneida County in 2005 when two deer were detected with CWD, but there have been none since then until just this year. DEC managed that crisis very well. Recently, this year, DEC detected an isolated case of CWD in a captive deer facility in southern Herkimer County. While there is no evidence that CWD is present in wild deer anywhere in New York state at this time, DEC is enhancing CWD surveillance in that central New York area and requesting successful deer hunters to cooperate with DEC for CWD testing. CWD is a neurodegenerative illness that affects deer, elk, moose, and other cervids. It leads to chronic animal weight loss, coordination issues, drooling, and behavioral changes. Over time, CWD can be fatal to infected animals. There is no conclusive evidence that CWD can be transmitted from animals to humans in CDC testing. Other states across the country do have problems with CWD, and if you harvest a deer or elk elsewhere, the critter needs to be deboned prior to transport back to New York. Many folks take a canner along and can their whole harvest — the best way to avoid these issues. We can all be thankful that New York has been one of the few states not to have this concern. No CWD is one of many reasons why some hunters travel from other states to hunt in New York. Clean, disease-free deer live here, thanks to the NYSDEC rules and regulations — if we all follow them. Let’s follow the rules. Check your game syllabus to learn more, and let’s all do our part to keep our deer population healthy and safe.

Good luck in the woods and on the water.

CALENDAR

Nov. 16 to Dec. 8: NYS Southern Zone regular (firearm) big game season

Nov. 21: Southtowns Walleye Association monthly meeting, 7 p.m., 5895 Southwestern Blvd., Hamburg, Info: 716-208-4023

Dec. 9-17 and Dec. 26 to Jan. 1: NYS Southern Zone late bowhunting season