The South Will Rise

I love Valentine’s Day.  I know that it is a cheesy Hallmark holiday, and other than getting jazzed up to help Walker make his Valentine’s for his classmates, I should just treat it like any other day, but I really love it.  I really love those hearts with the sayings on them-  I actually don’t even read the sayings, I just eat them by the handful- yum.  I love roses, I love big chocolate hearts, I love helping Walker make Valentine’s for his classmates- I really love it all.  Corby, on the other hand, is not that into Valentine’s day.  To be fair, his birthday is 2 days after Valentine’s day, so he is a little more focused on that- he LOVES birthdays- that is his thing.  So last year, we had been dating a little over 1 year, and I decided that I was going to get him something for Valentine’s day. Corby used to hunt when he was younger, and he really loves venison.   So I called up my good friend Peter Brown who had just had one of his deer turned into jerky the week before.  Peter was kind enough to give me a big zip lock bag of jerky. What about venison beef jerky doesn’t scream HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!!! Nothing. Except maybe the zip lock bag which is just not very romantic.  You know what is romantic and what guys really love- big red velvet heart shaped boxes that are usually filled with chocolate and usually for girls.  Needless to say, when I showed up at Corby’s apartment with a big red velvet heart shaped box- he was nervous.  But when he opened it and found that it contained venison beef jerky instead of chocolate- he was thrilled.  Best trick Valentine’s day present ever!  This year I just posted this picture from our ski trip on his facebook wall. 

I don’t hunt at all.  I have no idea how to turn venison into jerky except that you can pay people to do it for you.  But, I googled a recipe and found what looks to be a good one on www.cooks.com.  So, if you are in the market for an awesome Valentine’s day present, here is the recipe:

Tags: southern baking, southern food, Valentine's Day, venison, venison jerky