Pine Knot News - A hometown newspaper with a local office, local owners & lots of local news

The closest I ever came to a divorce was the afternoon I first made venison brats.

Admittedly, it was a rush job. I harvested my deer in the early morning, dragged him to a nearby trail, waited for the hour that made it legal to run my wheeler, and hauled him out of the woods. I drove him home, hung him, skun him, quartered him in quick fashion. From there the real work began.

Everything about processing a deer is a ritual: a personal one, one that comes back to you the moment you sharpen your knives and dive in. As I prepare for the first cuts, I’m taken back to my childhood. Always wi...