Slow Beginnings, 1956–1957
The deer season of 1956 was very similar to the Jolly Boys’ first season as the proud owners of a hunting camp. Unfortunately, no deer were harvested. The snow was deep and they found no deer tracks in the immediate area. Based on information from the Wisconsin DNR, that year was still a buck-only season, but for the first time a spike buck was considered to be a legal buck. Although there were 284,645 licensed hunters in the Wisconsin woods that year, only 35,561 bucks were harvested. This did not deter the Jolly Boys. They all loved to be in the woods hunting, and they all also loved being a part of Blue Heaven. If no one shot a deer and they didn’t have venison to dine on, they always created an alternate menu for their evening meals. They ate baked ham, beef or pork roasts, or chicken and dumplings. Side dishes included Shack Baked Potatoes and Shack Peas. They kept a pony keg constantly on tap, and they still had their array of evening snacks to go along with the poker games.
A Shack Baked Potato is very much like a potato that has been baked in a campfire. The cookstove’s oven temperature is normally about 400 degrees when the firebox is full of wood, and a potato will bake in that temperature in about forty-five minutes. The outside skin of the potato develops a thick, smoky-flavored crust. Served with ample butter, salt, and pepper, it’s a treat one does not soon forget. Shack Baked Potatoes can also be duplicated at home in a conventional oven by cooking the potatoes at 425 degrees until the skin is crispy.
Shack Peas are truly a Jolly Boys innovation, served with the majority of the dinners at Blue Heaven, and simple to prepare. They are made by taking three fifteen-ounce cans of LeSueur brand, very young, small, sweet peas and placing them in a pot without draining the juice off the peas. A quarter pound of butter is added, along with liberal salt and pepper, and then the peas are simmered for about an hour on the stove. A ladle is used to dish the peas with their juice into small, individual bowls. One eats Shack Peas with a spoon to get all the fabulous juice with the peas. They make an excellent side dish with a variety of menu items and no one ever dares to refer to them as “green pus bags,” the term a friend of mine always used to refer to canned peas.
In 1956 and 1957, the old logging road leading into the camp continued to deteriorate. Vehicles frequently got stuck trying to get in or out of the hunting shack. Transportation was always a problem, and frequently a Jeep stuck in the mud would be abandoned and dug out at a more opportune time. The road traversed several swampy areas, and the soil was mainly rock- and clay-based, making it a challenge to maneuver when wet. The Jolly Boys knew that they would either have to make improvements to the road or find a better mode of transportation to access the shack.
An entry in the log from that season reads: “We left two jeeps mired in the mud at the first bad spot in the turnpike. Ken and Marv abandoned the vehicles and they carried in the water, beer and grub.”
Things began to look brighter for the Jolly Boys during the deer season of 1957, as the Wisconsin DNR now allowed hunters to bag one legal buck plus one “party deer” per season. This was the first year that the party deer system was implemented, and everyone became very excited over the prospect of being able to get some “camp meat” for the table. To obtain a party deer permit, four hunters had to apply for the permit, and then one of the hunters could shoot a deer of either sex to fill the tag. That year, 288,903 licensed hunters in Wisconsin shot 67,870 deer, almost double the number from the previous year. The Jolly Boys had enough hunters to obtain two party permits. On opening day, Marvin shot a ten-point buck on the same ridge where he had shot the twin bucks in 1954. Later that week, Adder killed a large doe, and his brother-in-law, Norm Schmickel, also filled one of the party tags.
Bob and Howard struggle to remove a Jeep from the muddy logging road.
The Jolly Boys were pleased to finally have some venison to eat at camp, but the venison steaks cut from the hind quarters of the deer turned out to be unusually tough and chewy. My father decided that the venison round steaks needed to be tenderized to be edible, and he invented a new Swiss steak recipe for the shack, naming it—what else?—Shack Steak. He cut the steaks into serving size pieces and used a large butcher knife to pound flour into the steaks to tenderize them. He then fried the steaks in Crisco in the cast-iron frypan until they were browned on both sides. Once they were browned, he placed them into a roaster and slow-cooked them in a sauce that he had invented. The new dish was out of this world and is now a regular at our hunting camp.
Everyone left hunting camp that year pleased with the successful deer season. The following spring the Jolly Boys began an effort to improve the logging road leading into the hunting shack. Bob Dunster, Merle’s brother, had access to a front-end loader and a dump truck, and he brought them up to see if a bottom could be built in the seemingly bottomless mud holes. The men spent the entire day loading and hauling fill into the swampy areas of the road. Initially, the Jolly Boys thought they were making some headway. However, a very wet summer that year pretty much negated their efforts, and the old logging trail into Blue Heaven remained almost impassable.
Ingredients
Venison steaks cut from the hind quarter of the deer
Flour
Salt and pepper
Crisco or any other brand of vegetable shortening for frying
3 (6-ounce) cans Dawn Fresh Mushroom Steak Sauce (found either in the ketchup or gravy areas on the grocery shelves)
1 (2-ounce) package Lipton onion dry soup mix
2 (13.25-ounce) cans mushroom stems and pieces, drained
1 tablespoon horseradish
Water
Preparation
Cut venison round steaks into 3/4-inch serving portions weighing about 4 ounces. Sprinkle each steak on both sides with flour. Use a large butcher knife or meat tenderizer to pound the flour into the steaks on both sides to tenderize the meat. Salt and pepper the steaks, and place them in a frypan with an ample amount of Crisco. Fry steaks on both sides until they are brown and then place the steaks into a roaster.
While the steaks are frying, use a separate pot to blend the steak sauce, drained mushrooms, and dry soup mix. Add about 2 cups of water to the mixture along with 1 tablespoon of horseradish and bring to a simmer.
Pour the sauce over the steaks and add enough water so that the steaks are covered. Use a tight-fitting lid to cover the roaster, or cover the roaster with aluminum foil to make a tight seal. Bake the steak and sauce in the oven at 325 to 350 degrees for about three hours. The sauce will initially be quite thin but will thicken during the cooking process from the flour on the steaks. The sauce can be thickened if needed by adding a little more flour or Wondra Quick-Mixing All-Purpose Flour just before serving. The sauce makes excellent gravy for the baked or mashed potatoes that should be served with this dish, and Shack Peas are the perfect accompaniment. The leftover steak makes an excellent hot sandwich. This recipe also works well with beef round steak if venison is not available.
TRADITIONAL VENISON FRY
When cooking with venison, one has to keep in mind that it is a very lean meat and that it is almost impossible to know how tender the venison will be until some of it has been fried and tasted. Numerous factors, such as the age, sex, and diet of the deer, determine whether it will be tender or tough. Venison is also a very healthy meat and, prepared properly, there is nothing tastier. Shack Steak is our preferred method of preparing venison steaks when we find that the meat is on the tough side. However, pan frying the venison is by far our preferred cooking method when we feel it is relatively tender. Because venison is so lean, it is also very dry; there is not much marbleization of fat within the meat, and therefore not much natural moisture to work with. My father always fried venison round steak (steaks cut off of the hindquarter of the deer) and venison sirloins (back straps) until they were thoroughly cooked, taking too much moisture from the meat. As a result, the venison came out on the tough side, even though it had originally been relatively tender. We have learned through the years that the only way to fry venison steaks is medium-rare in order to preserve what little moisture the meat has to offer and to keep the steaks from becoming the consistency of shoe leather. Never overcook venison steaks!
Preparation
Cut the venison steaks into serving portions about 1/2-inch thick and weighing 4 to 6 ounces. The steaks need to be fried in a cast-iron frypan. Cast iron will put a sear on the outside of the meat to lock in the moisture, and using a nonstick frypan will yield unacceptable results. Both the pan and the grease used to fry the steaks have to be hot. The steaks need to be fried quickly on medium-high heat to obtain the desired result.
Place the cast-iron frypan over medium-high heat and allow it to heat for a minute or two. Put an ample amount of either Parkay or butter-flavored Crisco in the pan and allow it to melt. Do not use butter; butter burns. As soon as the Parkay or Crisco becomes sizzling hot, add the room-temperature steaks to the pan. They should immediately start frying. If not, your pan is not hot enough; turn up the heat. Liberally sprinkle the steaks with Lawry’s seasoned salt and black pepper. Allow steaks to fry for about two minutes. Watch for blood starting to appear on the top of the steaks and then immediately flip them. Add more Parkay or Crisco if needed and allow the second side of the steaks to fry for another two minutes. Remove the steaks from the pan, serving them while they are still piping hot. (If the kitchen develops a slight blue haze while the steaks are frying, you know that the temperature of your frying pan was perfect!)
My youngest son, Ollie, has a very close friend named Danny Thompson. His is a deer-camp family and they have developed a venison steak recipe to die for. Their secret is that they coat the lean venison steaks with flour and seasonings to lock in all the moisture of the meat while it is frying.
Preparation
Place 2 cups of all-purpose flour, about 2 tablespoons of Lawry’s seasoned salt, and 1 tablespoon of black pepper in a one-gallon Ziploc bag. Mix contents thoroughly by shaking the bag.
As with the Traditional Venison Fry, cut the venison steaks into serving portions about 1/2-inch thick weighing about 4 to 6 ounces. Place several of the steaks in the plastic bag, shaking the steaks to coat them, and then shaking off any excess coating as they are removed from the bag. For this recipe, it is acceptable to use a nonstick frypan, if desired, as the steaks do not have to sear while they are being fried. They only need to be browned on both sides. Use ample Parkay or Crisco in the frying pan, and fry the steaks on medium to medium-high heat, turning the steaks as soon as blood comes through on the top of the meat. Cook the second side for about two or three minutes until they start to brown and serve immediately. The coating on the meat locks in the moisture of the steak—delicious! We frequently have heated discussions in the evenings when we are about to have a vennie fry regarding whether to have a traditional vennie fry or the Thompson vennie fry!