If you live in my house, you know that my wife does most of the cooking for the simple fact that I’m not a very good cook, and Amber amazes me every time she makes anything (even sandwiches). I guess if we could all live off hot dogs, frozen pizza and microwave popcorn, I could be the cook. For some reason I don’t see that happening.

Once in a while I get the chance to cook up some venison for the family, but most of the time it turns out rather blah. I’m usually the only one who eats more than one or two pieces. Well, my chance to cook venison for the family arrived once again, and I had to impress. I knew if I failed once more, my boys might not ever eat venison again.

Let’s back up the story just a bit. A few months ago, before I started working for the North American Hunting Club, I received an offer from Melissa Yerxa of Local Legends Marinades. Melissa offered to send me out a sample of each of Local Legends' marinades if I would do a write-up on my blog, Ben G. Outdoors. Thinking my freezer was void of wild game, I told her it would have to wait until after I harvested some this coming fall. 
 

Bottle of Local Legends Marinade

A couple weeks ago, Amber and I had to defrost the freezer, also getting rid of all the expired and long-forgotten food we never ate. To my surprise, I found a package of venison chops from last season buried at the bottom of our overloaded freezer. Instantly, I thought of Local Legends marinade and offered to cook supper the following evening. 

Venison chops

I thawed the chops that night and threw them in the Large Game marinade the following morning, letting them soak through the day. When I returned home the same evening, I started cooking like crazy. I poured the chops and the marinade into the frying pan and went to work (really, I just watched the chops fry and flipped them).

Pouring marinade into a bowl full of venison chops

Venison chops frying like crazy

A short time later, the chops were done. I called everyone into the dinning room and plopped one chop on each of their plates. The moment of truth had almost arrived. Would they like the chops with the new Local Legends marinade, or would they never touch venison again?

Dinner is served

I peeked at my youngest son, Nolan, who eats most anything. He was asking for more before I even had the chance to sit down. Alright, the easy one likes it, I thought to myself. Then, shortly after that, Amber reached for another chop. Does she like it, or is she just being nice? I pondered. When I saw her reach for a third chop, I had to ask, “Do you like it?” She replied with, “Amazingly ... yes, I do.”

My oldest son, Wyatt, is always the toughest one to crack. He doesn’t like to try eating anything new. I carefully picked out my words so I wouldn’t discourage him from eventually taking his first bite. “Wyatt, did you see Mommy and Nolan eating the deer I cooked?” I asked. He replied with, “Uh huh,” while shaking his head up and down. “Would you like to try some if I cut it up in small pieces for you?” I inquired. “I guess,” he answered.

I proceeded to cut the chops into small chunks and gave him his first bite. “That’s yummy, Dad!” Wyatt exclaimed. After the first bite, I couldn’t cut the venison quick enough for him.

Reflecting on my quick experiment with my family and my poor cooking skills, I would venture to say Local Legends can make anyone’s cooking taste good. It can also make a meal your whole family might enjoy. I give it an A+ rating.

(Thanks, Melissa.)