The weather’s getting cooler, and days are getting shorter, which means it’s Michael Waddell’s favorite time of year: deer season. As he says, “When you’re cleaning up the old deer cooler and when you’re cutting up the meat, that’s a good time of year.” And what better way to enjoy the best of the season than with some deep-fried backstrap off a doe? So, follow along as the Bone Collector fries up his wild game with his simple, mouthwatering, deer cube steak recipe.

Prepping the Deer Cube Steak Recipe

Michael is in his favorite place on his farm: Susie’s Ridge, complete with all the meat processing equipment you can ask for—grinders, cubers, dehydrator, and everything else he needs. However, for this cook, he’s going super simple—no sausage or anything too fancy. As he says, “the best food is always the simplest.” So, he’s kicking it back with a meal his mom and grandmother used to make: deer cube steak.

Waddell typically likes to fillet and then grill his backstrap, but in this case, he’s going to cube and fry it. He starts by cutting his deer—and some elk—into little medallions. Then, he takes his meat tenderizing hammer and starts pounding away, flipping his cuts over and hammering at various angles. He also uses an electric meat tenderizer to get the same result, just alternating the angle at which he drops the backstrap in.

After the meat’s been tenderized, he dumps some flour into his batter shaker bowl and tosses in his backstrap. (However, if you don’t have a fancy bowl like he does, a plain brown paper bag works all the same.) And to kick this recipe up a notch, he’s seasoned his flour with a little Cajun seasoning, salt, garlic salt, and other similar herbs and spices.

Then, he makes like Taylor Swift and gets to shaking off the excess flour. Swift might sing about breakups, but if she ever fried deer steak, she’d probably sing about that instead!

Frying Up the Deer Cube Steak

While he’s tenderizing and cubing his game, Waddell heats a generous amount of peanut oil on his electric skillet at 350° F. After all, “you can’t be from the south if you’re afraid of some grease.”

Once the oil has reached the desired temperature, he throws his meat in and gets frying. He says there’s no set time; he likes to cook until the steak’s golden brown, “just like a chicken finger.” Michael jokes that’s there’s no avoiding making a mess, it just comes with the territory.

After the deer’s been fried to perfection, he sets it aside on a brown paper sack to drain away the excess grease. And, if you’re getting extra adventurous, you can always take that grease and make some gravy—the perfect pairing for any fried meal (especially this cubed deer steak recipe).

Independence Through Hunting

As Michael states, “When you learn how to hunt, it gives you a whole other level of independence.” And, you can “take pride in the fact that you’re feeding your family some really healthy vittles.”

He still goes to the grocery store for meat and other necessities when he needs them. But when you understand the renewable resources in the wild and how to hunt them, it totally changes the game. This helps give you an added boost of confidence, to boot.

But that’s enough reminiscing—now’s the time to eat! As Michael chows down on his freshly fried meal, he signs off with a happy hunting and good luck for the season ahead.