Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Whitetail Deer liver question...

I shot a pretty large bodied 2-1/2 year old buck this morning. Long story short, when I got him gutted, I noticed two or three, what I would call, bulbous protrusions on his liver, about the size of maybe a marble, maybe a bit smaller. They were clear, and when poked with a knife, clear fluid came out. I would compare them to a blister you would get on your hand, the day after raking leaves without gloves. I have never seen anything like it. As much as I didn't wish to, I discarded the liver, erring on the side of caution. I did keep the heart, which appeared fine. I seen no other signs or symptoms of sickness, after death, or whilst alive. I should have taken photos, but forgot.

Anyone wish you take a crack at it? Would it have been safe to eat?

FYI, I am hunting in northern West Virginia, where the deer had an EHD outbreak over the summer. I can't remember the name of the disease, but we just call it "Black Tongue," "Blue Tongue," or just "The fever." Would that have had something to do with it?

Could be benign cists if they were clear. I wouldn't eat the liver.

Don’t take a chance

chuckin the liver was best,but I would call a local biologist with the fish+game and see what they know.

Wish I had an answer for you but I don’t. However I am very interested in hearing/reading the findings once you have them.
Thanks.

I thought you always threw away the liver when you field dressed the deer; same as the intestines, lungs, etc.

I do.

Hepatic cysts, very common in mammals.

They could be from parasites, but if everything else looked fine with animal, then it's likely not parasites.

I usually leave his balls laying too.

I love deer liver but if there seems to be anything wrong with it at all I just leave it, it's not worth it. Here in north Mississippi I hunt one place close to the Alabama line and the deer all have liver flukes. 70 miles to the west they do not.

Funny...

I throw away the deer and bring out the liver.

Kidding aside, it's my favorite part of a good deer. I grew up eating liver with onions and bacon, and deer liver is far better than any I can buy. It's a treat that my grandson shares with me. He confounds waitresses when he orders it.

Liver Blisters
Like moose measles, liver blisters are also tapeworm larvae. They prefer to settle either just below the surface or deep in the tissues of an animal’s liver—hence the name. Liver blisters are most common in moose, but they’re also found in whitetails, mule deer, elk and other herbivores. Again, the adult tapeworms reside in the intestinal tracts of wolves, coyotes and the like, and at times wild felines.
These larvae are conspicuous on or in the host’s liver, residing in a clear or white blister—cut one open and a watery fluid emerges, along with a fleshy white mass, which is the head of the larval tapeworm. It’s not very appealing, granted, but liver blisters are not infectious and cause no real damage to the animal.

http://www.outdoorcanada.ca/the-yuck-factor-big-game

If there is anything out of the ordinary with a deer liver, I won't use it.

However- fresh deer liver is one of the great meals of all time!

I will never forget the evening, years ago, that my good friend killed a nice whitetail buck on our deer hunt. That evening, after the deer was back in our camp and hunt up, we retired to my pop-up tent trailer, and prepared a meal of deer liver with onions and potatoes. It's still a great memory.

I prefer a spicy Pinot Noir.

Us guys who keep stuff like hearts and livers are known as gut pile gourmets. There's some good eating in there.

I detest preparing liver and heart, but am delighted to eat either when someone else is willing to do the dirty work. Obviously another character flaw.

I have never saved any organ meat from a deer. Coyotes need to eat too.
Have not eaten any bomestic animal organ meat since the 60s when mom and dad made us kids eat it, disgusting.

Neither the "liver blisters" nor the flukes render the liver inedible. Flukes fully encapsulate and you can cut around the capsules and discard them. When we used to work check stations back in Texas, one of my buddies would always make it a point to slice a few livers "to check for flukes". They were very common and most hunters were repelled by the thought of keeping an "infected" liver. It wouldn't take very many deer to get enough livers (surreptitiously dropped in a cooler) for Sam to whip up some liver, onions and gravy for the whole crew for lunch.

Nothing better than heart sliced thin and cooked rare.I cook the liver the same way.