Every year someone asks and every year I give the same answer — because opening day is the only morning grown adults will gladly wake up at 4 a.m., stumble around in the dark, and call it “vacation.”

Back when I was much younger and just tagging along, we had an old-timer in camp named Don. Don was a bit ornery, but he had been hunting these hills before most of us were even ideas. He moved slow, talked with a gruff voice slower than us young bucks, and had a way of making you feel like you were always doing something wrong — usually because you were. Anyway, opening morning one year, Don tells me, “Son, the first tenderloin of the season has a special flavor. But you don’t get to taste it until you’ve earned it.” I asked him how you earn it, thinking he’d say something about patience or respect for the deer. Nope. He says, “You earn it by making at least three mistakes before sunrise. Everybody does.” Well, that morning, I tripped over my own boots, spilled half the coffee on myself, and scared off what was probably the biggest buck in the county because I sneezed. Three mistakes.

Don just nodded, real slow, like he’d planned it. When we got back to camp, he cooked up the tenderloin. Just salt, pepper, butter — simple as it gets. He handed me a slice and said, “Now taste what you earned.” And I’ll tell you: it was the best thing I’d ever eaten. Not because of how it was cooked — though Don did know his way around cast iron — but because it tasted like all the things we only get up here: cold mornings, dumb mistakes, good stories, lots of laughs, old friends, and new ones trying to learn the ropes. It was delicious. Now every year, it seems we still make the same mistakes, tell the same jokes, argue over the same tracks in the snow or mud — and somehow, that tenderloin still tastes like the very first time.

There is nothing quite like pan-seared and butter-basted venison tenderloin at Hunt Camp. Here is a more complete recipe than Don’s. You’ll need a venison tenderloin or backstrap (whole, not cut into steaks), salt and black pepper, garlic powder, 2-3 tablespoons of high-heat oil (canola or grapeseed), 4 tablespoons of butter, 4 cloves of garlic, smashed; 2-3 sprigs fresh rosemary or thyme, and you’re ready. Pat the tenderloin (or backstrap) dry, then season generously with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Preheat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat, add the oil, then sear the venison. Sear each side. Don’t burn it, but you want a deep brown crust, not gray meat. Drop in the butter, smashed garlic, and herbs. Tilt the pan and spoon the melted butter over the meat repeatedly for 1-2 minutes. You’re shooting for an internal temp of 125-130°F for medium-rare (best flavor and tenderness). Do not cook past medium or it’ll toughen quickly. Let it rest 5-10 minutes. This step makes a big difference. Then slice across the grain into medallions. Slice thin and serve on a platter with the garlic/herb butter drizzled over top. Pair with fried potatoes, onions, or simple camp gravy.

Every hunter has a basic meal that works to satisfy his own hunger inside the blind or sitting on top of the tree stand, and the scent might attract a deer. Photo courtesy of Dieter Voss

So, as you Hunt Camp boys (and girls) dig in tonight, remember: If you spilled your coffee, slipped on the trail, or scared off a deer this morning … congratulations. You’ve earned this tenderloin. And Don, God rest his soul, is nodding real slow.

Gotta love the outdoors.

CALENDAR

Nov. 14-25: Alberto Rey “ATLAS” exposition, Marion Art Gallery, SUNY Fredonia, www.fredonia.edu.

Nov. 15: NYS Southern Zone regular (firearms) big-game hunting season opens, through Dec. 7.

Nov. 18: Children in the Stream, Youth Fly Fishing program, free, Costello Room, Rockefeller Art Center, SUNY Fredonia, 7-8:30 p.m., 12 years old and older, info: 716-410-7003 (Alberto Rey).

Nov. 18: Erie County Fish Advisory Board, monthly meeting, Bison City Rod & Gun, 511 Ohio St., 7 p.m. start. Open to public.

Nov. 20: Southtowns Walleye Association, monthly meeting, 5895 Southwestern Blvd., Hamburg, 7 p.m.

Nov. 20: Lake Erie Chapter of Fly Fishing International, monthly meeting, Burchfield Nature Center, 2001 Union Road, West Seneca, fly tying 6 p.m., meeting 7 p.m.