Is there any difference in the way a buck tastes in rut vs not and shot and dropped vs running off and expiring? Thank you
Best tasting bucks?
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In my experience no, or at least not appreciably. The biggest thing I've seen that makes any difference in flavor is how the deer was handled between the moment of death and the moment the meat hits your tongue.
With that said, a deer's diet can have a pretty big influence on flavor, and a deer that dies from sepsis due to gutshot to the point all you see is black veins when you peel the hide taste awful because the same infection making black veins is also in the meat. Otherwise no, I have not noticed a difference in flavor based on rut or adrenaline. I've rarely even noticed old bucks being tough meat like folks often claim. How i cook it determines how tender it is.
With that said, a deer's diet can have a pretty big influence on flavor, and a deer that dies from sepsis due to gutshot to the point all you see is black veins when you peel the hide taste awful because the same infection making black veins is also in the meat. Otherwise no, I have not noticed a difference in flavor based on rut or adrenaline. I've rarely even noticed old bucks being tough meat like folks often claim. How i cook it determines how tender it is.
peytoncreekhunter
Well-Known Member
In my experience no. The only thing that you need to do is remove the silver skin. That really affects the taste.
My Grandpa who taught me hunting always said it makes a difference between dropping one vs one that runs off hundreds of yards. Makes sense to me, but I cannot say for sure from my experience. I can say young vs old is a big difference; and I agree with Ski that diet and getting it field dressed and cooled down as soon as possible makes a big difference.
UCStandSitter
Well-Known Member
The best tasting bucks are does :)
That said, most of the negative flavors folks talk about are due to poor processing. The more time you take to ensure there is no hair/silver skin/etc. the better the meat tastes. That silver skin is what tastes so "gamey" IMO
That said, most of the negative flavors folks talk about are due to poor processing. The more time you take to ensure there is no hair/silver skin/etc. the better the meat tastes. That silver skin is what tastes so "gamey" IMO
Does taste the best.
As other people have pointed out, gut shots make all deer taste horrible no matter how fast you recover the deer !
My hunting buddy gut shot a doe on accident once and we were able to track her and put another killing shot in her and even with recovering her quickly, the whole deer was green on the inside. We couldn't wash or cut the green off the meat no matter how hard we tried
I'm not sure if he ate it, I'll have to ask him how it tasted
As other people have pointed out, gut shots make all deer taste horrible no matter how fast you recover the deer !
My hunting buddy gut shot a doe on accident once and we were able to track her and put another killing shot in her and even with recovering her quickly, the whole deer was green on the inside. We couldn't wash or cut the green off the meat no matter how hard we tried
I'm not sure if he ate it, I'll have to ask him how it tasted
Omega
Well-Known Member
I have always heard that when a deer runs for a bit, it has a bunch of adrenaline and other stuff running through their muscles which may affect the taste. I haven't killed one that when farther than 100 yards, and haven't experienced any different taste in those. I do think aging makes a difference, and I have anecdotal evidence of that.
UCStandSitter
Well-Known Member
That one would've went to the hogs/yotes if it were me. Not enough scrubbing for me to take the chance.Does taste the best.
As other people have pointed out, gut shots make all deer taste horrible no matter how fast you recover the deer !
My hunting buddy gut shot a doe on accident once and we were able to track her and put another killing shot in her and even with recovering her quickly, the whole deer was green on the inside. We couldn't wash or cut the green off the meat no matter how hard we tried
I'm not sure if he ate it, I'll have to ask him how it tasted
Boll Weevil
Well-Known Member
In MS we ran deer w/dogs and yes...it makes a difference.
I've heard the same and a dozen other myths. I think a lot of the things we hear are from folks trying to make sense of why some deer meat tastes good and some doesn't. In my experience if the deer is recovered before decomposition takes hold, and it's handled cleanly and carefully through the butchering process, it'll taste like good clean meat regardless if buck or doe, old or young, killed instantly or ran a mile. Cooking temp and method also play a huge role. But above all else proper handling.
BSK
Well-Known Member
Other than the differences between meat from a fawn versus meat from an adult deer, no I can't tell a difference. But as others have pointed out, how the carcass is treated and butchered makes ALL the difference. Years ago, we built and installed a walk-in cooler at our hunting camp. Any deer, no matter the sex or age, hung at the appropriate temperature and humidity for around two weeks is going to produce fantastic meat. In addition, how the meat is butchered/packaged makes a huge difference. We "shave" every cut of meat to remove silver skin and tendons before it is ground or packaged as steaks or a roast. That process is a gamechanger for meat quality.
Omega
Well-Known Member
Besides age the one thing I've noticed is the TN deer taste great compared to Wisconsin deer. Up there they taste very gamy. Especially from the Tamerack swamps. My TN bucks and does have all come from middle TN and all have been good.
BSK
Well-Known Member
One difference I have seen when processing/butchering that I think makes a taste difference is whether the deer bled out before death. There is a reason farmers bleed animals out. Lots of blood still in the muscle does produce a taste. Although this runs contrary to what most believe, I've found deer dropped in their tracks often still have a lot of blood in the muscle at butchering. A deer that ran 50 yards and pumped most of their blood out don't have this problem.
I've never gut shot a deer, but if it were my deer and not his, it definitely would've went to the yotes. That meat was nasty
Age does play a big part, it's common knowledge in the meat industry. But I agree a big mature animal can be excellent if care is taken from the moment the trigger is pulled.
Same. And 100% correct it makes all the difference. I've been accused of waste because of how carefully I trim. But I'm eating the animal and feeding it to friends & family. I want it to be enjoyed by all. Venison has a distinctive flavor that is enjoyable if it isn't tainted. If somebody describes it as gamey and/or off putting then the butcher failed.
UCStandSitter
Well-Known Member
Same. I've helped buddies in that spot and they would try to wash out and eat it. Smelled rancid. I'm not tempting the health of me or my fam over some stupid crap covered deer meat. Hate to waste an animal but better them than my fam.I've never gut shot a deer, but if it were my deer and not his, it definitely would've went to the yotes. That meat was nasty
deerhunter10
Well-Known Member
I know for a fact there's a big difference in taste of deer from different parts of the country.
348Winchester
Well-Known Member
Deer from the high plains of Montana taste differently than Tennessee forest deer. They are both good but different.
IMO there are some things you can do to help ensure the best tasting deer meat:
1. Handle it properly in the field. Get deboned quickly and cooling down. Keep it clean as possible
2. As mentioned in above posts- get every bit of silverskin, grizzle, and fat out wgen processing..it seems like waste, but makes huge difference in taste and quality.
3. After processing and freezing, prior to cooking, Let meat soak in a pan of water overnight, draining and refilling several times. This gets blood out and really tames the wild taste
4. Do NOT over cook the meat.
1. Handle it properly in the field. Get deboned quickly and cooling down. Keep it clean as possible
2. As mentioned in above posts- get every bit of silverskin, grizzle, and fat out wgen processing..it seems like waste, but makes huge difference in taste and quality.
3. After processing and freezing, prior to cooking, Let meat soak in a pan of water overnight, draining and refilling several times. This gets blood out and really tames the wild taste
4. Do NOT over cook the meat.
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BSK
Well-Known Member
Absolutely. Animals from the arid regions of the High Plains, like CO or WY often have a pronounced sage taste, as that's what the animals have been eating. I can also often tell the difference between woodland deer eating acorns, and deer from farm country.
MickThompson
Well-Known Member
How do you taint anything besides the tenderloins, flank, and ribs on a gut shot? How would that affect shoulders, hams, backstrap, and neck?Does taste the best.
As other people have pointed out, gut shots make all deer taste horrible no matter how fast you recover the deer !
My hunting buddy gut shot a doe on accident once and we were able to track her and put another killing shot in her and even with recovering her quickly, the whole deer was green on the inside. We couldn't wash or cut the green off the meat no matter how hard we tried
I'm not sure if he ate it, I'll have to ask him how it tasted
Do NOT over cook the meat.
That one is PARAMOUNT!!!
Venison cooks differently than beef. There's no marble fat inside the muscle fibers that renders at cooking heat to keep the meat juicy and tender. This makes it far easier to overcook and that creates a chewy, dry, leathery experience. Not pleasant. 135* - 140* internal with a hard crispy sear on outside is about perfect for me.
That one is PARAMOUNT!!!
Venison cooks differently than beef. There's no marble fat inside the muscle fibers that renders at cooking heat to keep the meat juicy and tender. This makes it far easier to overcook and that creates a chewy, dry, leathery experience. Not pleasant. 135* - 140* internal with a hard crispy sear on outside is about perfect for me.
I think the problem comes from field dressing. You have to open the meat on both hams to cut the pelvic tunnel in order to get innards out, and on a gut hit deer it's impossible to keep the juices from coming in contact with meat, and once that bacteria is introduced it rapidly expands throughout. The longer you wait to debone the meat the more of it will be tainted.
MickThompson
Well-Known Member
I 100% would. It's the only way I'd eat a gut hit deer. But I've more than once seen folks field dress a gut hit deer. It's gross.
Once that gut bacteria gets out, it attacks literally everything organic and expands exponentially. You're talking a bacterial concoction literally designed by God to rapidly decompose organic matter in a matter of hours, and its designed to be contained inside the stomach and intestines. When it's no longer contained it becomes a no holds barred free for all of disgustingness lol. Time is not on one's side if they want to save meat.
GumbyGuy
Well-Known Member
Where it's ground up and in sausage mixed with cheese and jalapeños or pineapple it not as noticeable
Someone has already said it " doe meat " is the best
Someone has already said it " doe meat " is the best
FLTENNHUNTER1
Well-Known Member
In the last several years I have not worried too much about getting every piece of fat and silver skin removed. My only complaint is the meat curls when you sear it.
Cooking roasts in an Instapot surprised me also. Fat and silver skin turns soft just like on a beef roast and in my opinion doesn't affect the taste at all. It actually tases good to me (fat).
The last 30 deer I killed on my property were all processed by me and never field dressed. I'd drag them with my Grizzly 700 back to my truck, hoist them with a hitch mounted gambrel. I would skin and debone them and have them on ice in under two hours. I wore gloves and cleaned and rotated knives to keep the entire process clean.
Of the 30 deer age, size, sex didn't affect the taste or tenderness at all. I kept all of them in an iced cooler for 10 days; which is essentially keeping them at a constant 32 degrees.
IMO field processing is the key. Get them on ice asap.
Cooking roasts in an Instapot surprised me also. Fat and silver skin turns soft just like on a beef roast and in my opinion doesn't affect the taste at all. It actually tases good to me (fat).
The last 30 deer I killed on my property were all processed by me and never field dressed. I'd drag them with my Grizzly 700 back to my truck, hoist them with a hitch mounted gambrel. I would skin and debone them and have them on ice in under two hours. I wore gloves and cleaned and rotated knives to keep the entire process clean.
Of the 30 deer age, size, sex didn't affect the taste or tenderness at all. I kept all of them in an iced cooler for 10 days; which is essentially keeping them at a constant 32 degrees.
IMO field processing is the key. Get them on ice asap.
