Eating deer

[riflehunter]

Do rutting bucks taste different then bucks shot before the rut?

 

[jbow]

IMO mature bucks taste bad on any day unless ground into burger and sausage. Kill a few does for the freezer then hunt the big boys for some summer sausage.

 

[RockChucker30]

IMO mature bucks taste bad on any day unless ground into burger and sausage. Kill a few does for the freezer then hunt the big boys for some summer sausage.

Not true! If handled properly and trimmed and cooked properly mature bucks taste great.

I killed a 6.5 year old on Nov 27 last year and a 6.5 on Nov 12 the year before. I got as many steaks as possible out of both.

I take the steaks and thaw them, then trim out as much fat and connective tissue as possible. Then I marinade overnight. Then grill to medium rare to medium.

Good stuff!

 

[riflehunter]

cool. thanks for the info. Good link also

 

[RAFI]

No, they do not, BUT, you need to be very careful with the tarsal gland during the rut. Remove it carefully and make sure not to get any of the contents on your hand or on the meat as it will effect the flavor. The reputation of rutting bucks tasting bad comes from people who, for the most part, mishandled the tarsal gland.

I dont understand people saying to cut the TG off?Why its on the lower leg.all you are doing is getting that on your knife if you cut them off.Why should you remove them ? :confused:

 

[BSK]

The taste of a deer is all based on how the meat is handled, all the way from the field to processing. I promise you that you would not be able to tell buck from doe, or young deer from old deer (minus fawns) if you ate any of the venison we process. But then we are extremely careful about keeping deer cool at all times and in a humudity and temperature controlled cooler. In addition, we debone all meat (NEVER saw through bone or leave the bone in), and we remove every piece of fat and "silver skin." In fact, we actually skin each muscle group to remove all silver skin (facia) before cutting the meat into the cuts we want. Cut meat is then double or even triple wrapped before freezing (and the first wrap is virtually airtight saran wrap, followed by one or two layers of butcher paper). The quality vacuum sealers do an even better job.

 

[SPickle]

Deer meat is deer meat!! Let it hang like a beef and your good! If the processor calls you 2 days after you shot a deer! No way! 8 to 10 days min hanging before cutting.

 

[bigtex]

Why are you worried about the bone? I think bone-in roasts produce the best tasting roasts as bone marrow is out of the world delicious. I make it a point to have a variety of cuts of meat each season, but the more hunt and cook, the more I like bone in cuts for braising etc.

IMO it's not the bone that gives venison off flavors it is the bone "marrow" When a processor cuts up a deer they use a saw to cut the meat into steaks etc. This spreads the marrow all over the meat. I have found that "boned out" meat does taste better.

I'm sure if the bone is left intact and cooked you would not have this problem.

 

[Headhunter]

I generally disagaree with BSK, but he is right here. As fast as I can, I bone the deer I kill out. Put it in a cooler with a covered drain hole that will still let water out and I keep the meat covered in ice for about 3 days, the whole time the ice is melting and draining through the meat.

Also, if it is not red meat, it is NOT kept. Even if it means losing a little meat. Keeping anything but red meat is not a good thing.

I can skin, debone, and have in the cooler a whole deer in under 10 minutes. It is not like it a difficult thing and deboning to me makes a huge difference.

When the carcasas is disposed of is when the tarsal glands are cutoff and only if I want to keep them. I use a completely different knife to cut holes to hang the deer when hanging also.

I cannot count the people who have ate the meat from the deer I process and have asked me where I buy my beef, is it aged beef, etc. I believe letting the ice drain through the meat helps a ton along with getting rid of anything that is not red meat.

 

[Headhunter]

Almost forgot, gutting the deer is important and it is not rocket science. If you do not know how, have someone show you, I will show anyone whenever possible. If you make a bad shot, and meat gets covered in "crap", don't just wash it off, cut it out. Washing will not take care of it. Processing a deer is one of the easiest things that SO many mess up. Amazes me to see people every year who spend hundreds, if not a thousand or a few thousand dollars to hunt but cannot take care of a deer when it is killed. What really cracks me up is to see all the organs left in the deer, heart, lungs, liver, colons, bladders, etc. and it is leaking all over the meat and I will ask politely if I can show them how to clean the deer up or correctly gut it the next time and they tell me they KNOW what they are doing or something along those lines. I say ok and walk away.

Spickle, I have never had a complaint and have never let a deer hang. Not the right thing to do in my opinion.

 

[BSK]

The taste of a deer is all based on how the meat is handled, all the way from the field to processing. I promise you that you would not be able to tell buck from doe, or young deer from old deer (minus fawns) if you ate any of the venison we process. But then we are extremely careful about keeping deer cool at all times and in a humudity and temperature controlled cooler. In addition, we debone all meat (NEVER saw through bone or leave the bone in), and we remove every piece of fat and "silver skin." In fact, we actually skin each muscle group to remove all silver skin (facia) before cutting the meat into the cuts we want. Cut meat is then double or even triple wrapped before freezing (and the first wrap is virtually airtight saran wrap, followed by one or two layers of butcher paper). The quality vacuum sealers do an even better job.

Why are you worried about the bone? I think bone-in roasts produce the best tasting roasts as bone marrow is out of the world delicious. I make it a point to have a variety of cuts of meat each season, but the more hunt and cook, the more I like bone in cuts for braising etc.

Most "gaminess" comes from the animal's fat, and bone marrow fat is one of the worst producers of gaminess. I can't stand that flavor.

 

[BSK]

Deer meat is deer meat!! Let it hang like a beef and your good!

Nothing could be further from the truth. Poor meat quality is usually due to treating a deer like a cow.

 

[BSK]

No, no, no! I've tasted bone marrow fat from deer and it is not to my liking at all! But different strokes for different folks!

 

[oldmanelrod]

No, they do not, BUT, you need to be very careful with the tarsal gland during the rut. Remove it carefully and make sure not to get any of the contents on your hand or on the meat as it will effect the flavor. The reputation of rutting bucks tasting bad comes from people who, for the most part, mishandled the tarsal gland.

Poser is right on target.