I never could tell the difference either.
Let's Talk about eating Venison
- Thread starter cecil30-30
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Pursuit Hunter
Well-Known Member
Those photos are making me hungry. Going to have to check the freezer to see what's left. I lost about 50 lbs of meat earlier this year when the freezer door got jammed open.
I've never been as detailed about keeping notes as you, but I believe there is very little difference between buck and does meat if they are both properly butchered and prepared.
Roasts vs backstrip - I like them both, but there's nothing that compares to tenderloins freshly removed and grilled the day of the kill.,
I've never been as detailed about keeping notes as you, but I believe there is very little difference between buck and does meat if they are both properly butchered and prepared.
Roasts vs backstrip - I like them both, but there's nothing that compares to tenderloins freshly removed and grilled the day of the kill.,
BowGuy84
Well-Known Member
Great post. I want to know more about how these roasts are smoked. I agree wiht almost all you said.
I dont get as intricate as Poser, but between me and my 3 closest hunting buddies we go through over 25 deer a year.
We get some summer sausage made, some bacon made. The rest we do ourselves.
The rest is cut into stew/taco meat, ground, ground and turned into breakfast sausage, and straps are frozen. Tenderloins don't ever make it to the freezer.
I love having wild game in the fridge, and venison is a staple in all of our diets year round. It all gets used and we cook lots of different dishes, but I am always looking for different ways.
If venison is taken care of in the processing process, I have never had any bad. Worst I had was a gut shot young doe on a hot day.
I dont get as intricate as Poser, but between me and my 3 closest hunting buddies we go through over 25 deer a year.
We get some summer sausage made, some bacon made. The rest we do ourselves.
The rest is cut into stew/taco meat, ground, ground and turned into breakfast sausage, and straps are frozen. Tenderloins don't ever make it to the freezer.
I love having wild game in the fridge, and venison is a staple in all of our diets year round. It all gets used and we cook lots of different dishes, but I am always looking for different ways.
If venison is taken care of in the processing process, I have never had any bad. Worst I had was a gut shot young doe on a hot day.
eightpointer
Well-Known Member
REal informative ..thanks for posting.
I agree but deer that die fairly quick verses those who take a long time to expire to me do taste different weather they be male of female . Well maybe not taste but the venison of the deer wounded and taking longer to expire seems to be tougher but heck maybe it's in my mind , so what do you think ? Not trying to hijack your thread Poser :whistle:
Pursuit Hunter
Well-Known Member
Just in case someone doesn't know, the tenderloins are on the inside of the body cavity, along the back third or so of the spine. They are the most tender of all cuts of meat. When they are from a cow and sliced into steaks, they are called filet mignon.
The backstrips come from outside the body cavity and are along the length of the spine. They are called the loin in pork and beef. When beef backsrtips are cut into steaks, they are called New York strips.
The backstrips come from outside the body cavity and are along the length of the spine. They are called the loin in pork and beef. When beef backsrtips are cut into steaks, they are called New York strips.
BowGuy84
Well-Known Member
I've kept deer like this in coolers and let the ice drain out as it melts for a few days and done a great job of producing tasty meat.
I think trama and adrenaline can affect meat...can. However, more times than not it is associated with how the deer dies (meat getting tainted), how quick it is found and how quick the meat is cooled.
I think trama and adrenaline can affect meat...can. However, more times than not it is associated with how the deer dies (meat getting tainted), how quick it is found and how quick the meat is cooled.
Hill Country Hunter
Well-Known Member
I agree 100%, Poser. I label all of my meat to indicate which deer it was. The tenderest deer we ever had was a, well, let's say "very young" deer as a first bowkill. No spots, though!
The best and tastiest, though, and not at all tough, came from my largest deer, a 176 lb (field dressed) eight-point I killed in the middle of a state forest where all he had to eat was acorns and browse. My family was very disappointed when he was all gone!
Also, I no longer make any steaks. I cut everything I can into roasts, even the backstraps, and smoke/slow grill it. We love rump and ham roasts. Man, I'm hungry now!
The best and tastiest, though, and not at all tough, came from my largest deer, a 176 lb (field dressed) eight-point I killed in the middle of a state forest where all he had to eat was acorns and browse. My family was very disappointed when he was all gone!
Also, I no longer make any steaks. I cut everything I can into roasts, even the backstraps, and smoke/slow grill it. We love rump and ham roasts. Man, I'm hungry now!
Hill Country Hunter
Well-Known Member
BowGuy84 said:
Yep. I quarter my deer and put it in an ice brine for 3-6 days. I layer ice, meat, and salt, and twice a day drain the brine and add more ice and salt. Using that process, the only tough/poorly flavored deer we have had was a very old doe that had some abcesses in her abdominal cavity. (The meat did not smell or look bad, but it had funny taste. We thawed all the cuts I had packaged and ground it to use in dishes where we could cook it very thoroughly.)
TN Whitetail Freak
Well-Known Member
I ate the last of my 7 deer on wednesday...took the deer burger....mixed in real bacon bits and patted the meat out and then put them in a skillet that had sausage grease from the mornings breakfast....a little Kreole Garlic salt and Onion Powder on the cooked sides and HOT DAMN!!!!! was that deer meat I just ate!!!! it didnt last long DEEEEER HUNTING----YUUUUUMMMM
Diehard Hunter
Well-Known Member
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I think the number one thing that affects the taste of the meat is how it is handled between field and freezer. I see way too many people leave a deer laying on one side with the skin on for long periods of time way too often. Driving around showing everybody and their brother.
Mine get hung and skinned as quickly as possible and are allowed to drain in a walk in cooler for as long as my butcher has room for them before they get cut and packaged. Rarely do my deer keep their skin for more than 2 hours after they are killed.
Another factor I think affects the taste is how clean they are when you dress them. I try my best to get everything out intact in one large mass so I do not have extra blood or stomach contents soaking into the meat. I really do not want tenderloins soaked in acid chyme or covered in bacteria from the digestive system.
When my butcher cuts and packages them, his wife is meticulous about removing any meat that is damaged by the shot. It does not take much bad tasting meat to ruin a meal.
As for do different sexes and ages taste differently? I do not think so. Not if they are processed correctly, and that processing begins when I walk up on the animal.
Mine get hung and skinned as quickly as possible and are allowed to drain in a walk in cooler for as long as my butcher has room for them before they get cut and packaged. Rarely do my deer keep their skin for more than 2 hours after they are killed.
Another factor I think affects the taste is how clean they are when you dress them. I try my best to get everything out intact in one large mass so I do not have extra blood or stomach contents soaking into the meat. I really do not want tenderloins soaked in acid chyme or covered in bacteria from the digestive system.
When my butcher cuts and packages them, his wife is meticulous about removing any meat that is damaged by the shot. It does not take much bad tasting meat to ruin a meal.
As for do different sexes and ages taste differently? I do not think so. Not if they are processed correctly, and that processing begins when I walk up on the animal.
DaveB
Well-Known Member
There is some kind of documented chemical reaction that takes place when the deer is dead. The quicker you can get the deer eviscerated, bled out(by hanging), and cooled down the better the meat will taste. If you've ever seen a commercial meat packing operation after they kill the animal they hang & bleed them really quick.
My own experience-worst tasting deer I ever ate was one I had to find the next morning and this was in freezing cold weather.
My own experience-worst tasting deer I ever ate was one I had to find the next morning and this was in freezing cold weather.
I don't think sex makes much of a difference. ...and I don't think deer between 1.5 and 3.5 years old (probably about 80% of all deer) have much difference in Tenderness. I do think very young deer (yearlings) are a little more tender. We had a kid kill a 50 pound spotted fawn once (oops) and decided not to waste it so we cooked it whole on the grill. Best dang eating ever. All of it was fork tender.
Neck roasts but into 1-1.5 inch "planks" make a darn good stew. If you don't have a good meat saw, a hack saw will work to cut through the bone.
Mike Belt
Well-Known Member
I'm real finicky about my deer meat. When I finally get it into the freezer I guarantee you it is pure, red meat and you'd be hard pressed to find anything else on it. Over the last few years I end up with backstraps left over and all my roasts gone. I sometimes end up using the straps in summer sausage or jerky.
Hollar Hunter
Well-Known Member
Looks like your roast was in a crock pot? I like seasoning them good than slow cooking them in a crock pot. Than shredding them down putting them in a skillet to simmer with Baby rays for a while. Best darn BBQ sandwich around...
Poser said:
I cut it up for ease of cooking, and like to serve a "plank" per bowl of stew...that is if it doesn't totally cook apart as it often does.
...Now I am craving stew. 
SuperX2
Well-Known Member
As already mentioned, diet most certainly plays a significant role in overall "taste" of any meat, game or otherwise.
For my personal taste, the deer I've killed that seemed to be existing on browse and acorns, at least at the time of harvest, were my favorite. I've killed several "grain-fed" deer also, and I sincerely believe a distinction in overall flavor can be made. Now, to be honest, a deer's diet may fluctuate highly throughout the year, as well as throughout its lifetime, so its hard to know exactly the overall impact food sources alone may have on venison cumulatively.
That being said, over the past three years, on three separate occasions, I have had the opportunity to kill both a buck and a doe in a single hunt, minutes apart, from the same stand, during the peak of the rut. Both stomachs have always contained similar foodstuffs. Would I say there was a distinguishable difference in overall flavor between the doe and the rutting buck? Yes, I would. Even though I am extremely careful in how I handle the carcasses (avoiding tarsal glands, quick field-dressing and cooling of the meat, etc.)
I do believe that something may be said for the amped-up hormonal levels within a rutting buck having some impact on the overall character of the venison.
Now, pre or post-rut bucks, these have not seemed to be nearly as "distinctive" in overall venison flavor to me.
Just my opinion gleaned from years of comparative analysis. I'd like to think I'm not too heavily influenced by the "power of suggestion" in my assessment, but.... you never know. =)
I just think its a whole heckuvalotta fun to compare different animals taken in different settings and scenarios. Great thread, folks, and thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences!
For my personal taste, the deer I've killed that seemed to be existing on browse and acorns, at least at the time of harvest, were my favorite. I've killed several "grain-fed" deer also, and I sincerely believe a distinction in overall flavor can be made. Now, to be honest, a deer's diet may fluctuate highly throughout the year, as well as throughout its lifetime, so its hard to know exactly the overall impact food sources alone may have on venison cumulatively.
That being said, over the past three years, on three separate occasions, I have had the opportunity to kill both a buck and a doe in a single hunt, minutes apart, from the same stand, during the peak of the rut. Both stomachs have always contained similar foodstuffs. Would I say there was a distinguishable difference in overall flavor between the doe and the rutting buck? Yes, I would. Even though I am extremely careful in how I handle the carcasses (avoiding tarsal glands, quick field-dressing and cooling of the meat, etc.)
I do believe that something may be said for the amped-up hormonal levels within a rutting buck having some impact on the overall character of the venison.
Now, pre or post-rut bucks, these have not seemed to be nearly as "distinctive" in overall venison flavor to me.
Just my opinion gleaned from years of comparative analysis. I'd like to think I'm not too heavily influenced by the "power of suggestion" in my assessment, but.... you never know. =)
I just think its a whole heckuvalotta fun to compare different animals taken in different settings and scenarios. Great thread, folks, and thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences!
