Venison . . . It Has a Good Taste But a Bad Rap

San Angelo Standard Times ^ | September 24, 2011 | Rashda Khan

[Outlaw Woman]

I love, LOVE, LOVE, Deer meat! Recipes look good. thx for posting

[se_ohio_young_conservative]

Venison sure doesn’t have a “bad rap” where I came from.. these rolling hills of Southeastern Ohio. We didnt ever call it “Venison”. To us it is deer meat and we eat a lot of it in these parts.

it is a good substitute for beef in all kinds of food combinations.

[SteelTrap]

Now we’re talking! I’m gonna try this out in a few weeks.

[pennyfarmer]

My family loves venison. I often have friends give me the whole animal because their families don’t like it and I have 8 kids. We eat a whole deer in a few months.

I had a stretch where I made lots of venison meatloaf and when I finally made a beef meatloaf the kids wouldn’t eat it because it tasted funny.

My kids favorite is a corned venison roast. It is really tasty and if you don’t like the fat in a corned beef then a corned venison roast is your answer. I personally love the fat but the venison is just as good.

[umgud]

Not to knock venison, but elk is my favorite for tastiness.

[Rembrandt]

It’s truly a shame for a trained chef to end up in San Angelo, TX. How many different ways can a chef prepare goat?

[pennyfarmer]

Elk, Moose, Antelope, and deer are all considered venison.

[nickcarraway]

57.3

[Lazlo in PA]

Yuck. I will stick with cow and pig. Easier to hunt and much tastier. Venison tastes like mud to me.

[nickcarraway]

You don’t like mud?!?!

[Revolting cat!]

What’s the big deal, it tastes like chicken.

[Revolting cat!]

What’s the big deal, it tastes like chicken.

[DeoVindiceSicSemperTyrannis]

I love venison pie! Mmm Mmm!

[JustaDumbBlonde]

It is not knocking deer when you prefer elk. We love whitetail ... mule deer too ... but elk is heavier and deeper in color and flavor too. They are all great and, if you are eating red meat in our house, chances are that it is deer, elk, moose or bison.

[DeoVindiceSicSemperTyrannis]

corned venison roast

Mmmm! Sounds good! I want it!

[labette]

“Inconsistent” best describes my opinion on venison.

I’ve been trying to solve this mystery for 35 years. Some deer are excellent. Some are inedible. Once, I thought the bucks age determined the quality of the meat. I have pretty much disproved this. Then I got the idea that rutting season hormones were responsible. No opinion on this one yet. My brother thinks that using a meat saw allows bone marrow to give it strong flavor. No opinion on this one.

What say you, fellow FReepers ?

I recently gave away 15 pounds of venison hamburger. It stunk the house up so bad, you couldn’t even make good chili. This was from what I considered an ideal specimen. {young buck, feeding on corn and soybeans, probably not overly stressed from the rut}

The folks I gave the meat to? They thought it was wonderful. Maybe they just said that to make me feel good. Maybe it really was good and I’m just too finicky.

[calex59]

Ok, as a California hunter I have this to say. I like all deer meat, including the black tailed deer of California(very few mule deer wander in from Nevada), but the Rocky Mountain Mule deer beats it for taste. Kill a deer in Colorado and you have meat that will make a beef cow blush in shame. Black Tail are good but rocky mountain mule deer are better. Period.

BTW, in case you might ask, I am 69 years old and have been shooting and eating deer since I was 12 years old.

[waterhill]

The best way to age the venison is in a big cooler full of icy brinewater. The brine will pull the blood ( along with other bodily chemicals) out of the meat. Change the water. It may take up to 72 hours for a buck, a doe maybe 24. When the water stays clear, its done. It will be pearl white. Then cut it up however you like. I learned this from Matt Hernandez, a Dallas chef. The venison will be excellent every time.

Works on wild hog too.

[magslinger]

Did you process the meat yourself? Age, stress and what the deer was feeding on will all affect the quality of the meat but the single most important factor is how the venison is handled. You have to remove absolutely as much of the fell (silverskin) and tallow as you can. If you don't, strongly flavored meat will ensue.