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

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

[waterhill]

Would you be willing to share said recipe? Please? Pretty Please? With sugar?

[BuddhaBrown]

Had the season’s first fresh kill tenderloin a week ago today (opening day for bow in WI). We marinade in red wine, vinegar, or whatever is handy. Just for a couple hours. Then light grilling on each side and eat away. Perfect start to the season.

Actually, I did not shoot it. My bro-in-law shot it here. We have some land and plenty of deer/turkey. We built a butcher room in the lower part of one of the barns.

I’m anxious to try the cold brine. Never done that.

[labette]

Premium beef restaurants like the Golden Ox in Kansas City used to do this. Maybe still ?

I never heard of anyone trying a deer this way.

[waterhill]

I have heard of that as well. I haven’t tried it as I don’t have the facilities.

An aside: I have aged dove, field to fridge( I leave them whole) in a walmart bag for a few days. They clean easy. Pull the breast and chuck the rest ( compost).

[bigheadfred]

For the mince meat pie? I’d would love to. BUT. I’m a mere 50 years old. You think they would let a boy, like me, near it???

[waterhill]

Yes Sir!

[waterhill]

Oh, come on! At least PM me! I’ll send you a check and a SASE! Name your price.

[tiki]

They are what they eat. If they have a lot of good feed they will taste good but if they are only eating juniper berries then they taste horrid.

[bigheadfred]

The advantage of leaving the hair on is to keep the meat from drying.

My son got a bull elk a couple of years ago and we let him hang for 21 days.

But we are talking in the 35-40 degree range.

After gutting, if there is snow, pack in the snow. If it is warmer, no snow, get some ice in there. The key to good aging is cooling the meat as quickly as possible after death. Big difference between letting it age and letting it rot.

Which brings up the point we were taught to never take any game in a spot that you couldn’t properly take care of it. We hunt to EAT.

Another thing I saw upthread about hair on the meat. My dad taught and stresses cleanliness with any kill. To the point that if you have to drag the animal for any distance, especially in no snow conditions, SEW HIM BACK UP. And when skinning, remove loose hair as you go. You always miss a few, but as clean as possible before you EVER start any butchering is by far the best.

[Kommodor]

Dang, now I’m hungry...

[bigheadfred]

I’m really not kidding. I don’t have it. My dad has it. Ever met my dad? He isn’t kidding either.

[Publius]

M-m-m-m-m-m-m. Bambi.

[waterhill]

Don’t disregard juniper berries! Juniper berries can make a meal, as long as you use them sparingly, and I mean sparingly.

[waterhill]

That was me about the hair, the brine will take care of it.

The icewater brine is all we have here in the South. It works superbly/pure excellence.

[waterhill]

Bummer.

[Viking2002]

Mmmmmmmmm..............LOVE venison! Hickory smoked tenderloins are to die for - I use fist-sized chunks soaked in water for a couple of hours to get a really heavy, moist smoke going. And I have a buddy of mine who can slow-cook a crock pot of venison chili that'll make you weak in the knees. My sister usually scores a nice stick of garlic venison bologna from one of her co-workers around Thanksgiving, and hands off about a 10" length to me every Christmas. My wife isn't big on it (her loss, my gain!), but my dogs and I nibble on it all winter. And nothing makes a dog (or me) smile bigger than some well-prepared wild game.

"But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away, for his name is Obama."

[Viking2002]

That muddy taste comes from the deer not being field-dressed properly. You gotta bleed it out and not let the blood congeal in the muscle, or it'll turn gamey real fast. A good soaking of the cuts is beneficial to the taste, regardless.

"But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away, for his name is Obama."

[Roccus]

For most of my life, my venison had come from others. These were always bucks, professionally processed and often a bit on the strong side. When I moved here to WV in ‘02, I started harvesting my own. I only take does/yearlings/fawns. I never noticed any “gamey” taste....until last season. I try to take every one with a head or neck shot for an instant kill, but last year I had to track one due to a badly placed shot. That doe's meat was decidedly much stronger than the meat of the other deer I harvested last season. A friend told me that the difference was caused by the adrenaline that was pumped through the deer's body as it tried to escape....something that my head/neck shots had previously avoided. All my deer come from the same section of the same property each year, so I don't think diet entered into the results.
I'm not a biologist or even a real hunter. Hunting to me is grocery shopping with a gun. I don't have your years in the field, but at 3-5 deer/season, this is my observation.

[Marie Antoinette]

So, maybe it’s up to me and the daughter to kill it and drag it home? LOL!

[magslinger]

When I butcher it is always a bit of a social event. Many a hunt has been planned or replayed while a deer is being rendered into neat packages. I do think it is a good idea to delay serving strong drink until the last piece is wrapped, both for safety and quality issues. A Manhattan on the rocks made to my Dad's is a nice reward for all the work and maybe a few packages to take home for any volunteers.

The tools needed are simple, a hacksaw (splurge and buy a new blade) and a butcher knife to remove workable size pieces from the carcase. A six inch (or so) knife and cutting board for each adult. Glass and/or ceramic bowls for the meat until it is wrapped, butcher's wrap, tape and a marking pen so you know what you are pulling out of the freezer. When we are finished, all of the bone and virtually all of the connective tissue and tallow has been removed and the meat will be as mild as it can be given the age and diet of the critter it came.

We never grind venison. Any small pieces are put in a bowl to be cut into half inch cubes and packaged in pound packs. You can make chili or venison stroganoff or add taco seasonings and get a result far better than any ground meat.