Does venison always taste "gamey"?

[cyprant]

So I grew up eating venison and never really cared for it because it always had a funny taste. I recently watched a video on how to gut and dress a deer and it was a little bit different than what I have leaned from my step dad...

The video really stressed cooling the meat as soon as you could with ice before skinning it. He streesed this would eliminate the gamey taste...

I have watched my step father gut a deer, then hang it up for a day or two before skinning it...I never thought anything of it because it was winter and below freezing. Now I am wondering if maybe I would enjoy venison if it was properly cared for... your thoughts?

 

[snapping turtle]

Soak it in whole or butter milk for a while and it taste better. Also if they are eating corn and beans much better than just twigs and leaves.

 

[sticks4walking]

Try red wine vinigar to marinate it in. You can add other things also but the vinigar helps with the gamey taste. IMO

 

[Cheapdiesel]

Big Buck always tastes gamey to me. Young does and button buck are very mild and tasty.

 

[Mike.B]

It is all in the preparation of the meat. Certain seasonings eliminate the taste you refer to. There is actually a whole line of sauces (bbq and others) that are fantastic at taking the wild taste out. I'll have to ask my friend the name of it for you. My lazy method is deer burger in manwich bold.

 

[remauto1187]

+1 on soaking in milk. Works great on catfish too. The milk pulls the blood out and its the blood that carries the stuff like adrenaline to the muscles.

 

[cyprant]

Since no one has commented on the process after the kill, can I assume what my step father does is correct?

 

[bwframe]

It was my understanding that the best tasting dear are killed quickly as opposed to tracked for hours/overnight. Supposedly the adrenaline pumped through the body of an animal in distress contributes to gamey taste?

Freshly deep fried cubed dear steak baked in mushroom soup gravy is hard to mess up, even with the gamiest meat.

 

[ABolt243]

Yes, cooling the meat ASAP will improve the flavor. Hanging (aging) meat actually concentrates the flavor as well as tenderizes the meat. So, hanging with the skin on for several days will increase the "wild" (natural) flavor. Get teh skin off and hang in a cooler as soon as you can after field dressing. Pack the cavity with bags of ice until you can get it to a cooler.

IMHO, a majority of wild game taken every year is nearly ruined by poor handling methods after the kill. All game should be gutted, skinned and cooled out ASAP.

 

[bwframe]

Since no one has commented on the process after the kill, can I assume what my step father does is correct?

I was always under the impression the meat should be cooled ASAP. I field dress quickly hose out the cavity and fill with frozen milk containers.

 

[Yeah]

Hanging meat in atmospheric conditions does nothing to improve it. Actual aging, wet or dry, only happens inside a narrow temperature / humidity window which seldom occurs naturally for any length of time.

Avoiding a gut marinade by getting them out of the carcass, and getting the thing cooled quickly, will get you almost all the way to where you want to be.

 

[snapping turtle]

I still say take a feild feeding deer from east central indiana and a leaves and acorn eating deer say for brown county state park and the park deer tastes a bit more gamey.....

And yes a doe or button tastes better than a old buck.

 

[hammer24]

How the animal is handled from shot to freezer to plate is everything when it comes to flavor and quality. Poor or improper handling is normally the cause of poor flavor.

Get it killed as cleanly and quickly as possible. If you gut shoot a deer that takes a couple hours and a couple more shots to kill it will not be as good. Keep the stress hormones and digestive juices to a minimum.

Then get it dressed, skinned , and cleaned as quickly as possible. I field dress immediately if possible, and get rinsed out as soon as I can. Do a clean job of dressing as to not add to the mess. Don't rupture stomach, intestines, bladder, etc. Dressing immediately makes this easier because as soon as the deer is dead the stomach and it's contents begin swelling. The longer you wait, the more stomach you have to deal with. As soon as the deer is checked in I hang and skin it to release the heat quicker,and give it another good rinsing. Keep the tarsals away from the meat!

Then get it cooled out to below 40 degrees as quickly as possible.

If you have a cooler that you can hang at 38 degrees, I believe it helps. ( with the texture as much as anything else.) It needs to be just under 40 to keep bacteria growth recessed while having enough temp. for the meat to begin breaking down. Hanging /aging meat is essentially controlled rotting. It breaks the bonds of the fibers to make a better texture for eating. If you butcher while the carcass is still in rigor, that rigor stays with the muscle. If the situation allows and I have a cooler to use I will age from 4-10 days.

As far as cooking goes, I've noticed people who insist on their red meat being well done don't normally like venison. Venison should be prepared medium to medium well. Pink is GOOD! DO NOT OVER COOK! Venison is very lean compared to beef, so lower heat, and if you must , use an oil, butter or some other fat substitute while cooking.

 

[singlestacksig]

the diet of the deer is what makes the true "gamey" taste.. but that is not what most people dislike..
quick kill, quick gutting, skinning & cooling .. also avoid the fat from the deer..

if all that is done right then the real taste can be found...
deer that eat a lot of red oak will have a stronger nut / game taste..
white oak feed deer will not taste as strong..
a lot of deer I see are corn, bean , & cattle feed fed, so they taste like farm raised meat...

 

[kludge]

corn/bean fed >> acorn/twig fed
cool and skin ASAP
remove "silver skin" before cooking

Funny thing... grass fed beef tastes and smells a bit like venison.

 

[hacksawfg]

The deer processing seminar from Purdue extension provided excellent information on getting rid of the gamey taste. Big thing is to do your best to get as much of the fat off the meat (even the small bits) as possible. Huge difference in taste. I believe they're done this year, as I recall they have videos as well as other information at their website (someone help me out with a link?).

 

[Hookeye]

I bone out everything, never use a saw.
Remove silver skin and cook to medium.

Doing this I still had one doe way back that was very gamey. She looked fine, and organs and meat looked perfect........yet it was pretty strong in taste. She was shot late season, with a good shot (died quickly). Corn fed like all the rest off that spot............dunno what was up with that.

I had others, that one got pitched.

 

[handgun]

Well if you are able to shoot the dear in its brain or heart and drop it immediately. Where it does not have the chance to let the adrenaline flow and the blah blah blah get into the muscle tissue ehicg i am not going to get into the chemistry reasons why wild game typically tastes gamie.

I will say the faster the kill (drops dead) the faster you gut and butcher and get your deer prepped preserved and or on ur dinner table ultimately the better it is going to taste.

So ultimately if you were able to take a deer while it is "resting" or sleeping and has not rexently exerted alot of physical activity it will taste better.

Plus there are different ways to prep your meat even if it is gamie taste that will lower the game taste.

Bambi does taste best though. But little reward for so much work due to < adult meat lbs.

 

[Bounty Hunter]

I knew an old timer years ago, that let his deer hang until it had a slight mold on it. He swore by it. Years later I read where the enzymes break down the meat and actually tenderize the meat. Not sure I could stomach that though.

 

[Hookeye]

Yeah, I read about molding venison..........controlled temps though. Some fancy chef explained it in an article I read years ago..........I too thought it funky.