Trimming meat

[BKhunter]

Instead of killing myself in one day trimming all the meat perfectly before packing it, I was thinking of leaving the things like silver skin and a little fat on the meat. I can either trim it when it thaws or I am also thinking of aging the meat in the fridge for a week before eating it after it thaws. I would thinks not trimming it perfectly after the kill would protect the meat and lead to lest waste when I trim it after it ages in the fridge. what are everyones thoughts here?

[Merlot]

Maybe trim a portion of the meat perfectly and leave a portion not trimmed perfectly, freeze 'em all up and compare the results when you cook. At least you have a basis on how to proceed with your next deer next year.

[growalot]

here's a link for you...

http://honest-food.net/2014/10/13/cooking-deer-fat/

 

personally we don't even cook chicken with the skin/fat on,so i won't be changing how I trim..

[Pygmy]

Deer fat, like pork, does not freeze as well as the meat, and it will turn rancid and give the meat a stronger taste, even while in the freezer

 

I will continue to trim ALL the fat, silverskin and connective tissue from my venison.

 

It's a PITA, but makes for better tasting meat, IMHO.

[Trial153]

This is a corner you shouldn't cut with deer ......big mistake

[papabear]

the fat and silver I trim it as i use it 

I like to clean it as i go.I trim it first then i wash it with a little salt in warm water and pat dry 

then i start cooking 

[wolc123]

A "happy medium" works pretty good for me on this. A doe generally require considerably more fat-trimming work than a buck, especially post-rut. If the temperature is ok for hanging inside the garage (32-50 F), I let them hang with the skin on for a week or so prior to processing. The skin provides great insulation against temperature extremes and keeps the meat from drying out too much. I usually take off the hide the day before processing. I also trim off much of the fat on the outside of the carcasses at that time. A large doe I butchered on opening weekend of gun season had fat more than 2 inches thick over most of the rear, but 2-1/2 year and 1-1/2 year bucks, killed the same day and a couple weeks prior, in the same spot, had very little.

When I process the meat, I always trim off the easily accessible fat and tendons as I separate the muscles into roasts, chops, and grind. I don't go nuts on this, like many do, and we have never noticed any "rancid" flavor in the meat. My wife actually likes it so much, that she no longer buys any beef at the store. I always put the first deer each year into zip-lock bags. That is cheaper and saves time over vacuum sealing. As long as you eat it within a few months, there is no noticeable difference in flavor. The rest of the deer are vacuum-sealed. I have not noticed any freezer burn or loss in flavor, up to three years, on those, even without 100% fat removal.

Next year, I am going to try making a neck roast or two from the first deer. That is the part that I usually struggle the most with fat-removal. It sounds like not worrying about it at all will not hurt flavor too bad, according to some posts I have read on here. That may only be true if it is not in the freezer too long however.

Usually, I can age the meat for a week or so, but that only worked out for the first one this year. I skinned it, cut it in half, and hung it in an old fridge out in the garage (It was too warm to hang out in the garage). The skinned parts don't dry out too bad in that old non frost-free fridge. The other two had to be cut up the day after the kill due again to warm temps and a thanksgiving weekend trip we had planned. Other than the tenderloins, I turned those two "next-day" butchered deer all into roasts and grind. I figured the crock-pot and grinder could take care of the rigermortice that aging usually eliminates. We will have to see how those vacuum-sealed deer compare to the zip-locked one that hung for a week. That one has been excellent eating so far.

Edited December 19, 2015 by wolc123

[chrisw]

A "happy medium" works pretty good for me on this. A doe generally require considerably more fat-trimming work than a buck, especially post-rut. If the temperature is ok for hanging inside the garage (32-50 F), I let them hang with the skin on for a week or so prior to processing. The skin provides great insulation against temperature extremes and keeps the meat from drying out too much. I usually take off the hide the day before processing. I also trim off much of the fat on the outside of the carcasses at that time. A large doe I butchered on opening weekend of gun season had fat more than 2 inches thick over most of the rear, but 2-1/2 year and 1-1/2 year bucks, killed the same day and a couple weeks prior, in the same spot, had very little.

When I process the meat, I always trim off the easily accessible fat and tendons as I separate the muscles into roasts, chops, and grind. I don't go nuts on this, like many do, and we have never noticed any "rancid" flavor in the meat. My wife actually likes it so much, that she no longer buys any beef at the store. I always put the first deer each year into zip-lock bags. That is cheaper and saves time over vacuum sealing. As long as you eat it within a few months, there is no noticeable difference in flavor. The rest of the deer are vacuum-sealed. I have not noticed any freezer burn or loss in flavor, up to three years, on those, even without 100% fat removal.

Next year, I am going to try making a neck roast or two from the first deer. That is the part that I usually struggle the most with fat-removal. It sounds like not worrying about it at all will not hurt flavor too bad, according to some posts I have read on here. That may only be true if it is not in the freezer too long however.

Usually, I can age the meat for a week or so, but that only worked out for the first one this year. I skinned it, cut it in half, and hung it in an old fridge out in the garage (It was too warm to hang out in the garage). The skinned parts don't dry out too bad in that old non frost-free fridge. The other two had to be cut up the day after the kill due again to warm temps and a thanksgiving weekend trip we had planned. Other than the tenderloins, I turned those two "next-day" butchered deer all into roasts and grind. I figured the crock-pot and grinder could take care of the rigermortice that aging usually eliminates. We will have to see how those vacuum-sealed deer compare to the zip-locked one that hung for a week. That one has been excellent eating so far.

Don't worry about going too crazy trimming the neck roast, the fat literally melts away in a crockpot or oven. Just get the thick, tallowy stuff off and put it right in a crockpot for 6 hours or so. You won't be able to tell the difference between it and a beef roast. One of the best parts of a deer to me.

Sent from my XT907 using Tapatalk

[wolc123]

I am really looking forward to trying some neck roasts like that next season (maybe even this year if I can find a doe with the ML tomorrow). My wife just got one of them programmable crock pots so cooking it should be easy. Roasts are about the easiest and tastiest venison meal there is. We just put the frozen roast in the crockpot (set on low), along with some whole potatoes, carrots, onions, and cream of mushroom soup, in the morning before work. When we get home (9 hours or so later), there is a heck of a supper ready. With the old crock pot, the kids would turn it down (to "keep warm") after 6 hours when they got home from school. Sometimes they forgot and things dried out a little. The programmable one should solve that issue.

Edited December 19, 2015 by wolc123

[Pygmy]

I agree that the neck roast is one of the tastiest cuts of venison. The flavor and texture of the neck roast is excellent.

All that I have eaten have been cooked fresh or after being frozen a fairly short period of time, so that the fat has not had time to become rancid.

[Elmo]

My dad likes to cut meat when they're semi-frozen. Soft enough so that it can be cut but hard enough that it'll hold a solid shape and won't flop around as you cut.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited December 22, 2015 by Elmo

[goodtamer]

nice note