Good tasting venison

[wolc123]

   This subject has came up in several threads lately.   Specifically, folks have said that deer from the central/South-east Adirondacks taste like they must just "eat bark" and are terrible compared to beef.    I can't relate to that at all and do not recall ever having bad tasting venison.   I think there is much more to it than just "what they eat", but that may be the primary factor in how they taste.    How the deer was killed (the quicker the better) probably affects flavor.   Getting the guts out fast has got to help.   Those folks who "back out and wait until the next morning" are almost certainly going to pay the price on the table (if the coyotes don't get it first), especially on the choisest cuts (tenderloins).   Proper aging makes the meat  tender and I think lots of folks end up processing their deer too fast, near when riggermortice is at it's peak ( 6 - 24 hours after kill), but probably has little if any effect on taste.

As far as the "what they eat" effecting taste, I don't have the data to support that, since virtually all deer I have eaten over the last 25 years or so have been on a corn/clover or white oak acorn diet when killed.   My first deer was a bark-eating button buck down in Allegheny state park 35 years ago but I don't recall the taste of that one.   I do remember how good the first venison I ever had was, a few years prior to that, when my dad killed a nice buck at the edge of a corn field at home.  No one in our family could tell that it was not beef, which have been raised on our farm going back to the Civil war days.   We got rid of the last of the cattle after my grandad passed in the early eighties and I certainly don't miss it, because the venison tastes just as good and is a lot better for you (grandpa died of a heart attack).    

I was a little surprised to find a belly full of corn in the buck I killed up on the NW edge of the Adirondack park this year.  That may explain the excellent flavor of the tenderloins that we had for dinner this week.   The last buck I killed up there 2 seasons ago had a belly full of white oak acorns, was at least a year older, and tasted just as good.   My father in law said there was a big field of unharvested corn a short distance down the road from his camp up there this year.  

I know a lot of hunters who say they like their venison, but the real test is what do the non-hunting wives, kids, friends, neighbors, or strangers think about it?  None of those groups has realized they were not eating beef when the local corn-fed, aged venison was offered at our house.        

[ncountry]

I haven't  noticed a big difference . But the deer I have shot in the big woods (northern Adirondacks without an agricultural  field within at least 10 miles) do seem to be a little tougher and gamey.. Of course the smallest one I have killed in the hills weighed 170# .Interestingly enough , I found their bellies full of mushrooms twice ...

[GreeneHunter]

Never had the pleasure of eating any Adirondack Venison ?  An invite is always welcome !

[turkeyfeathers]

I have yet to eat any gamey venison , probably as I never shot an old buck either. A friend did give us a nuisance permit deer shot in July. That was outstanding. Only one we could ever tell a taste difference in. 

[crappyice]

I never understood the statement, " tastes like beef/veal" as a COMPLIMENT to venison. If I want beef or veal I would just buy beef or veal. I find venison has a slightly deeper flavor which I enjoy more than beef or veal which is also why I spend some much time, effort and money chasing them. That richer flavor gets labeled as "gaminess" which has a negative connotation IF people don't like the stronger flavor. The strange experience for me was that the toughest piece of venison I had was a tenderloin of a young die that we grilled over a wood fire in the field after field dressing. I was expecting a flawless piece but is was disappointing.
As for non-hunters, my boys likes it as much as beef. My wife does not like steaks(even backstaps) but enjoys it in chili or burgers.


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[vizslas]

i usually will let my deer hang for a week .  the meat needs time to relax. everyone who comes to my house for venison says they love it. We eat as little beef as we can

[nodeerhere]

Also is a lot on how or who cuts the deer. If u take it to a butcher they don't take the time to clean the silver skin off. They cut deer fast to make money. Cut it urself take the time and make sure it's all good and clean. I have had venison that wasn't cooked or processed right and did not like it. I've had it cleaned and cooked right and I love it. Just my .02 

[ncountry]

6 minutes ago, nodeerhere said:

Also is a lot on how or who cuts the deer. If u take it to a butcher they don't take the time to clean the silver skin off. They cut deer fast to make money. Cut it urself take the time and make sure it's all good and clean. I have had venison that wasn't cooked or processed right and did not like it. I've had it cleaned and cooked right and I love it. Just my .02 

This is the truth.. Poorly prepared venison can ruin the experience . If we do not cut the deer up ourselves Im very picky in choosing a meat cutter. The only bad venison I've had came from a bad meat cutter . 

[sfoulkrod]

I have noticed a minor difference sometimes, but I have no idea what causes this.  I have heard that animals eating fruits and berries will have better tasking meat, but I can't say I've really been able to tell.  It always tastes good to me.  Regarding the preparation, Steven Rinella's Meat Eater show has some episodes devoted to preparing game.  Seasons 5 and 6 are now on Netflix, which is awesome.  He's also got a 2 book series that has recipes and ideas that cater to feeding wild game to hesitant family members.  Spoiler alert - lot's of bacon...  

[vizslas]

I always butcher my deer. No one and i mean no one puts their hands on my meat except my wife.

[Daveboone]

The only time I could say I found a difference in taste, is in the case of deer I wasn't able to wash out/ cool properly in a reasonable amount of time.....(with probably a close to 50/50 split of deer from the north county and the fingerlakes area).

Beef is "finished" on grain to improve the taste , after fattening and being raised on grass, and the difference in flavor is very apparent. I have no doubt that the deers diet can also greatly affect the taste.

 

[YFKI1983]

I always butcher my deer. No one and i mean no one puts their hands on my meat except my wife.

Not sure if this was meant to sound as funny as it did lol

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[vizslas]

36 minutes ago, Daveboone said:

The only time I could say I found a difference in taste, is in the case of deer I wasn't able to wash out/ cool properly in a reasonable amount of time.....(with probably a close to 50/50 split of deer from the north county and the fingerlakes area).

Beef is "finished" on grain to improve the taste , after fattening and being raised on grass, and the difference in flavor is very apparent. I have no doubt that the deers diet can also greatly affect the taste.

 

processing is important for the final flavor. Gutting to ageing. after i gut the deer being careful to leave the kidneys attached to the back . I leave the heart and lungs in the chest liver stays too. My pack of dogs thrive on the stuff. i barley get noticed when i come home from deer hunting . i get a sniff and when that sniff clicks to i was hunting deer they all haul ass out side  its funny stuff. but back to the processing Once i start to butcher i separate by muscle .. throw all the bone out once your dogs chew the balls off the ends... Never let your dog crack the bone or eat the long parts  splinters and as we all know those splintered deer legs are sharp and tough.. you would be surprised at how many people saw through the whole leg and call it a steak. Its a mistake. different muscles cook at different temps to be cook properly. de bone and your going to be way ahead of the game. and dont forget to slice out all the rib meat . it s dog bacon at our home.

[vizslas]

8 minutes ago, YFKI1983 said:

 

Not sure if this was meant to sound as funny as it did lol

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Its funny because its true ..

[landtracdeerhunter]

1 hour ago, vizslas said:

I always butcher my deer. No one and i mean no one puts their hands on my meat except my wife.

LOL.

[wolc123]

I also butcher most of the deer I kill, in addition to the occasional road-kill, nuisance permit deer, or "gifts" from friends.  On very rare occasion (such as my ML doe this year up in the NW Adirondacks when it got up to 80 degrees later that day), I will take them to a local processor.   I have got to say that Nolt's, down in Lowville did a heck of a job on that 1-1/2 year old doe.   It looks like they trimmed away most of the fat, tendons, and silver skin.  The best thing was the price, just $47 skinned, cut up, and freezer wrapped.   If I could get that kind of price and service in WNY, I would not cut up so many of my own.   I have processed (4) this year so far and have had about enough of it.  I gave my last doe to my brother in law, but I just finished cutting up my Adirondack buck last night (after one week of aging in my deer fridge).

Processing them yourself is not too bad, as long as you have the right equipment.  A sharp knife, firm table, grinder, old refrigerator, and vacuum sealer help out a lot.   I go to extremes to maximize the quality of my venison, from putting in foodplots (mostly corn and clover), to killing and gutting them as quickly as possible.  For that reason, I like to know I am getting my own back.   

I like it best when the outside temp is between 30 and 50 degrees over a week.   That happened twice for me this season, and I was able to hang them in my insulated garage, skin-on, for a week.  Usually, I skin them the day prior to processing.  That breaks up the work-load a bit, and leaving the skin on, as long as I can, helps insulate against temp swings and keeps the meat from drying out too much.  On average, It takes me about an hour to skin and 3 hours to process , including set-up and clean-up time.  Fat does or badly shot-up deer take longer, with more trimming time needed. I am fussy about trimming out as much of the fat, silver skin, tendons, and bloodied-up meat as my patience will allow.    

When temperatures in the extended forecast are predicted to be above 50, for extended periods, I skin the deer right away, and saw the hind quarters off.  I hang those from hooks on the top of my deer fridge, and rest the front section on the neck in there.  I holds them in there at 35 degrees for the week. The parts do not dry out too bad in there (it is an old, non-frost free GE unit from the 1950's).  This adds some time to the process, as that fridge has to be cleaned later to remove all the blood.  I find that even the grind is tough to chew if you do not allow the riggermortise to get out of the meat before freezing.   Aging solves that issue.   Aging time depends mostly on how old the deer was.  A couple days is plenty for a 6 month deer, a week is good for a 1-1/2, and 10 days works well for older deer.         

 

Edited December 4, 2016 by wolc123

[Buckstopshere]

4 hours ago, wolc123 said:

I also butcher most of the deer I kill, in addition to the occasional road-kill, nuisance permit deer, or "gifts" from friends.  On very rare occasion (such as my ML doe this year up in the NW Adirondacks when it got up to 80 degrees later that day), I will take them to a local processor.   I have got to say that Nolt's, down in Lowville did a heck of a job on that 1-1/2 year old doe.   It looks like they trimmed away most of the fat, tendons, and silver skin.  The best thing was the price, just $47 skinned, cut up, and freezer wrapped.   If I could get that kind of price and service in WNY, I would not cut up so many of my own.   I have processed (4) this year so far and have had about enough of it.  I gave my last doe to my brother in law, but I just finished cutting up my Adirondack buck last night (after one week of aging in my deer fridge).

Processing them yourself is not too bad, as long as you have the right equipment.  A sharp knife, firm table, grinder, old refrigerator, and vacuum sealer help out a lot.   I go to extremes to maximize the quality of my venison, from putting in foodplots (mostly corn and clover), to killing and gutting them as quickly as possible.  For that reason, I like to know I am getting my own back.   

I like it best when the outside temp is between 30 and 50 degrees over a week.   That happened twice for me this season, and I was able to hang them in my insulated garage, skin-on, for a week.  Usually, I skin them the day prior to processing.  That breaks up the work-load a bit, and leaving the skin on, as long as I can, helps insulate against temp swings and keeps the meat from drying out too much.  On average, It takes me about an hour to skin and 3 hours to process , including set-up and clean-up time.  Fat does or badly shot-up deer take longer, with more trimming time needed. I am fussy about trimming out as much of the fat, silver skin, tendons, and bloodied-up meat as my patience will allow.    

When temperatures in the extended forecast are predicted to be above 50, for extended periods, I skin the deer right away, and saw the hind quarters off.  I hang those from hooks on the top of my deer fridge, and rest the front section on the neck in there.  I holds them in there at 35 degrees for the week. The parts do not dry out too bad in there (it is an old, non-frost free GE unit from the 1950's).  This adds some time to the process, as that fridge has to be cleaned later to remove all the blood.  I find that even the grind is tough to chew if you do not allow the riggermortise to get out of the meat before freezing.   Aging solves that issue.   Aging time depends mostly on how old the deer was.  A couple days is plenty for a 6 month deer, a week is good for a 1-1/2, and 10 days works well for older deer.         

 

Why saw the hind quarters off? Just use a knife at the hip joint. IMO length of aging depends on the ambient air temp. Some years, my hung deer just freeze and there is no aging maturation of the tissue. Like green-killed deer. Good post! Years ago in Vegas I saw how one of the fancy restaurants aged their beef... in glass units. I was amazed at the shrinking in size and the length of time...over a month at like...38 degrees F. They actually scrub the green mold off the finest and most expensive aged cuts.

 

[vizslas]

Grinders ,slicers ,and a deer table with a five foot counter top that i welded a base for out of 1 inch aluminum .   i dont have a garage so i spent some more time in the weld shop  built a sixteen foot 6x6x6 inch triangular tower sunk it in the ground . then i welded a truss out of 1.375 inch galvanized pipe, welded in a couple u bolts and my deer swing  was ready for action  so it goes from the top of the tower to a notch in a tree perfect  the deer like to swing in my yard

[Lawdwaz]

20 minutes ago, Buckstopshere said:

Why saw the hind quarters off? 

Years ago in Vegas I saw how one of the fancy restaurants aged their beef... in glass units. I was amazed at the shrinking in size and the length of time...over a month at like...38 degrees F. They actually scrub the green mold off the finest and most expensive aged cuts.

 

I agree, why saw them off?  Ball/socket is no match for a man with a sharp knife.

I've mentioned the fact that aging can lead to mold but no sweat, scrub it off.  IIRC you can use plane old vinegar and water to wipe it down.

[ATbuckhunter]

I think a lot more goes into the taste of the venison than just where it was shot. Age, how you take care of it in the field, how you butcher it, using the right cuts of meat and cooking it right. I'm sure what it eats has a decent effect on it, but not nearly as much as what I listed. 

[nyantler]

It's all about the chef!! My grandmother could make a boot taste good.

 

[nodeerhere]

Lol!!! 

[Lawdwaz]

1 hour ago, nyantler said:

It's all about the chef!! My grandmother could make a boot taste good.

 

Many, many more can make a tenderloin taste like a boot............too damned bad.

The biggest mistake sooooo many make when preparing venison is over cooking.  Hot and FAST is the way we roll.  The bloodier the better..................

[wolc123]

I could eat rare venison every day.  Some day's, when I am butchering, I am tempted to try it raw, right off the knife.  I have often eaten raw walleye cheeks off my fillet knife and washed them down with a big swig off Genny cream ale.  That has never made me sick.   Maybe that would work on raw venison.    Our youngest daughter likes it rare also, but our older one and her mother like it a little more cooked.   On the grill, I usually just cook it all rare and let them put it in the microwave if they want it more done, or stick to the thinner parts on the edges.    

[Buckmaster7600]

Diet and age are big factors in taste as well as how it was prepared and butchered. How it died also has a lot to do with flavor.

Anyone who says venison is better than beef I would have to question if they have ever had good beef. I would put a steak from one of my black Angus against any venison steak.


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