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Deer Meat
- Thread starter RonJ
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kwselke
Member
Like chicken.
Not really. Think of very low fat beef. It needs to be cooked no more than medium rare or it will be tough with little flavor. It will break down and is excellent in chili. Mixed with pork and good spices it can produce great sausage.
Not really. Think of very low fat beef. It needs to be cooked no more than medium rare or it will be tough with little flavor. It will break down and is excellent in chili. Mixed with pork and good spices it can produce great sausage.
It's got a gamey taste to it. And it is very different depending on where the deer lived and what it ate. The venison from southern Wisconsin where they eat corn, alfalfa and soybeans is tender and juicy with a great flavor while the deer in northern Wisconsin eat pine needles and the meat is less tender and more gamey tasting. The deer are a different color even.
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jeffsmith
Member
and if you can get meat from a deer that lived in an Apple Orchard 
mstuhr
Member
Mexican
Howdy,
I love it in any Mexican dish,chili,enchiladas etc. but can't stand it in Italian food meatballs,lasagna,spaghetti sauce etc..
I like it plain too.
Good luck
Mike
Howdy,
I love it in any Mexican dish,chili,enchiladas etc. but can't stand it in Italian food meatballs,lasagna,spaghetti sauce etc..
I like it plain too.
Good luck
Mike
Old Unk
Member
We used to eat pan fried like liver and onions. In my family we eat whatever and however the Mom [or Grandma] wants to serve the food.
Married to the Grandma..54 years now..still a good cook.
Best.
Married to the Grandma..54 years now..still a good cook.
Best.
BruceM
Member
Not hardly. This is an old wives tale & goes back to the old "swamp buck" fairy tales. Venison which tastes "gamey" hasn't been handled and processed properly. When preparing, be sure to trim as much tallow from the meat as possible.
Bruce
mjr
Member
I expect venison would benefit from the use of an old-fashioned larding needle.
kamloops67
Member
it might be an old wives tale but it seems to hold true lots of the time, the best venison i ever had was taken from a buck that hung around the feed lot , grain fed and tasty
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I agree with BruceM.........any gamey venison was not properly cared for after being killed OR the deer was stressed (run by dogs or something else) just prior to being killed.
Well cared for venison (from the field to the table) when prepared properly is some of the best meat you can eat.
Lots of people make the mistake of thinking it should taste like beef or lamb......it's never going to taste like anything but a deer, cause that's what it is and should be enjoyed for what it is IMO.
Don
Norsk_jaeger
Member
I know that beef tastes differently depending on what it was fed (corn vs grass etc...) but I am not a hunter and only eat what is given to me. It always tastes delicious. Nothing near an Elk backstrap however...lamb would be the closest comparison meat for me, only because it is less mild than beef or pork. It really doesn't taste like venison though.
shouldazagged
Absent Comrade
A deer should be field dressed immediately, skinned, trimmed of excess fat, then hung and aged like fine beef. A thick steak cut from the backstrap, grilled over charcoal and water-soaked hickory chips until medium rare, basted with melted butter and seasoned only with salt and pepper, is some of the finest meat you'll ever eat.
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TheHobbyist
SWCA Member
I really enjoy the taste of venison; and deer season has helped our family for food for generations. Like another poster said, it is all in the preparation.
Basic rule if you butcher the meat yourself is don't leave anything on it, you wouldn't want to put in your mouth or on the table. Grey skin, excess fat, scent glands, cartilage, will all produce a bad taste.
It is best cooked or canned in a tomato sauce. When cooking use cast iron and a low heat, as the ''water'' comes out of the meat, drain it. Do this about 3 times or until this is gone.
When all the murky water is drained from it, add onions and butter. Then add more butter. Depending on the cut of meat, a meat tenderizer is a wonderful thing, too.
If you understand how to cook wild game, be it rabbit, squirrel, deer, etc., then, you will enjoy some very fine cooking.
Basic rule if you butcher the meat yourself is don't leave anything on it, you wouldn't want to put in your mouth or on the table. Grey skin, excess fat, scent glands, cartilage, will all produce a bad taste.
It is best cooked or canned in a tomato sauce. When cooking use cast iron and a low heat, as the ''water'' comes out of the meat, drain it. Do this about 3 times or until this is gone.
When all the murky water is drained from it, add onions and butter. Then add more butter. Depending on the cut of meat, a meat tenderizer is a wonderful thing, too.
If you understand how to cook wild game, be it rabbit, squirrel, deer, etc., then, you will enjoy some very fine cooking.
TheHobbyist
SWCA Member
In thinking about it, I think the biggest mistake a lot of people make with venison (if they process it themselves) is that they leave the scent glands.
cussedemgun
Member
Ron,
The closest domestic meat to deer is goat. Both are browsers, usually eating twigs & weeds instead of just grass like most rudiments.
As already stated, taste will vary with their diet. The best & mildest deer is from a rich green environment as opposed to sage or desert country.
The fat of a deer is white & hard when cooled. It is closer to wax than most animal fat & when left on the meat, will coat your mouth. Also, if the deer is into any noxious weeds, the most flavor will de held in the fat. A plus side is deer tallow mixed half & half with bees wax makes a great lube for cast bullets.
Many associate a strong or gamey taste in deer meat with the fall rut. I believe it has more to do with the green preferred food of summer being harder to find & they switch to a survival diet of evergreen twigs or sage.
To judge the quality of any meat, the best tool is your nose, If it stinks, you probably won't like to eat it, no matter how it is seasoned. To produce good food, you gotta start with good product! Second test of meat is feel, if it develops a slimy feel, that is usually surface bacteria such as coliform. Best to not risk illness with meat that is in doubt, especially someone else's harvest.
Properly cared for, deer (venison) is a rare culinary treat, as good as they taste, it's a wonder there are any left
The closest domestic meat to deer is goat. Both are browsers, usually eating twigs & weeds instead of just grass like most rudiments.
As already stated, taste will vary with their diet. The best & mildest deer is from a rich green environment as opposed to sage or desert country.
The fat of a deer is white & hard when cooled. It is closer to wax than most animal fat & when left on the meat, will coat your mouth. Also, if the deer is into any noxious weeds, the most flavor will de held in the fat. A plus side is deer tallow mixed half & half with bees wax makes a great lube for cast bullets.
Many associate a strong or gamey taste in deer meat with the fall rut. I believe it has more to do with the green preferred food of summer being harder to find & they switch to a survival diet of evergreen twigs or sage.
To judge the quality of any meat, the best tool is your nose, If it stinks, you probably won't like to eat it, no matter how it is seasoned. To produce good food, you gotta start with good product! Second test of meat is feel, if it develops a slimy feel, that is usually surface bacteria such as coliform. Best to not risk illness with meat that is in doubt, especially someone else's harvest.
Properly cared for, deer (venison) is a rare culinary treat, as good as they taste, it's a wonder there are any left
cussedemgun
Member
That's one but -
To wind up with good meat it has to be well bled & to do that, there is no substitute for hanging head down as soon as possible. In any meat or fish, the quickest part to spoil is the blood.
Also important is cooling. Get the hide off & get the body heat out of the animal as soon as possible.
Next, be sure to have game bags to protect the meat from dirt, hair, & most importantly, flies. Be sure to have a means of keeping your hands clean while handling the meat. You are handling food, YOUR OWN
To wind up with good meat it has to be well bled & to do that, there is no substitute for hanging head down as soon as possible. In any meat or fish, the quickest part to spoil is the blood.
Also important is cooling. Get the hide off & get the body heat out of the animal as soon as possible.
Next, be sure to have game bags to protect the meat from dirt, hair, & most importantly, flies. Be sure to have a means of keeping your hands clean while handling the meat. You are handling food, YOUR OWN
Oldiron
US Veteran
Best deer meat comes from one that is just walking by and gets both lungs center punched with a broadhead. Not one of those the folks on TV shoot with the little lite broadheads that just goes in about 3-4" all the way through. The buck that is hanging above my computer desk was killed on MLK day back in '89 with a neck twice the size it normally is (rut here is Jan. into Feb.). No gamey taste at all.
My favorite prep is stew. 2 lbs of meat, about 3-4 'taters, a large onion, garlic, some corn , peas and a qt of home canned 'maters with salt and pepper to taste.
Larry
My favorite prep is stew. 2 lbs of meat, about 3-4 'taters, a large onion, garlic, some corn , peas and a qt of home canned 'maters with salt and pepper to taste.
Larry
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I have to disagree with Ed, I love venison on the grill. The way I do it is ill take some frozen steaks or loin, thaw it in a zip lock bag with extra virgin olive oil, then let sit in evoo till ready to grill. It keeps it moist and doesn't over power the taste. Put a little garlic salt and pepper on and grill to medium rare, leaning towards the rate side, and that's some GREAT eating!! Charcoal grill only.
Peter
Peter
