Gettin rid of gamey taste in deer, anyone know?

[Ray Hammond]

a guy taught me a trick a long time ago- we were pig hunting in a river drainage...a long long long way from the truck, in fairly warm weather.

I shot a 150 lb pig,we recovered it about an hour and a half later - he dressed it, walked to the river's edge, and dunked that hog in the river- (sandy bottom) and flushed it, lowered the body temp all at the same time.

We didn't have ice, and couldnt get ice on it for another couple hours so he did the best we could.That night it got down pretty cool and that hog tasted wonderful...

[Sandstone]

I started doing what Don does with leaving the big muscles whole and cutting up when ready to eat.  It works great and does hold up alot better in the freezer.   Usually not much of a problem cooling the deer down guickly in Minnesota after the first couple of weeks of the season, but I think it is very important to do so.

[hayslope]

The next time you get a deer, experiment.  Take two identical pieces of meat......clean one to the nth degree (no fat, connective tissue, bone, silverskin, etc.)......package the other up the way it is (with bone, fat, connective tissue/silverskin).  Mark each package with a big "X" and date it.  After six months in the freezer, take both pieces out and thaw.  Prepare both - rather simply.  Taste.  Want to guess which one will taste "gamey"?  Like the others have said, processing is key to how they taste.

Deer are very much unlike elk, moose or caribou in this respect in that the fat, bones and connective tissue will severely contribute to what most call "that gamey taste".  Call it rancid or what have you, it ain't good!

Quick cooling and aging also will contribute to better tasting venison, with aging contributing more to tenderness than taste, although it will make them taste better if done at the right temp and length of time.  Still, all-in-all, my experience has been that if that deer is boned, it can be fed to anyone without a negative reaction (except maybe a PETA member or vegetarian).

[ChrisM]

I did something this year that is making my meat excelient.  As always I can't hang my meat like nothern fellas do cause its usually in the 90's during bow season.  I usually have the meat quarted and on ice and salt within about an hour and soak for 5 days adding ice and draining off the water daily.  What I did differently is that I pack and froze the meat in press and seal, and when I thawed the meat out I left in the ice box in a bowl for about two days after it was thawed and the press and seal allowed all of the excess juices to leak out into the bowl.  When I went to cook the meat it was the dryness that you get with beef fresh from the butcher.  So gamey tast.  Have done this all year and it has been great every time.

[ch1ch2]

I have found that washing the meat helps a lot.
Soak it in a bowl of water and refresh often until the water is just barely pink.

[Loren Holland]

Assuming you are talking about whitetail (hogs and javelinas, have some other considerations, ie removing certain glands, etc)...ditto on the processing already stated. Daddy always told me, clean, dry and cool. Hang it up, keep the hair off it, bone it out.

when it comes to cooking, thats a matter of personal taste (pun intended), but i will say that soaking does work.  you can use milk, salt water, whatever, but you don't just let it sit overnight. change it out, (more frequently at first) till the liquid quits getting bloody.

theres a million arguments about how to season, marinade, etc...the key to me at least is have your spices "soak in" and tenderize at the same time. you have to introduce an acid. some folks use coke, some use, mustard, lime juice, whatever. i spinkle a little lime over it as it thaws, then my marinade is olive oil, worcestershire, and spicy mustard, add dry spices

i always sear, and then lower the heat or move away from the heat (depending on what type of grill you use)...don't overcook venision

if my kids, who won't touch anything but chicken nuggets, will eat it this way, anyone will

[tradhunter1]

The best part about deer is it tastes like deer.

Keeping the meat clean while field dressing is the best way. I also take the hide off as soon as possible for cooling the whole deer, hang it up side down to allow blood left in the body to drain, I use card board boxs to prevent blood stains in my shed floor.(I believe that if all butchers do this with cows then it should be done with deer,elk, or any other game animal.) this is where if you got contaminates on the meat when you field dressed that you cut out the affected area, as well as any dark bloody areas around the wounds. I allow 2-5 days hang time in cool to cold weather to age, but only in shade or a shed for that purpose, make sure you use a cheese cloth game bag to cover the body, in warm weather I butcher as soon as possible. While butchering remove as much fat as possible then when reading for cooking check your meat and remove all remaining fat. ensure the meat is completely thawed out prior to putting heat on the meat. If you don't like the strong flaver of the Deer you can marinade it over night in your choice of marinades or rub with your favorite seasonings.