What's your best trick to remove the gamey taste?

[SaltwaterSlick]

I know this person that says they know a person that can clean an entire deer without getting ONE hair on it. I call b/s. Any TBHers that have these skills?

I wouldn't say I never get any hair on the meat, but it is darn seldom, and only around the initial neck ringing or leg disjoints. There won't be any hair on the carcass or quarters. If you always cut from the inside out and roll the hide to the outside as you skin, you should be able to skin an animal without getting hair all over it. I sure have seen some hairy meat hanging 'round our skinnin' pole though. There's a lot of folks who have never learned the basics of field dressing/skinning/quartering an animal, and honestly, I don't know any good resources to teach it other than stuff like what we're doing right here on the Green Screen... for those who have not been fornuate enough to have been taught by other experienced hunters. I learned from my older brother and dad, and learned my meat care and processing from a 1st cousin who was a butcher for 35 years.. man he could take an animal apart that looked like a video in fast forward.

[Gerald S]

I wouldn't say I never get any hair on the meat, but it is darn seldom, and only around the initial neck ringing or leg disjoints. There won't be any hair on the carcass or quarters. If you always cut from the inside out and roll the hide to the outside as you skin, you should be able to skin an animal without getting hair all over it. I sure have seen some hairy meat hanging 'round our skinnin' pole though. There's a lot of folks who have never learned the basics of field dressing/skinning/quartering an animal, and honestly, I don't know any good resources to teach it other than stuff like what we're doing right here on the Green Screen... for those who have not been fornuate enough to have been taught by other experienced hunters. I learned from my older brother and dad, and learned my meat care and processing from a 1st cousin who was a butcher for 35 years.. man he could take an animal apart that looked like a video in fast forward.

Skin from the butt down and you won't have to worry about the neck hair.

[TXAG14]

BEER! Bout a 12 pack.

[Stolle]

First let your meat sit in the cooler over ice draining the bloody water and adding fresh ice for 3-5 days, this will bleed it out. After that no gamey taste IMO.....tasty!

Same here! I think the main thing is to take care of the meat after the kill. Get the guts out as soon as possible and get the meat cooling.

[jpbruni]

JPBruni...question here. Are you talking about quarters and no ice or water?

My reasoning here is, I leave the quarters intact and all 4 pieces get the rinse and soak in ice. After several days of the usual drain, ice and age routine the 4 quarters are then pulled and the processing begins. The silver lining surrounding the shoulders and hams shield the meat from water intrusion and I simply cut away any white areas and simply focus on red.

Water can only penetrate so far into the meat and quarters, left as is with membrane shield are pretty secure from water intrusion. I agree, if I mix water into the meat after I bone and do the other work...it's an issue.

I towel each quarter down when pulled from ice till they are simply cool and then start the butchering necessary to finish the job.

Straps, tenders and any trim meat that is cut away during the field to age stage (exposed meat) gets placed in plastic bags only to seperate the water from the meat but once I'm home, it comes off ice and out of the bag and into the fridge. I don't like exposed meat in a blood soak.

I just toss the quarters into trash bags and the backstraps and tenders into ziplocks and then ice it down. No harm to aging in the cooler at all, for as long as 7-10 days. Put one end of the cooler up on a brick and open up the drain plug on the other end. What I was trying to stress is to not let any water contact the meat until you thaw it out and are ready to cook it.

I try to bone out the quarters once I get home and then vaccuum seal everything, but still do not rinse the meat. Of course there are going to be exceptions, gut shot, etc. where it might be necessary to rinse, but as a rule I don't let water (and as little hair) touch the meat, if at all possible.

I am a firm believer in aging the meat in the fridge or cooler, just not directly touching the ice.

J.P.

[Kamoman]

I marinate mine in bourbon/pepper corn marinade sauce. Last nite, I took some round steaks from the freshly killed pronghorns marinated them in the bourbon/peppercorn sauce, and wrapped them with maple bacon with onions & jalepenos in them. I placed them on a hot grill until they were done and man of man...they were good.

[SaltwaterSlick]

I just toss the quarters into trash bags and the backstraps and tenders into ziplocks and then ice it down. No harm to aging in the cooler at all, for as long as 7-10 days. Put one end of the cooler up on a brick and open up the drain plug on the other end. What I was trying to stress is to not let any water contact the meat until you thaw it out and are ready to cook it.

I try to bone out the quarters once I get home and then vaccuum seal everything, but still do not rinse the meat. Of course there are going to be exceptions, gut shot, etc. where it might be necessary to rinse, but as a rule I don't let water (and as little hair) touch the meat, if at all possible.

I am a firm believer in aging the meat in the fridge or cooler, just not directly touching the ice.

J.P.

Yep... good ideas too, BUT if you use a fridge, if it is one of those frost free models, cover the meat otherwise, it sure will dry out bad if you leave it in there for a week to 10 days. That's why most stand-alone freezers are not frost free.

[jpbruni]

Thought you might enjoy this article from the TBJ from several years back...

[SaltwaterSlick]

Thought you might enjoy this article from the TBJ from several years back...

Yep, that pretty much sums up how my momma cooked any meat. As long as she could push down on the spatchula and get any pink juice out, it wasn't done. A deer burger, sausage would have made a good hockey puck! I learned the cooking part of my venison skills sort of on my own because I like my ribeye's rare, so one day I tried it with some back strap, and have been a changed man ever since.. that was about 30 years ago. To me though, there's still nothing better in the world than chicken fried deer steak, sawmill gravy, mashed potatoes, with at little red shoat gravy on top and hot homemade biscuits to sop it all up with!

[jpbruni]

To me though, there's still nothing better in the world than chicken fried deer steak, sawmill gravy, mashed potatoes, with at little red shoat gravy on top and hot homemade biscuits to sop it all up with!

I'm with ya. If I was on Death Row and they asked what I wanted as my last meal, it would be Chicken Fried Venison

J.P.

[Burntorange Bowhunter]

Oh i don't get hair all over it by any means. It is, however.....impossible to not get ONE hair on it.

I have a fridge at the lease in the kitchen we built. It helps out alot. Lay a piece of freezer paper over the shelve and lay the meat out. Let it sit for a couple of days and then wrap it and freeze it. Way easier to transport home. Heck, you don't even need ice.

[Burntorange Bowhunter]

Yep, that pretty much sums up how my momma cooked any meat. As long as she could push down on the spatchula and get any pink juice out, it wasn't done. A deer burger, sausage would have made a good hockey puck! I learned the cooking part of my venison skills sort of on my own because I like my ribeye's rare, so one day I tried it with some back strap, and have been a changed man ever since.. that was about 30 years ago. To me though, there's still nothing better in the world than chicken fried deer steak, sawmill gravy, mashed potatoes, with at little red shoat gravy on top and hot homemade biscuits to sop it all up with!

That's the way I roll.........OK.....both.

[AtTheWall]

If I was on Death Row and they asked what I wanted as my last meal, it would be Chicken Fried Venison

I would probably lean toward every head in Congress skewered and served on a silver platter

[jpbruni]

I would probably lean toward every head in Congress skewered and served on a silver platter

Nah...they're way too gamey.

J.P.

[GR5]

The same ageing process applies to pigs. Although pig fat is good and deer fat is not. I try to age mine for a minimum of 4 days and 7 is better
These 2 were processed last week after aging 7 days


A little grinding

Some pattie sausage

Stuffing and ready for smoker

Used Reos cajun for links. added cheese and japs