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Getting gameness out of venison

bigmike23 said:
All.
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But was it removed before the butcher packed it? I have not had great tasting venison when it gets frozen with any white stuff on it. A tiny bit here or there shouldn’t be too much to make something gamey or off-tasting. However, I definitely taste a difference when I thaw out some venison that has been lazily trimmed by the butcher, as opposed to a good butcher who will remove 95%+ of that waxy crap before they even try to wrap it.
 
Spartan said:
There’s no need to soak any meat in water/ice/brine/salt/vinegar/etc., so long as it has been processed and butchered properly.

Three easy steps to have tender and delicious venison with no gamey taste.

1. Field dress your deer properly and in a timely manner. Do not spill any stomach contents, gut matter, feces, or urine in the body cavity.

2. Skin, rinse, and hang your deer in a timely manner for a minimum of 48 hrs to get the rigor out. 3-7 days is ideal. Temp should be constantly kept between 34 and 38 degrees F. If you hang it from a tree in your back yard you will not be able to keep the temps constantly between 34 and 38 degrees.

3. Cut away all fat, silver skin, and sinew when butchering and packing.

That’s it. It’s that simple. If your meat still tastes gamey it’s because you failed to properly follow those three steps. If your meat is tough or dry, it’s because you failed to properly follow those three steps.
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I agree with every bit of this, but I would say that a good salt brine (literally just salt) for 2-24 hours is NEVER a bad thing on whole-muscle cuts or steaks. Just from a culinary perspective…
 
I hang mine for at least 5 days prior to processing...need rigor to settle out. There is a chemical process there and it needs to happen for the best flavor....
 
DelaWhere_Arrow said:
But was it removed before the butcher packed it? I have not had great tasting venison when it gets frozen with any white stuff on it. A tiny bit here or there shouldn’t be too much to make something gamey or off-tasting. However, I definitely taste a difference when I thaw out some venison that has been lazily trimmed by the butcher, as opposed to a good butcher who will remove 95%+ of that waxy crap before they even try to wrap it.
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No. Afterwards. Butcher would never make money if they took that much time to cut that off before wrapping
 
bigmike23 said:
No. Afterwards. Butcher would never make money if they took that much time to cut that off before wrapping
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Maybe they would…my butcher gets almost all of it off, he’s busy all season. I rarely have to get a knife out to trim myself. Having worked in a butcher shop, I’ll attest that you’d be surprised how fast and efficient a good meat-cutter can be with trimming.
 
Plebe said:
Anyone brine their venison?
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Salt-brine, which can have varying degrees but basically just cover the meat in salt and leave in fridge for a few hours up to a few days. Depending on how much you use, you may have to rinse before cooking, but I almost never do. I just make sure to touch every bit in coarse salt then go over it again with a finer salt. Season with whatever else you want like an hour before you cook. Have also used a mojo-style brine (just google simple mojo for Cuban sandwiches) on wild pork, not venison, and it worked really well. Wanna try that on my doe this Spring when the smoker will be rolling in full gear again, make some BBQ Cubandoes.
 
99% of people don't take the proper precautions of the meat. From the time it drops till it goes in the pan. When it hits the ground, start taking care of it! Don't bust a bladder, no hair, and whatever you do, don't cut a gland the cut into the meat!
Process your meat with care, no silverskin or and connective tissue is good table fair. Be sure to clean the meat before preserving it and always preserve it in a good way. Weather it be vacuum seal or butchers paper. Then never over cook it.
I'm being short about it, but I hope you get the drift
 
TNSTAAFL said:
That or find a new guy. I love my processor. His work is superb. Probably helps that he is a professional meat cutter. And for $110...my time is worth more.

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk
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I agree that if it’s impractical to butcher your own, you should look for a cutter who will trim most of that away. I like that you specified your guy is a professional meat cutter. A lot of people don’t realize you don’t need to be a trade butcher to be a deer butcher, and a lot of their butchers are not trade or pro. It’s not a requirement but you will be able to tell the difference pretty clearly.
Exception being, a good deer butcher who has become a pro meat cutter through evolution and experience. These are more common than the true pros who do deer, but way less common than the hunters-turned-butchers who want to turn out a paycheck on your groceries but don’t care what it looks like, or the deer cutters who do a pretty okay job and that’s good enough for the folks in their area.
I think my current butcher is one of these evolved guys. He is a taxidermist primarily but also does the meat, and I think with sheer experience in taking these animals apart in every way, he is now turning out quality venison and mounts at pretty affordable prices.
 
TNSTAAFL said:
That or find a new guy. I love my processor. His work is superb. Probably helps that he is a professional meat cutter. And for $110...my time is worth more.

Sent from my SM-S901U using Tapatalk
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Yup those are the bes!
 
I won first place in a cooking contest in 2009 with Venison and Wild Turkey meat.

Stay away from processors. They think it's perfectly ok to burn any lingering hair off the carcass before cutting it up. Idiots.

No aging of the meat is required.

I remove hair and other stuff with a hose or clean wet cloth(s) as soon as I finish taking the hide off.

Remove ALL fat and silverskin. These are the things that obtain the flavors of what the animal eats. Branches, leaves, acorns, etc. ( ever eat an acorn? If you've given it a try, you'll know what I mean )

Damn near every cut of meat can be grilled with olive oil, salt & pepper.
( See those three small 'blade' steaks at the top of the shoulder? Each one makes a nice little steak. )
The only chunks of meat I won't grill will have tendons and sinew I cannot remove. I usually grind that up for chili and be done with it. Chili has all kinds of spices which 'overpower' the gaminess of the tendons.

Make sure the meat is at room temperature prior to throwing it on a really hot grill and cook it as rare as you can stand it.

For instance, when I won that contest, I cut my backstrap about an inch thick ( fat & silverskin removed ), coated with olive oil, sprinkled salt & pepper, and cooked it over a hot grill ( 500-600 degrees ) for about 45 seconds each side.

Throw it on a plate, cut with a fork, and prepare to be amazed.
 
Center Punch said:
I won first place in a cooking contest in 2009 with Venison and Wild Turkey meat.

Stay away from processors. They think it's perfectly ok to burn any lingering hair off the carcass before cutting it up. Idiots.

No aging of the meat is required.

I remove hair and other stuff with a hose or clean wet cloth(s) as soon as I finish taking the hide off.

Remove ALL fat and silverskin. These are the things that obtain the flavors of what the animal eats. Branches, leaves, acorns, etc. ( ever eat an acorn? If you've given it a try, you'll know what I mean )

Damn near every cut of meat can be grilled with olive oil, salt & pepper.
( See those three small 'blade' steaks at the top of the shoulder? Each one makes a nice little steak. )
The only chunks of meat I won't grill will have tendons and sinew I cannot remove. I usually grind that up for chili and be done with it. Chili has all kinds of spices which 'overpower' the gaminess of the tendons.

Make sure the meat is at room temperature prior to throwing it on a really hot grill and cook it as rare as you can stand it.

For instance, when I won that contest, I cut my backstrap about an inch thick ( fat & silverskin removed ), coated with olive oil, sprinkled salt & pepper, and cooked it over a hot grill ( 500-600 degrees ) for about 45 seconds each side.

Throw it on a plate, cut with a fork, and prepare to be amazed.
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Burning hair is gross. I also saw a “butcher” spray his arms, rubber gloves, apron and pants with Off! Backwoods “so I don’t get ticks on me” right before handling the carcass, which was in his cooler anyway for seemingly a day or more and the likelihood that he’d get a tick on him that he couldn’t simply brush away is almost nil. In transparency, I brought this butcher a hog before I’d seen that video, but the hog was snagged in the cold of February and he did a decent job on that animal. But after I saw him spray that (on YouTube mind you, video may still be up years later) I found a new butcher in that area. That’s the kinda behavior you run a risk for whenever you find a new butcher, so I like to talk to hunters whose sense of safety and taste I trust before I find a butcher. I am assembling the things I need this year to start butchering my own deer next year.
 
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DelaWhere_Arrow said:
Burning hair is gross. I also saw a “butcher” spray his arms, rubber gloves, apron and pants with Off! Backwoods “so I don’t get ticks on me” right before handling the carcass, which was in his cooler anyway for seemingly a day or more and the likelihood that he’d get a tick on him that he couldn’t simply brush away is almost nil. In transparency, I brought this butcher a hog before I’d seen that video, but the hog was snagged in the cold of February and he did a decent job on that animal. But after I saw him spray that (on YouTube MIBs you, video may still be up years later) I found a new butcher in that area. That’s the kinda behavior you run a risk for whenever you find a new butcher, so I like to talk to hunters whose sense of safety and taste I trust before I find a butcher. I am assembling the things I need this year to start butchering my own deer next year.
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yuck!!!
 
Wanted to give an update. I killed my buck the 17th. I immediately field dressed him and got to a different butcher than the first time within 2 hrs. I just cooked some loins tonight from that buck and it's radically different than the doe I shot. The meat has almost no odor and I didn't use buttermilk and it tastes great. That doe absolutely stunk and it only somewhat edible with buttermilk. I might toss the rest of her out. I think most of you were right and the processor screwed up that doe with bad handling
 
Proper game care and processing, first and foremost! However, you can salvage "non-palatable" meat, within reason, with acidity. Buttermilk (not just milk), "homemade" buttermilk (milk and vinegar or lemon juice), or a vinegar based soak will remove a lot of gaminess. I usually reserve brining/dry brining to add flavor, change structure, and retain moisture.
 
Vtbow said:
I always remove the silver prior to freezing.....it makes a huge difference....
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I leave the silverskin on when freezing, I think it helps prevent freezer burn. I trim it after thawing, before cooking.
 
Samcirrus said:
Same here, I savor the gamey taste!!! It's so much better than beef or pork!
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I was going to say the same thing. I grew up eating venison and my kids are growing up eating it. Everyone in my house loves the way venison tastes. Same reason our beef steaks only get S and P so we can taste the beef. Different strokes for different folks.
 
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