My eyes has been opened.....do doe taste better than bucks????

[HuumanCreed]

I should put this in the food section or the No-Shame Thread maybe, but I had my first doe meat over the weekend and I'm second guessing my style of hunting for the future. These last few years I have only ate meat from bucks that my father in law shot, the only doe I ever shot with a rifle was donated. I finally got my first doe from a bow/saddle/public land recently. Got the meat back from the butcher on Friday and been eating it over the weekend. Maybe it is just me, but venison has never tasted so good before. Like.....wow. Even with just searing on a pan with butter and Montreal Steak seasonings. It was the best steaks I ever had in my life. I'm not sure if it is because of the mental aspect of earning it and the sense of accomplishment, but I can still remember the warmth of the tenderest meat I ever had going down my stomach now.

Which make we wonder, can it be....that the ladies are just tastier???? Also mine wasn't a season doe, maybe 2-3 years old. I didn't actually get a lot of meat from her at the end, but whatever meat I got make me want to subscribed to @Nutterbuster 'shoot anything that look delicious' policy.

Right now, I'm in the mindset of 'get first deer within range to break open the season, then bucks only rest of the season'.

But now...I'm more opened to taking more shots at doe...like A LOT more opened. I'm going to have to cook both meats side my side at one point to compare. Filling the freezer might just became more important than getting my first buck. Make me regret those times that I passed on a doe in the morning waiting for a buck but end the day empty handed.

One thing for sure is I'm not going to send it off to butchers anymore. I wish I'm capable of supporting the community and local businesses as I much as I can, but what I paid for with what I got back was just not worth it to me if I plan on eating as much as I plan on.....Dont get me wrong, they did a great job and everything is nicely sealed. But I'm going to learn how to do it myself, just going to save me so much more money for other things.

 

[Horn]

I've never got a buck, and I still don't really get the bucks only thing unless it's for the health of the heard but yeah, I think does taste better. The age of the animal is probably the biggest factor to me though

 

[NMSbowhunter]

Some of it probably is a mental thing and there is nothing wrong with that. Some bucks, in my experience taste gamier. Some do not. If I am purely out to fill the freezer I shoot does. Young ones seem better than older ones. A friend calls them "tenderonies". On bucks, I am shooting them for the rack and the meat is a bonus.

 

[Holt]

I shoot a lot of does because that's what I have more tags for. But with all does, just like bucks, some taste better then others. Think it depends on there habitat and diets. Also the way it is taking care of after the shot. You need to get them cold as possible, as fast as possible after the shot. My best tasting deer that I can remember is a buck I shot in November. He was a 4 1/2 old buck that dressed at 205. I heart shot him and he died 50 yards from shot. He fell into a ice cold creek. He layed there for a hour, completely submerged before I recovered him. Some of the best meat I can remember. After that is pretty much any young deer 1 1/2 or younger, but you don't get as much meet off them. My favorite is any deer, buck or doe in the 2 1/2 range. Seem to get the best tasting and yield of meat from them.

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[Jtaylor]

You might want to observe the way your father in law guts, ages and processes his deer. The gutting, aging and processing make all the difference in taste.
A lot of the processors around here throw your deer into a community pot and you're more than likely not getting yours back. You may want to check with yours and see what their policy is.
We eat venison almost exclusively and the steaks and burger get all mixed around in our freezer, I personally couldn't tell the difference between a doe I shot and processed vs. a buck.

 

[Bigbucker]

Ive had a buck that was so terrible we couldn’t eat it. It was a late season guy who had probably lost a lot of weight during the rut and maybe his diet wasn't too good. There weren’t a lot of acorns that year,I believe diet plays a pert in taste. Overall though Ive found does taste better. I will typically shoot an early season doe then hunt for the big guy.

 

[John 35]

As others have said I think it depends on how the deer was “harvested”. Waiting for a clean shot, executing the shot well, quickly recovering the deer, gutting it cleanly, and getting the meat cold is the path to a good tasting deer. Also butchering the deer yourself is the way to go if able. Hunting in cold weather makes this process easier.

 

[enkriss]

A rutted up buck probably doesn’t taste as good as a doe. Probably has a lot to do with hormones and the amount of work that buck is putting in during the rut. Maybe?

 

[krub6b]

The buck I shot last year had a gamier smell and flavor to his meat than I've noticed so far compared to this years buck. Same stand, same method of take, time of year and weather conditions were similar, last years ran a little farther but the time between shooting and gutting was similar, I'd guess this years actually laid out longer. They both were hung for around 24 hours before being quartered up. This years buck was actually a year or maybe 2 older than last years. What does this mean? I don't know, but I fully support cutting and packaging your own deer. Youtube has some pretty good videos on the process. My recommendation is to leave the front shoulder whole and smoke them for 2 hours and then slow roast them into some form of shredded meat, whether that's tacos, BBQ sandwiches or something else, but your yield will be much higher than trimming and grinding them. If you like pot roast then cubing and pressure canning is a great option to make even tough gamey deer delicious.

 

[EricS]

I don’t shoot many 1.5 year old bucks anymore but they are about the best eating freezer fillers around. I shot a 2.5 year old buck this year and though it smelled pretty rutted up I wish I had tasted it before having about half of it ground into sausage. What steaks I did save were pretty good.

 

[neonomad]

I think I remember Meateater comparing years ago and for some reason an old buck tasted better than the doe, maybe busting a myth, so probably many variables… the specific deer, what they’re eating, how they’re harvested, etc.

 

[Iron_llama]

Maybe it's my imagination, but I've always preferred eating does to bucks. That said, how you take care of the carcass - starting with shot placement - will have the biggest impact on flavor. Once you learn how to hang and butcher deer yourself there's no going back.

If you do gut shoot a deer or pop the paunch or bladder or whatever, rinse out the body cavity with lots of clean running water ASAP. Snow if you can't get to clean water. If your venison tastes bad after you let the carcass hang head-down, marinating in spilled stomach and intestine contents, let's just say that it's not fair to blame that on the deer...

 

[DelaWhere_Arrow]

A guy I teach swore up and down does taste better. Just got my first doe this year, haven’t had doe meat in maybe 11-12 years since I got some as a gift. I shot a nice 2-3YO buck last year, he’s been really good eating. I’m curious to maybe do a side-by-side on some taco meat or steaks. Buddy’s buck from a few years ago (1.5YO deer) was decent but a little barnyardy. Another friend shot a great big buck many years ago, I still remember how damn delicious (surprisingly) and tender that guy was. Ate cold strips of his grilled steaks out of a ziploc bag for a month while trucking around Michigan and Wisconsin, keeping them cold in the cab while winter roared. That beat the piss outta McDonald’s every day.

 

[arrow30]

i think a lot of it has to do with how fast they bleed out, a good double lung vs a poor hit, where it may take awhile to die.

 

[DelaWhere_Arrow]

i think a lot of it has to do with how fast they bleed out, a good double lung vs a poor hit, where it may take awhile to die.

I agree. Worst deer I’ve tasted took several hours to die, and got whacked by a car after getting hit in the leg by a crossbow. Almost all bleeding was internal except for a femoral nick.

 

[Shed84]

In my experience it is more of an age thing as far as texture. The worst deer I've eaten was a very old doe. As far as taste it's hard to say unless u prepare the exact same cut the exact same way and sample side by side. I'd be open to do that for my own curiosity.

 

[Hall17]

Maybe if I tasted them side by side but I dont think I could take a pack of burger out and tell the difference.

 

[Sbrammer]

I should put this in the food section or the No-Shame Thread maybe, but I had my first doe meat over the weekend and I'm second guessing my style of hunting for the future.

Yeah seriously. When I hear people say their buck tasted just like a doe, I'm thinking yeah if it's a 1-1.5yr spike. The bucks in my region have a considerable taste difference. And I process and cook the same whether a buck or a doe.

You can even smell the difference when it's cooking. Does have a sweeter smell than bucks.

I would never shoot a buck if there was a doe with him. I have to now with the rifle game laws here in Va on public. (We literally, in my region, get about 3 doe days for black powder and regular rifle.) All the seasons, except regular gun, I can hunt with bow and shoot whatever I want, but rifle season is horn hunting until the last day.

 

[bigmike23]

I prefer neither and would take a fat marbled piece of beef any time any day.
I'm not sure I buy the how it was handled argument. I shot a doe the beginning of October that I didn't get to the processor till the next morning. The meat from that doe was extremely gamey and was only edible once I soaked it in milk or buttermilk. I got my buck last Thursday at 2pm and had him to the processor by 4pm in 28 degree weather with a double lung hit. Once I got to the processor they immediately placed my deer in a fridge. So it was handled as well as could be. I got the deer back today and the processor did a much better job removing the silver skin before packing than last time.
And when i opened a steak to cook tonight it still smelt extremely gamey and needed the milk method lol. I think I just hate "deer" and want my deer to taste like beef as much as possible.
I also think I'm just sensitive to gamey tastes. Guy up the cabin made wild turkey pulled BBQ in a crock pot to put on sandwiches last year which everyone went wild for. I was the only guy who still tasted something "off" with it, so could be I'm just a wussy lol

 

[DelaWhere_Arrow]

I prefer neither and would take a fat marbled piece of beef any time any day.
I'm not sure I buy the how it was handled argument. I shot a doe the beginning of October that I didn't get to the processor till the next morning. The meat from that doe was extremely gamey and was only edible once I soaked it in milk or buttermilk. I got my buck last Thursday at 2pm and had him to the processor by 4pm in 28 degree weather with a double lung hit. Once I got to the processor they immediately placed my deer in a fridge. So it was handled as well as could be. I got the deer back today and the processor did a much better job removing the silver skin before packing than last time.
And when i opened a steak to cook tonight it still smelt extremely gamey and needed the milk method lol. I think I just hate "deer" and want my deer to taste like beef as much as possible.
I also think I'm just sensitive to gamey tastes. Guy up the cabin made wild turkey pulled BBQ in a crock pot to put on sandwiches last year which everyone went wild for. I was the only guy who still tasted something "off" with it, so could be I'm just a wussy lol

I think a lot of people who don’t like venison are expecting a beefy flavor on their palates, but it’s just…not a beef flavor. Then that throws them off, because to their expectant taste buds the not-so-beef tastes “off”. You may, like you say, just not be a deer person, especially if you prefer beef as much as your palate leads you to believe by comparison.