[WolfWalksSoftly]

Thought this might be a good and helpful idea.
Anyone have any good recipes for Deer snack sticks, summer sausage and tips to take the "gamey" flavor out of wild meat?

 

[preecher97]

My Mom adds a can of soda (Coke or Pepsi) to the roasting pan when baking a roast. It tenderizes the meat and takes away some of the "gamey" taste. It makes it taste almost like beef. She used to soak the meat in saltwater overnight but that didn't help as much as the soda. I've never tried the sausage or jerky.. I plan to this year.

 

[DavidUnderwood]

We've eaten 5 to 10 deer a year for 30+ years.
I still believe the "gamey" taste is a factor of one
of two things. A great many deer are not dressed
as soon as should be. Also, older deer, like older
cattle, just are not quite as tasty. When I dress
a deer, I remove all the bones, and all the fat.
Deer fat is not good. You can't eat bones, and
they just occupy space in the freezer. Do not use
a band saw to cut up deer. The resulting bone
fragments and bone marrow do not belong in your
meat. All that said, the only real mistake you can
make when cooking venison is over heating and
over cooking. Its easy to dry out. Fry in butter or
whatever you prefer, at a low heat. A crock pot is
a good way also. My wife sometimes uses a roasting
pan in the oven with a lil water and covered tight.
Its pretty good eating that way.

 

[tamsam]

When we cut the deer up we remove as much of the muscle membrane and gooy stuff from the meat. Even the burger we try to cut all the membrane out. Most meat prcessors just cut it up with the meat. Not many people can tell the difference between our deer or beef. Had friends come to dinner once and DW fixed deer for us and good beef steaks for them She fixed the meats the same way but in two different pans. They tasted the deer and we ended up with beef left overs. good hunting as we had deer burger higies tonight. Sam

 

[EasyDay]

The fat and membrane that tamsam mentioned is where that gamey flavor comes from. If you're hunting for food, bypass that trophy buck!

I've tried several recipes for summer sausage, some taking as long as 4 days. But, this is the one that the guys at deer camp seem to like, and it doesn't take very long:

2 lbs ground venison
2 TBS Tender Quick
1 TBS liquid smoke
1 TBS mustard seed
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 Cup water

Mix all ingredients. Roll into 2-3 rolls and refrigerate a minimum of 24 hrs. Use pan on bottom shelf to catch fluids.

Place the rolls on oven rack in oven heated to 350 deg for about an hour. Longer if you make larger logs. Have a cookie sheet or something on the rack under them to catch fluids.

We up the amt of pepper and garlic... it's easy to adjust/add ingredients to your liking.
I wrap the rolls in tin foil, and punch little holes in the bottom of the foil to allow fluids to drain before puting them in the oven. The foil makes a softer casing, which is easier for the "older" guys to eat.

 

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

When we cut the deer up we remove as much of the muscle membrane and gooy stuff from the meat. Even the burger we try to cut all the membrane out. Most meat prcessors just cut it up with the meat. Not many people can tell the difference between our deer or beef.

i second this it is the fat and silver skin that have the "gamey flavor and the fat or tallow is what gives the waxy film in your mouth

you don't get this from pork or beef as much cause the fat melts at a much lower temp

we are carfull to cut this out when we cut our own , so that our ground looks almost all red there is only a small spec of white here and there.

 

[SunnyJim]

I'll third it because so many people just don't get it. The tallow and silverskin is what gives it the gamey flavor.

I can't believe that people will take a deer in to get butchered and pay over $100 for the priveledge of eating an inferior product. At most processors they are concerned about how fast they can get that deer wrapped and out the door, butcher it yourself and you can take the time to do it right, and it doesn't take that much time.

Last year I skinned, cut, and wrapped 2 deer in about 5 hours, and I had to do it alone. With 2 people it would have taken less than half that time.

 

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

it takes me about 3 hours a deer with clean up by my self with 3 people i am down to an hour

usualy we cut right at deer camp we have a garage with some heat and good light we stick the hose in under the garage door and the waste line out from a stationary tub i can skin and quarter while my dad and brother cut it off the bones usualy we give it a rinse and then pack it into 2 gallon zip locks in a cooler
our deer season is the week of thanks giving so we have a grinding party thanks giving morning.

it is so much eaisier to have it cut and in a cooler then to have to haul it hole. now we have restrictions about moving deer out of certain parts of the state without fist having them boned out

 

[texican]

Process quickly, and practice cleanliness... throw away all of the fat (use it for waterproofing, or something else, besides eating... unless you eat it fresh), and process the meat out into muscle groups.

Sounds like most of us have figured out how to escape the off flavors...

 

[BillHoo]

We've eaten 5 to 10 deer a year for 30+ years.
I still believe the "gamey" taste is a factor of one
of two things. A great many deer are not dressed
as soon as should be. Also, older deer, like older
cattle, just are not quite as tasty. When I dress
a deer, I remove all the bones, and all the fat.
Deer fat is not good. You can't eat bones, and
they just occupy space in the freezer. Do not use
a band saw to cut up deer. The resulting bone
fragments and bone marrow do not belong in your
meat. All that said, the only real mistake you can
make when cooking venison is over heating and
over cooking. Its easy to dry out. Fry in butter or
whatever you prefer, at a low heat. A crock pot is
a good way also. My wife sometimes uses a roasting
pan in the oven with a lil water and covered tight.
Its pretty good eating that way.

Amen to that!

I also say - "Don't shoot 'em in the gut!"

I've been lucky, Every deer I've shot for the past 4 years, I've aimed right behind the front legs to try for a lung shot.

And everytime, my bullet hit em right at the base of the skull severing the spine and taking them down.

I've taken the rifle to the range and compared to other rifles I have, this one goes up and a little to the right. I think it's a scope alignment problem, but I'm not changing a thing!

Hitting them there gives me the maximum available meat!

 

[agmantoo]

BillHoo,
Have you no idea how dangerous a gun is with the sight improperly set? If you are off a foot at 100 feet then you are going to have a bullet that is excessively off at a 1000 feet and even worse as the bullet continue its path. Knowing you have this problem is negligence on your behalf. Before you injury or kill someone have the sight set! If you are hunting in my area send me a PM immediately.

 

[agmantoo]

This is the cleanest and most efficient method I am aware of for skinning a deer. I linked in another post to photobucket to share the pics so I apologize if you have seen it before. I remain open to other ideas should someone have a suggestion on how to improve the techniquel]
http://s73.photobucket.com/albums/i237/agmantoo/Hunting08/?albumview=slideshow

 

[OkieDavid]

I have the dehydrator warming up to speed to start a fresh batch of venison jerky. I usually go with about 2lbs of sliced venison per batch.
1 bottle liquid smoke
3oz Soy sauce
1tbs crushed red pepper
1tbs salt
1 beef bullion cube

Marinade in mixture above for minimum 6 hours (overnight is better) in the refridgerator. Occasionally stir/mix contents by hand and dehydrate for 12 hours. Note: depending on size of individual pieces, some of the smaller ones will be done in four hours or so. Drying longer won't affect taste, just makes it tougher to chew which is preferred by a lot of people.
No dehydrator? No problem- place cookie sheet or aluminum foil on bottom of oven and set oven on lowest setting (shooting for around 140-145degrees F). Hang meat slices from the oven racks via inserting the meat up through the rack from the bottom and skewering with toothpick to hang them vertically.

I'm after a spicier/hotter mix if someone has an idea- Cayenne pepper? Fresh ground pepper corns?

David

 

[Stephen in SOKY]

Agmantoo, I assume you're using the golf ball technique? I've skinned for years & it's the cleanest I've ever had a carcass, not to mention the easiest.

 

[TSYORK]

What is the golf-ball technique? I have never heard of such.

 

[Stephen in SOKY]

Hang deer by neck. Open cape around neck down to where field dressed. Open from field dress opening over shoulders. Hold golf ball on fur side of skin, loop rope (Slip knot) around golf ball on flesh side & tighten down. Tie other end of rope to 4-wheeler ( Winch, truck etc.) and literally peel the hide right off. Others may have alrternate ways, but this works great for me. Less hair on carcass than any method I've ever used and oh so easy!

 

[agmantoo]

Look at the pic closely and you will see the golf ball bulging under the skin and tied tightly with the rope. The other end of the rope is tied to the old subsoiler. Notice I do not gut first. Actually, I do not gut at all. My deer are taken on the farm and are dressed within a couple of hours. I am using an old tractor with a front end loader to do the lift. There is a chain with a swivel fastened around the neck at the base of the head. I have skinned more than 80 deer using this method.

 

[Elizabeth]

I've taken the rifle to the range and compared to other rifles I have, this one goes up and a little to the right. I think it's a scope alignment problem, but I'm not changing a thing!

uh, Bill, it sounds like all the deer you have shot must have been facing in the same direction relative to the gun. What happens when one is facing the other direction?

 

[WolfWalksSoftly]

Thanks to all who posted. I got a Doe Sunday and the info and knowledge passed on is appreciated.

 

[Cason]

I bone my deer out, put the chunks in a cooler with ice, change the water daily for three days, THEN process for the freezer.