Soaking Venison

[Sitter]

Does anyone soak vension in salt water? and if so do you do all cuts? Ive never tried it with my vension.

[Tree climber]

I don't know if you call it soaking it,but I do season all my fry meat with,lowyers seasoning,garlic powder,cavanughs,then put into ziploc with a little zesty Italian salade dressing and marinate overnight.

I am not a hunter I am a whitetail population reduction specialest

remember keep your back to the sun, your knife sharp, and your powder dry.

Edited by - tree climber on 12/21/2002 05:16:37

[Denali Joe]

why would you soak it in saltwater, if you want to tenderize it soak it in buttermilk over night, it will tame the toughest piece of meat

[CAPT BRAD]

I know what your talking about. The Theory is that salt H2O will draw the excess blood from the meat. When I was a kid we would put it in the bathtub to soak overnight before wraping. A complete waste of time. Water will accellerate bacterial growth faster than if you left it setting out in the sun. A deer will be bled about as much as he is going to be when he expires. Once the heart stops pumping, he won't bleed anymore. Now I take him straight foom the bucther table to the freezer. I also think the meat I get now taste a lot better than I did when I was a kid.

Good Luck. Capt Brad.

[crimedog]

Soaking meat in salt water was what my father told me to do 20 years ago, after years of doing this I realized he liked venison salty. Soak venison in water to thaw the meat, you can do it after the meat is thawed also and blood that stopped flowing when the heart stopped will thin and be rinsed out. The problem is that flavor will be lost, add your seasoning to the water and your venison will thin the blood and replace the blood with the seasoning.

[Allen Denton]

I agree with Denali Joe, buttermilk is the way to go. After that night then you can go from there with your marinade.

[AceHand]

I soak my meat every year. I do it with pronghorn though, never deer. It does take the blood and flavor away, I think. Gets the sage out of the antelope. I like deer the way it is. We hang deer for a few days or a week, then butcher. With antelope, we debone them when back from the field, then soak. Lots of salt, a little vinegar, overnight. Clean, pack, and freeze the next day. Works great for us!

[Virginia Hunter]

I soak mine in apple cider vinegar for a hour or so to get rid of the gamy taste.....as for the toughness issue, I'd just pound it w/ a meat tenderizer. I only make steaks out of the back straps and the tear drops. The rest of the deer I ground for chili, burgers, or for sausage. This year I had a ham sliced for jerky. I've never made it but I hope it works.

[jimmya]

i quarter mine out and put in a cooler for a few days or until i get around to cutting it up. i drain the water every day and add ice. works for me.

[Strange Biller]

We used to hang the deer for a couple of days to "season," but in the last couple of years we have tended to butcher the next day or the same night and to be honest I can't tell the difference except that doing it sooner rather than later eliminates the chance of any meat turning gamey if left too long.

I wouldn't soak venison because I like the taste.