Tough as leather.

[PastorSteve]

Well, with the season winding down my dad and I both have got a whitetale this year. Hoping to get an elk but that's another story.

So after my pop gets his deer, we skin it out, let it hang for a day and butcher the next day. Decide to have a few fresh steaks and so he cooks them a bit over done and of course they are like leather.

Then, the next week I get my deer. During the field dressing we cut out the tenderloins right there and go and soak them for over an hour. This time, we broil them and watch them very closely. Got to a nice medium rare and go to eat them and still....tough as leather.

So could you all help this new hunter out on how to properly cook deer meat so it doesn't taste like the sole of my shoe??

I would greatly appreciate any help.

[adewilde]

cut up the stakes nice and thin. put about half a stick of butter in a pan put it on medium heat season with salt, pepper and season salt. and enjoy and if u want it really tender and are goin for just the meat shoot a fawn or two

[G5]

You could try soaking the meat in milk, this will usually help if you dont care for the game taste.

As for cooking the tenderloins (posion glands) just warm them up on the grill. If you dont like the thought of eating an under cooked piece of meat then dont look at it. But dont over cook a tenderloin you will ruin the best part of the deer.If you cook them right it will be a melt in your mouth piece of meat. with the best taste.

[Tree climber]

some times a deer is just tough; most time 2 in a row is not??????????[][]

the way we do it:: we put a little tendresier on it,sprinkle with Lowyers seasoning ; Cauvanders seasoning(or everglades seasoning) (sometimes we will pound it with the hammer with the points on it)then put in a ziplock with 1/4 cup Zesty Italian Saliddressing,seal and refergiate over night if possible.
if your gonna cook it that day, let it soak as long as you can, maybe couple hrs.[8D][8D][8D]

flour lightly and panfry to med; you can also grill it without putting the flour on it.

the main thing is toNOT overcook it.
thats the way we do it.

[wis_bow_huntr]

Actually if you want more tender steaks cut the steaks thicker....not thinner. I butterfly my steaks so they are about 1-2 inches thick. Fry them in butter and salt and peppeer ohh hell ya!!!

[OntElk]

Sounds like you just lucked out with some poor grade venison. The tenderloin should have been melt in your mouth the way you described cokking it. I have mistakenly overcooked a loin and it is still very tender. I have fried them, bbq'd them, broiled them. Never had them tough.

I will sometimes marinate in an oil based mix. You can get those package mixes in the grocery store and leave it for a day in the fridge.

I am guessing (just thinking out loud) that there can be deer who, based on diet and habitat, are just never going to be as good table fare as others. I think this is the same for cattle? Isn't that why there is different grading's of beef? If both the deer were from the same area I wonder if that is why you got 2 tough ones?

[kevin1]

I agree with OntElk , some deer are just tough . Older ones are notorious for this . The only cure for a tough deer is tenderizer or long slow cooking .

[NBDeerHunter]

tenderize tenderize tenderize & do not over cook

[WalkSoft]

Someone said something about milk. I haven't used milk but, i have used buttermilk to soak a deer in. Soak for about 45 min. then do the whole butter salt and pepper thing. Definatly don't over cook. Buttermilk really works. If you can't find it in the store just take some whole milk and add lemon juice.

[kenman]

Never have had a tough tenderloin...

Overcooking sounds like your problem.I cut my steaks a little thicker as well to ensure I don't overcook em. If they are brown all the way through, they are overcooked. I don't cook with salt, but I have heard salting meat while it cooks can toughen it a tad (not sure about that though).