I agree with everything above. Especially.....

I consider it a terrible waste of great venison if it' s cooked more than medium rare. With the exception of crock pot recipes, meatloaf, burgers and susage.

Deer fat is a terrible tasting fat and should be removed at all costs. Silverskin is just anoying and takes away from the pleasure but doesn' t really have a flavor, IMO.

It is very important to process properly and quickly. I' ve aged venison in the past and don' t do it anymore. #1, it isn' t practical in October in PA and I don' t want to pay for fridge space at a butcher shop. #2, I didn' t notice much if any difference.

Here' s an interesting tid-bit that I' ve noticed. Deer in different areas taste different.....farm deer vs. woods deer. I' ve noticed that the fat on farm deer is not as terrible as woods deer, but still terrible no-the-less. Also noticed that I prefer woods deer to farm deer....the deer that suvive in the woods eat a lot of nuts and berrys and browse -- seems to leave a nice nutty flavor. Farm deer eat a lot of nutrious stuff like corn, alphalfa, wheat, oats, soybeans, etc. they are likely bigger and have bigger antlers for that very reason, but I don' t think they taste as good. Has anyone else noticed that difference in deer?

I was just in Gillette WY, logs. Last year on the family vacation (Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, etc.).

Did you think the sage is a gamey taste? Is it possible that the butcher let the meat hang and thus the fat was " marblized" into the meat?

Last night I cooked two tenderloins w/o any marinade. Just the grill and Lawrys. Mmmmmmmmm. I experiemented. Family was out of town. Just hated eating those tender rare loins all by myself. Anyway, I will no longer feel compelled to marinade.

[Deleted by Admins]

Well -- and I' m just going on what I' ve heard from other hunters who age the meat -- if you hang a deer with the skin and fat on the fat will penetrate the meat -- that' s why the meat isn' t as tough -- the fat permeates the steaks. But, of course, it' s the fat that tastes bad. You trade tough for gamey. BUT if you eat your steaks rare, there is no toughness, either and no gamey. Anyway, it' s at least worth experiementing. And I do let mine hang a day or two, (to get cold for easy cutting) but ONLY with the skin and excess fat off.

I have worked as a meat cutter and butcher for a number of years and I now process deer for a select number of people. I disagree with the statement NOT to let the meat hang. What happens is while the meat hangs, the enzymes in the muscles and meat begin to break down. As this happens, the meat becomes more tender. It also gives the meat time to let the blood and other fluids drip out the meat. I also disagree with NOT using a saw because “you get pieces of bone in the meat”. If you find a processor that cares about what he or she is doing and about turning out a good product, then you should find no pieces of bone in the meat. When was the last time you found pieces of bone in your steak or hamburger that you bought from the grocery store? There are things that one can do to insure a good product and I think all processors or anyone else should always turn out a good product. I agree with about everything else above and especially the care of the meat before it arrives at the butcher. You wouldn’t believe some of the things I have seen arrive at my door! Thanks!! CDH

I like a little of the gamey taste ir I want something to taste like beef I go to the supermarket,,,

I' ve always had trouble understanding what people mean by " gamey" taste. To me, wild game should taste like wild game! I love the flavor of venison, it is waaay better than beef if you ask me! I hate to use any flavorings that will kill the venison taste, just a bit of salt and pepper for me!

Of course everyone has different tastes. Can somebody try to explain what exactly is meant by " gamey" taste?

Yah. The guys who told you about field prep are right on the money. It is amongst the most important things to preventing " gaminess," perhaps even the single most important thing, next to letting the meat age (you should do this for at least 5 days at about 35F. If you can age it for 7 days at 35F that' s even better. I let my deer hang with the hide on at 35F for about a week. Some people say 15 days. Too much IMHO. Meat gets a bit slimy. A week at 35F with the hide on is fine.)

Think of your venison as the choicest meat on earth. You' ve spent days, perhaps weeks of time to acquire it. So it is the most expensive meat you' ll probably ever eat. Treat it like that.

When the deer hits the ground, you should seek to dress it as soon as possible, especially if the temp is warm. Coddle it. Avoid getting leaves, dirt and hair on it. And if you get these things on it, pick them off. Hair ruins the taste. Get the deer open, with the innards taken out cleanly. If the weather is cool (35F or so), hang the deer by the hind legs. Take a clean stick, whittle the ends a bit and stick it inside the deer' s chest cavity so that it is kept wide open.

What I do on warm days
I' ve read some guys claiming to take ice in the woods with them to cool the deer in cases where the weather is really warm (50F+). That' s just crazy-- at least it is to me. When I take deer in warm weather, I quick dress it just as always. I stick open the chest cavity just as I have described. I have a light breatheable cloth bag I slip over the carcass as soon as the deer is clean (keeps off flies and yellow-jackets). I put this atop a little blue tarp I carry in my pack. Drag the deer quick to my truck using the tarp. THEN I open all of it up and stuff bags of ice that I have in my cooler. I make sure to put these bags into a dry garbage bag because I do not allow any water to get on the meat. This " system" works pretty well for me.

What I do with meat that I just could not coddle too well
If for some reason I take a deer and I just cannot coddle it properly, I simply assume it will have a bit of a gamey taste. Since I find soaking in buttermilk does little to change things, I do one (or all) of four things:

1. Grind a lot of the meat with with beef, lamb, pork or all three (with various spices).

2. Soak some steak-like cuts for two days in Wishbone Italian Salad dressing and then lightly grill them.

3. For backstrap and tenderloins:
make a mixture of oregano, basil and paprika (equal quantities of each or fool around with a bit more basil).
Add some salt and crack a bit of pepper into the mixture.
Rub into meat until nice and coated.
Brush generously with olive oil (has to be EVOO)).

Go out and pick up lots of hickory sticks and a few hunks of oak with lots of assorted twigs. Use the oak and twigs to set up an amazingly hot fire. When the fire is hot, load with hickory. Make it HOT HOT HOT! Lay meat directly over the flame about 2 minutes each side, depending on thickness. Finish the meat by brushing each side generously with EVOO. Take off, put on platter, brush with more EVOO. Serve with lightly cooked asparagus and a BIG Cabernet Sauvignon or Shiraz.

4. For stew meats: Venison Curry- I had something like this somewhere and kinda tinkered with it for venison.

2 lbs Venison (or more),
1/2 cup EVOO,
4 tsp tomato sauce or some tomato paste (just do it - don' t matter),
several cloves of garlic,
one chopped onion,
1 apple (unpeeled),
salt,
pepper,
1.5 Tbsp Curry,
pinch of cumin,
pinch of corriander,
pinch of cinnamon,
pinch of tumeric,
2 Tbsp flour,
1 cup water,
1 cup apple juice,
3-4 Tbsp Sour Cream.

Venison in bite size chunks. Spray pot with Pam or coat it a bit with Lecithin. Sear meat in pot (use common sense on the heat). Reduce heat. Add everything except the 1 cup of water, the apple juice and sour cream. Cook until brown. Add water and juice, stirring as you go. Taste the thing and flavor as needed. Simmer for 1.5 hours. Before serving, add sour cream. Serve with Basmati rice and a Great Big Ol' Shiraz.

Hope this helps.

Hard to explain. Venison has a characteristic taste that I quite enjoy. But when the meat has not been coddled, it has a sort of " unfresh" taste that people commonly call " gamey."

If you taste coddled meat and then taste meat that hasn' t been dressed properly, quickly, cleanly, meat that' s been dragged through the river (I actually saw a guy doing this to " wash" his doe), the difference is like night and day.

I coddle ALL game, even dove, squirrel and fish. When I take a bird, I clean the bird and then put it immediately in the cooler on ice. Same with everything else. It makes a big difference.

But hey, the great thing about hunting is that you can do almost anything you wish. It is your game and the mere fact that you suffered for it gives you the right to enjoy it almost anyway you please, right?

Swampmonster great post. Everyone who hunts or fish should learn how to take care of their game and butcher it. We invest alot of time and money to settle for anything that tastes less than a king and queen' s culinary delight.