Like the title says I want to know what this gamey meat taste to venison is. My venison always tastes like bland steak. I never taste any thing that has no business being in a steak unless I use the wrong marinade or some thing like that but that would be operator error not the deer meat screwing up.
Reason I ask is cause I have a few cousins who live in town in the low rent district. I know they work low paying jobs and only have their own place cause their mom and dad gave them a peice of their farm to live on.
I wanted to help them out ever since I heard they were eating ramen noodles every night and going to their grandmas for sunday dinner of hamburger helper was their "eat out night" so I thought hey I don't use or need all of this deer. So I will just give it to them. I got plenty more does that need killin with 1 buck to about 1 dozen does on the place im hunting now. So I can still get my freezer full.
But u know what? They turned down fresh deer meat! Its allready cut up and every thing! Why u might ask. They said they don't like the gamey taste of wild meat and just left it at that.
I was dumb struck. So tell me what is this gamey taste? Maybe I can go talk some sence into em before season is over.

Thanks for stopping by,
Ole Switchback XT signin off hur.

The gamey taste comes from meat thats not processed right. If it has been aged and cleaned its ok. If it still tastes off u can wrap it in bacon and put on some onion and problem solved.

Doesn't sound like they're that hungry.

The gamey taste in the deer meat is the more plentiful iron in the deer blood. Livestock doesn't have this much iron in their blood therefore we dont taste it as much.

A easy way to get the iron out is to soak the deer meat in plain water for a day or so.

To be honest, I don't know...I've been eating deer for over 45 years...I grew up eating deer, squirrel, rabbits, quail, doves, etc...I hear folks that don't hunt talk about it but it's all good to me...

Now, we also grew up butchering our own cows and pigs...I don't ride around with a cow in the back of the truck for 5-6 hours to show my friends either...

I did have a lady at church ask me one time how I got the "wild" taste out of them...

I told her I kill them before they get "wild"...

All creatures were wild at one time...

Honestly, I think much of it is "urban legend". I've "faked-out" many guests, by telling them beef is venison, and visa-versa. Many just swear they can taste it. I guess its like a venison placebo test.

When I was in college in the mid 80s, my freshman psycho class, did the "Pepsi challenge test" to a group of 50 contestants. We compared Coke,Shasta, Pepsi, and RCCola.
At the end of the test, people were darn near fist fighting, arguing,
cussing, threatning. You see it was ALL Pepsi. Coke won though! Never trust a psychologist.

In chilli, spaghetti, venison-burger helper, etc., ground venison should be indistinguishable. With the possilbe exception of the texture in some dishes.
It's all in the prep as they say.

I know I have had some deer that was prepared for me, that was just metallic tasting and bland, and just plain gross.
Iron most likely, as mentioned above. Lack of fat too.

Too often, temperature is misused in cooking, and the art of larding is misunderstood, with such a lean meat.
Just throwing a plain deer roast in the oven at 375F for awhile is
a sure fired way to ruin everyone's first experience.
If a piece of meat is tough and stringy, you will have to taste the cooks poor prep more and more as you grind through his dish.

Ive read dozens of times, that a wounded deer or stressed deer, will instantly be unedible and have a foul taste. I have just never found that to be the case.
And I have put down some seriously wounded ,stressed deers, often days after they were shot, or hit by a car.

As morbid as it may sound, I have also recovered a downed deer, the following day. Some 12+hours later with good cooking success.
Although, I elect to leave meat in the chest cavity(most heat) alone.
Even in very cold temps.

I have also read, that any deer urine spilled on the meat INSTANTLY renders that meat ruined for flavor.
Of course I don't want to spill any, but if spilled, just wash it with the hose asap.

Trial and error.
Prepared properly:
Fascia, and fat removed.
Meat washed well
Bled properly, possibly soaked,
Aged as much as allowed.
Larded (bacon for example)
seasoned properly
cooked slow...
Delicious.

If they do not want your deer, I am sure their are other families in your area that are in the same circumstances. Donate the meat to them. We donate 2 to 4 deer every year to less fortunate families every year. You will be surprised at how thankful and very appreciative that these familes really are.

the gamey taste is just the differents in deer compaired to beef. like pork and chicken,there different.

people that soak deer to make it less gamey ,just don't like deer.

I agree must not be that hungry. I have had one deer i just could not eat. it was an old buck that i had processed at the slaughterhouse. it was awful. that was the last deer that i didnt cut up and process myself. It take a little time but i kill 6 or 7 deer per year. Thats what my kids were raised on. they still beg for grilled backstraps so must be doing something right.