lonewolf1990

that butcher prob isnt the best but he was paid to butcher the deer not decide if the person wants to eat it or not. And tell your neghibor he should stay out of the woods till he learns a thing or two to me thats just disrespectful to the aminal to do that

DeppedyDogg

Hydrogen sulfide is a gas created by decomposing foods.

From Dr. David Klein's Crohns Disease and Colitis Blog:

Undigested protein (chiefly from meat, dairy products, beans, nuts and seeds) will readily putrefy (rot) in our warm gut, just as milk spoils at room temperature on a warm day. Putrefactive byproducts are highly toxic and carcinogenic. They include: methane, hydrogen sulfide and mercaptans (which yield the rotten egg odor when carried out by the methane gas), cadaverine, putrescine, ammonias, indoles, skatoles, leukomaines and host of other toxic and carcinogenic gases and substances. Just as hydrogen sulfide gas will decompose concrete, iron and steel sewer pipes, it will irritate and destroy the flesh inside our intestines and colon.

the blur

It's interesting, I have eaten deer that has been aged in 50 degree weather, way above acceptable temperature standards, and never have had a problem.

But a deer not properly field dressed, and kept at proper temperatures is clearly no good.

Zrabfan26

I don't agree with the butcher just doing his job. If he was a professional he should have made a professional decision and told the guy that shot the deer, that the meat isn't good for consumption. Then if the guy told him to cut it up anyway then he'd just be doing his job.
That is one of the big reasons I cut up and process my own. Now say you were very clean and quick to get your deer prepared for butcher and the guy mixes your good meat in with this other slobby meat, now you get back someone elses crap meat.
Now word spreads and this butcher gets a bad name for this.

the blur

Well, I've been playing with this "bad" meat. Can't eat it, might as well play with it.
I froze it, and then cut open the vacuum pack. NO ODOR. I let it defrost, and still NO ODOR. In fact it smells just like any other venison.

So, what happened to the nasty SULFUR odor ????
I think the sulfur smell is caused from the vacuum packing process, and the fact that I cut it open before it was frozen....just hours after being packaged.

I've been googling vacuum packing meat, and there is much talk about a sulfur smell from the packaging process.

So I don't know, no conclusive answers.

petasux

I agree and its one reason I process my own deer now.Years ago when we used to take them to the locker {dont know if it still takes place} they were running a couple hundred deer through in a two week period.Everything got done at once and you got back the amount of meat you brought in, but it wasnt neccassarily from the deer you brought in.I seen deer that looked like theyd been drug through the swamp, shot all to hell, still had guts in em, rode around in a truck in the sun all weekend, etc... go in right along with the deer we would take the time to properly dress, hang, and keep cool.You never knew what you were getting back.

This butcher just processed tainted meat on all his equipment, if there was more than one deer being done you can gaurantee everything wasnt cleaned and sterilized between animals.Even if they seperated the meat and everyone got back what they brought in how would you like your deer run through the equipment right behind this guys?

Champlain Islander

Years ago was the last time I brought a deer to a processor. He had so many deer in his locker that he ran out of hanging space and stacked the carcasses on the cement floor. Learning how to butcher and package your own wild game meat is fun and rewarding all by itself.

the blur

All local butchers stack the deer on the cement floor. Never seen one that actually hung the deer. 2 local butchers don't have a fridge, and they process the same day. (hopefully)

But back to the sulfur question: Is the smell from the vacuum process?

Champlain Islander

I would say as long as the meat isn't frozen it is moving towards an early stage of decomposition. The vacuum bag probably traps some of the gas and the decomp process ends at freezing. You probably wouldn't detect that smell if you simply packaged in freezer paper.

BarnesX.308

Who gutted the deer? Did he take it to the butcher with the rotten guts inside? Was the deer bloated then? That is disgusting.

If I were the butcher, I wouldn't let my knives touch that meat. That's how you spread pathogens to all the other meat and then you have an epidemic of deer hunters with food poisoning.

I've talked to butchers and taxidermists. Both say they either turn down a deer that's not gutted or charge a lot extra.