Can' t stand venison
 

I love to deer hunt but I cant stand the taste of venison. A couple people have told me you shouldnt kill what you dont eat. I understand that to an extent. I love to hunt and only shoot racks. The bucks I do shoot dont go to waste because someone always wants a deer. Do you see anything wrong with this?

RE: Can' t stand venison
 

Mike - you and I may get slammed on this one but no, I find nothing wrong with it at all. Let' s face it, more than likely none of us out here kill deer because we need the food. It' s the rush of the sport that keeps us going out. If you donate your venison to a soup kitchen or a feed the hungry program, or Joe Friend that didn' t get his deer, what' s wrong with that? It' s certainly going for a good cause. When it comes right down to it, society as well as the deer need hunters because deer populations need to be controlled. Think all the deer on the hundreds of hunting videos made every year are going in the hunter' s freezer? Do the Drury Brothers eat 847 deer a year? Don' t think so. Shoot em because you like to. Donate the meat because you like to.

RE: Can' t stand venison
 

As long as it feeds someone I see no problem.

RE: Can' t stand venison
 

There is nothing wrong with that as long as the meat is not wasted.You might want to give the meat a second chance.

RE: Can' t stand venison
 

i to do not care a lot for the taste, but i use every ounce after i have it made into jerky or sausage

RE: Can' t stand venison
 

hey its not going to waste so theres no problem with it.maybe try to soak the meat in buttermilk or in apple juice.that takes the gamey taste, thats the only way my mom will eat it.

RE: Can' t stand venison
 

Howdy
I never liked venison either, nor did my family. The only way we' d eat it was having it processed into sausage, brats, landejaggers, etc. Which was expensive, but I to believe you or somebody else eats what you shoot.
That was when I was after nice bucks with my bow. Generally they were rutting and the meat wasn' t that great. Then came the antlerless tags and I shot a few does. You know we all like the meat when its from a doe or buck prior to the rut.
Rutting bucks go into processed meats.
Dan

RE: Can' t stand venison
 

I will have to try that

RE: Can' t stand venison
 

I don' t see anything wrong as long as the deer does not go to waste! You get to enjoy the sport and someone else enjoys the fruits of your labor!

RE: Can' t stand venison
 

Nothing wrong as long as it isn' t being tossed. Believe me a lot of hunters go through the expense to process and only to chuck meat right before a new season, which in my opinion is much worse than giving to someone that will gladly use it and just being honest.

Many ways to make game taste better. One is to care for the meat as soon as the animal is harvested, another is to remove fat(talc) and silver skin, merinades are another good way and most importantly cook it rare. Personally I love wild meat and eat it more often than store bought foods, my wife only use to like sausage from game but no loves it all. The secret is care, preperation, spice and cooking. While bucks tend to have more silver skin, if this is removed and your left with a choice chuck of solid meat just merinade it for a night and beer and spice. Wrap that sucker in bacon and grill on the BBQ for 7-10 minutes a side on med heat, you' ll think you' ve died and went to heaven. Just had some last night off a older rut filled buck and it tasted no different than the doe I shot in bow season. Front shoulder, flank & lower leg muscle meat all go to grind...keep them backstraps, tenderloins and hams for the solid pieces of meat(steaks, stew, roasts and jerky). Necks most the time end up in stew or jerky. Give it a try when you take the time to prepare it and think of it as a nice striploin steak...which you don' t want to overcook or use ketchup;) Be amazed at how them tastebuds will dangle, if it ain' t for you then feel no shame your making others happy and still enjoying the sport[8D]

RE: Can' t stand venison
 

I hear you Mike - Don' t really care for it myself

over the years I have created a long list of eager takers when it comes to venison.

I enjoy given it out :D

RE: Can' t stand venison
 

A couple uses you might enjoy. We grind up our meat and use it in making chili and spaghetti. This is one place it works great, no fat to skim off. There is no gamey taste due to the spices and sauces in the mix. The wife told me just this week that I better get busy, we were out of ground meat. Dropped a nice fat doe this afternoon.

Russ

RE: Can' t stand venison
 

Nothing wrong with that at all as long as the meat is being used. I think there is something else that should be within all hunters , but maybe more in the hunters that don' t enjoy the meat. I think there should be a respect and admiration for the animal. There should be a real passion for the hunt and the animal you hunt. Otherwise it would be simply murdering. I think the majority of hunters share this feeling especially the ones that don' t do it for meat, or why would they even be out there. Unless they got a rush from killing. I like venison myself, but like Badshot said I' m not out there because I' m going to starve if I don' t harvest one. I find the whitetail deer fascinating and hunting in general fascinating. I' ve excelled in sports all my life. One sport at the professional level. I can say that hunting is the ultimate sport. Without a doubt the most challenging I' ve come across.

RE: Can' t stand venison
 

I wouldn' t do it, but if you want to, and make sure the meat gets eaten, what the hey. I have hunted with a guy who' s a great hunter and shot, but doesn' t eat the meat because his wife and kids don' t like it. Oh, he' ll take a couple of cuts for himself. But he always gets a deer or two which means less " meat" pressure for the rest of us (the guys I hunt with are meat first, trophies only if they happen along). -zeke.

RE: Can' t stand venison
 

You' re dead wrong on that one Bob. Shooting a deer or two between my father and I saves our family a couple hundred dollars per year in meat. And let me tell you, we NEED the meat. Think before you make statements like that.

Back to the original topic.

Mike, I find nothing wrong with what you' re doing just so long as the meat doesnt go to waste. Personally I love Venison so feel free to ship me any left-overs! ;)

RE: Can' t stand venison
 

I would hope that you at least clean it yourself, I think you owe that deer some respect. The least you could do is clean it, after all he gave his life to you.

Deer when properly prepared can be so gooooood. You wouldnt even taste a hint of wild game. Also if nothing else make some jerky out of it, this is excellent. Half the fun I receive from shooting deer is doing things with the meat. I' ve even started making my own sausage. Its nice to impress friends and family when you hand out sausage or jerky that you made yourself.
I have friends that kill deer, quarter it up , wrap it up and stick it in the freezer never to touch it again. That really pisses me off. Just as long as it does get eaten, I see no problem.

RE: Can' t stand venison
 

And to you Mr. Washington Hunter I say, READ before you strike back where there was no offense. I clearly typed " more than likely" . So if you can' t comprehend, let me enlighten you - I was purposely careful when I wrote that because I personally know people who not only hunt, but poach because they NEED the meat. So I figured there may be people out here on the giant WWW that may NEED the meat, hence " more than likely" , meaning that I am not sure so I won' t make that comment as a fact. Leaving it open if you know what I mean. OK? You understand now? Good.

Mike - try this (just learned this tonight): a guy I know handed me a cold, grilled the day before chunk of venison. Now I don' t even like cold beef too much, but this was outstanding. I asked him what he had done - his wife boils the stuff before grilling. He claims it boils out the talo and gamey taste. Must have been right because you wouldn' t have known it was venison.

RE: Can' t stand venison
 

mike soak venison in Italian Dressing, very tasty!!!!!!!! I to see nothing wrong with not eating what you kill as long as it is not wasted![:-]

RE: Can' t stand venison
 

I shoot them, skin and gut them, put them in the cooler and give them away. Rarely do I bring any vinison home with me.

RE: Can' t stand venison
 

No waste, no worry.

RE: Can' t stand venison
 

I agree, Just don' t waste the meat and I see no problem at all with it.

Brian

RE: Can' t stand venison
 

As long as the meat goes to someone who needs it, it' s not wasted. I' ve never gone hunting just to kill a deer though. It' s always been to get out in the woods and away from the stresses of everyday life, and to put meat in the freezer. Mainly for the meat though. I find I get some crazy cravings for deer meat when I have to start buying beef or pork again. Going to try and keep my freezer stocked for most of the year this year, but I think that may be a bit tough to do. Got a doe on the 15th of Nov (today is the 26th of Nov), and I only have one hind-quarter and the backstraps left in the freezer... :D :D :D ...got a buck last Friday and already used the front legs off it for ground meat. Just can' t keep the deer in the freezer this year.

Thunder

RE: Can' t stand venison
 

Well, you could always say it' s the most expensive meat around, runs around $187.00 a pound, time you figure in all the little thing that add up....Heck even Higher than lobster....NP give it to the needy......Drive on kill clean,,:D

RE: Can' t stand venison
 

What better gift to give to someone then a nice venison dinner. There are thousands of people that go hungry every day in this country,what could possible be wrong with giving food away.

RE: Can' t stand venison
 

Thank you all. Yous have really made me feel better about what I am doing. Seen a nice doe this morning. She kept looking behind her like something was there but he never showed himself. Will be heading back out today right after I stuff myself looking for that elusive wall hanger.

RE: Can' t stand venison
 

To your original question: don' t have a problem with giving the meat away.

To the issue of not liking venison. I think there are 2 main reasons that people don' t like venison: tastes " gamey" and it is tough. I have never killed and processed a deer that tasted gamey, however I have had some killed by other people. I think the main reason is what happens after they hit the ground. It is imperative that the deer be bled out well. A heart?lung shot does this nicely, but if you shoot in the neck, it may not, so you may need to cut the throat to bleed it out if the heart is still beating. Second, I gut the deer immediately where it lays. I don' t take it somewhere and have a delay in gutting. Especially if it happens to be gut shot, it doesn' t take long for the bacteria to start to spread (as soon as 2-3 hours even if it isn' t gut shot). The meat must then been cooled quickly and kept cold. This usually means skinning, however, on smaller deer when the temp is freezing anyway this may not be necessary. As far as being tough, the thing that makes the most difference is waiting a minumum of 2 days (3 days is better) before cutting up the meat.

I have fed venison to many people who tell me they can' t believe it is venison because it don' t taste gamey. As others have said, prepearation/spicing can make the difference too, but I hardly ever put anything but salt on mine. Just slice it thin while it is still half frozen (which helps with toughness too) and fry it in marerine or butter.

RE: Can' t stand venison
 

This possibly could make you change your mind.

Pepper seared venison steaks with mushroom wine sauce

Cut a dear loin into steaks about an inch thick. Make sure all fat an sinew are removed. In a skillet sautee two cloves of crushed garlic in one part butter one part olive oil until garlic starts to brown then remove. Rub steaks with olive oil and press into crushed black pepper. Add steaks to skillet and sear on both sides to desired doneness. Remove to a platter add another 2 T of butter sautee 1/2 C sliced mushrooms, 1/2 C chopped scallions until tender. Add 1 1/2 C beef broth or beef consume. Heat to boil, turn on low add 1/2 cup red wine with 1 tsp corn starch mixed in heat to simmer add 2 T dark brown sugar. Simmer until slightly thickened pour over deer loin steaks. Killer!!

Let me know what you think if you decide to try it.

RE: Can' t stand venison
 

There is nothing wrong with what you are doing. It' s too bad that you don' t take the time and effort to process you own deer. If you did you would enjoy the taste of venison. You would not be able to tell it from beef except for the texture. Venison has a finer texture than beef. It all starts in the field with proper cleaning and carries on to the butchering. you must remove all fat ,sinew, and silver/blue membrain. This takes a couple of hours of work. A deer processor can' t take that long to do a deer. They just band saw every thing and wrap it up. Meat should be cut with a knife and the bones then sawn. If you bandsaw the meat it drags bone dust,and marrow into the meat giving it a bad taste. I debone everything and have great meat. A lot of people comment that my venison tastes good compared to what they had had before, and want to know my secret marinade or recipe. I tell them its no secret just respect for the animal harvested and care in handling and prepairing.