RE: What makes some Venison taste Gamey?
 

I believe a lot of the quality can be traced to the care given as well. Cleaned carcass, allowed to cool asap is very important. I make sure the animal is gutted/skinned asap and internal cavity is wiped clean. If the guts, etc are distrubed I believe it should be thoroughly rinsed off with clean cool water. Before cutting and wrapping I also believe the muscle need period to relax (rigor to be removed upto 24hours) if temps allow hang, if not quartered and fridged or iced. At the butcher table debone(no need to saw) all silver skin, talc, etc should be removed. When wrapping one should try to prevent the cold air from touching the meat, ways this can be done is double wrap, saran then butcher wrap or freeze pack(foodsaver). Finally the freezing process I spread my meat out vs stacking in a deep freezer to ensure it freezes continuosly not spot freezing.

The next is the actually preperation of the meat, wild meat should not be cooked anymore than med, med-rare is even better. The lack of fat means the meat will dry quicker than domestic meats, so reduce the cooking times and pull off while it still has juice and colour. If you must cook it well done then use merinades, bacon, etc to infuse fat or juice to your dish.

Like mentioned do not store your meat in garbage bags, use meat safe bags instead. Any butcher supply store will have clear meat bags you can buyin a variety of sizes. If you ice and no meat safe bags washed plastic milk or pop jugs filled with water and froze work in lieu of cubed ice.

RE: What makes some Venison taste Gamey?
 

I have had just the opposite experience it seems the quicker I get it home skinned and butchered the better it taste. I never liked the taste of deer until a friend of mine had me over for a roast and I told him thats the best beef roast I had ever had thats when he told me it was venison so I asked why it didnt taste gamey and he said the longer you let it hang with the hide and fat on it the worse it is, so since then I butcher as soon as possible and I love my venison now!

RE: What makes some Venison taste Gamey?
 

Blood in the meat can give it an off taste. The reason why bow deer taste better is because they always bleed out.

RE: What makes some Venison taste Gamey?
 

blood and fat are my theories. on deer you dont want to mount, cut all the way up the neck and get that windpipe out. carry two knives,on bucks use one knife to cut off the tarsals and the other to to do the guttin'

RE: What makes some Venison taste Gamey?
 

I cut up my deer the next day after I harvested it. I also cut off all the fat. Every one says my deer meat taste great.

RE: What makes some Venison taste Gamey?
 

Never had a gamey tastin deer! I had a deer steak last night with some angel hair pasta that would make your toes curl!! It even had the round bone in it, like a.........what is that called? A ribeye?, not a t-bone but it just has the round small bone in the steak? I dunno, but man i was chewin on that bone like dag-gum lion on a carcaus!!:D

RE: What makes some Venison taste Gamey?
 

Adrenaline is what contributes to that strong taste. Field dressing a deer promptly and letting it bleed out as well makes a difference . If possible the time it is hung priior to butchering makes it more tender doesn't really remove the gamey taste. I notice that archery killed Deer and Elk taste much better then gun shot deer.