Newbie with backstrap

bob1961 · Jan 29, 2013

ok venison has gotta a real bad name in which people say stay away it's gamey as all heck....but if billt bob would not drive around town all day with the deer tied to the hood of his car cooking from the motors heat, well ya get the drift, LOL....this is how i have done every single one of my 56 deer to date from 1981....well i started boning out any deer i have gotten since 1996 from the way i did it before 96....
it gets skinned as soon as i get it hung by the rear legs....every piece of meat comes off the bones, i never cut the bones with a saw as that is where you get the GAMEY taste from, bone dust that doesn't get washed off before cooking, back to my way of deer processing....as every hunk of venison comes off the bone it goes into plastic shopping bags and in my fridge's bottom on a towel to catch any blood drips....one bag has one hind quarter in it so there are 2 with rear quarter meat....one bag has the back straps in it and the last bag has all neck meat and remaining small stuff off deer....
those bags stay in there wrapped closed but not air tight and after 5 days i start on the bag with the small stuff first, then i do a bag a day working each muscle into it's own hunk of meat removing any silver skin "sinew" thay call in....everything gets cut into steaks and stew/stir fry, then wrapped tight in glad wrap and then butcher paper to eliminate any freezer burn from air contact on the meats surface....major cause of freezer burn is that air contact on any meat no matter how good it is sealed, get that air contact of anything you freeze and you will never worry bout freezer burn....
i have my process down to 3.5 hours from kill to in my fridge in bags to age, that 3.5 is from kill shot to getting my deer home and in fridge to eating fresh tender loins fried to perfection....only time i use insta cure is making venison jerkey, but the way i make it it needs it due to the clod air drying i use....any questions please post up or PM me....

themule69 · Jan 29, 2013

looks like i am a day late and a dollar short on getting in on this. but here is my .02 what makes a deer gammy is not handling it right after the kill. if you ride it around showing your buddies. all the other things that are done after the kill. that don't include getting it field dressed then into the cooler. if beef was handled the way most deer are, you wouldn't like beef. keep it clean wash with clean water. then cool as fast as possable. remember under 4 hours the grill or smoker in the danger zone. that also applies to deer in the back of a truck or hanging from a tree..you can fry it if you must. but cooked by it's self over grill or skillet is pretty tasty. jerky and sausage is also good. same thing applies to all wild game.

happy smokin.

david

backwoods bbq · Jan 29, 2013

themule69 said:
looks like i am a day late and a dollar short on getting in on this. but here is my .02 what makes a deer gammy is not handling it right after the kill. if you ride it around showing your buddies. all the other things that are done after the kill. that don't include getting it field dressed then into the cooler. if beef was handled the way most deer are, you wouldn't like beef. keep it clean wash with clean water. then cool as fast as possable. remember under 4 hours the grill or smoker in the danger zone. that also applies to deer in the back of a truck or hanging from a tree..you can fry it if you must. but cooked by it's self over grill or skillet is pretty tasty. jerky and sausage is also good. same thing applies to all wild game.

happy smokin.

david

mule, you are ABSOLUTELY right! One thing that people always forget or seem to is that after you kill a deer you need to CUT OFF THE TESTICLES. This is very important and in Wild Hog is CRUCIAL!!!!!

candycoated · Jan 29, 2013

Welp, I'm still alive, not sick or anything, so I guess I cooked the deer right, AND I was looking forward to eating the deer when I got hungry today.

My husband skinned and quartered the deer asap after he shot it, so it shouldn't be tainted. All his kills this year were Does, so no testies either. ;p We were told by his friends and family to soak the meat for a few days before deboning. They said it was how you "age" the meat if you don't have a dry hang cooler. After it soaked, we deboned, vacuum sealed, wrapped in freezer paper, then froze.

Today I got 4 lbs of beef fat trimmings from the butcher, for free. Some of it looks kinda skanky, and other fat parts look really pretty and white with a little red marbling. I'm gonna make ground venison with non-backstrap parts for hot and fast cooking... dirty rice, maybe some spaghetti sauce, mixed with flour and cheese for a kind of sausage ball... Y'all think that sound like a good plan?

Please share any comments!

smokeamotive · Jan 29, 2013

I have never heard of "Water Aging" before. If I can help it at all, I never let the meat come in contact with water. Water will incite bacteria growth. As long as it was a clean kill, not gut shot, and field dressed quickly, skined and quartered and placed in some kind of refigeration there is no need to wash the deer. I do agree with removing the testies asap. Also If it's a buck in full rut I will also remove the tarsel glands. These can add a nasty taste to the hams.

Also make sure to save some stew meat. I make a deer stew thats awesome. Make your regular stew recipe but instead of browning the meat (makes it tough and chewy) place all the ingredients in an oven safe dish or roaster and cook @ 200 all day. You'll love it.

smoke happens · Jan 29, 2013

I have never aged deer. Shoot it, dress it out completely down to the bone, and take the trimmed meat in plastic bags to a cooler and put on ice. When I get it home, I trim any silver skin or fat, portion out any steaks or roasts, rinse, dry, vac seal then into the freezer. Always worked well for me.

smokeamotive · Jan 29, 2013

Sounds about word for word what I do. Nothin else needed!

themule69 · Jan 30, 2013

candycoated said:
Welp, I'm still alive, not sick or anything, so I guess I cooked the deer right, AND I was looking forward to eating the deer when I got hungry today.

My husband skinned and quartered the deer asap after he shot it, so it shouldn't be tainted. All his kills this year were Does, so no testies either. ;p We were told by his friends and family to soak the meat for a few days before deboning. They said it was how you "age" the meat if you don't have a dry hang cooler. After it soaked, we deboned, vacuum sealed, wrapped in freezer paper, then froze.

Today I got 4 lbs of beef fat trimmings from the butcher, for free. Some of it looks kinda skanky, and other fat parts look really pretty and white with a little red marbling. I'm gonna make ground venison with non-backstrap parts for hot and fast cooking... dirty rice, maybe some spaghetti sauce, mixed with flour and cheese for a kind of sausage ball... Y'all think that sound like a good plan?

Please share any comments!

i make a lot of Italian sausage out of deer and hog. goes great spaghetti, lasagna and on pizza.

happy smoken.

david

candycoated · Jan 30, 2013

I wouldn't be surprised if the fam didn't know what they were talking about. They pay to have their meat processed, they were absolutely no help when I had questions about how to prepare my meats. ;p. And they showed my hubs how to butcher a deer, a quick and easy way where you don't have to skin it, but the down side is you miss the tenderloin... something like that. Anyways, I expressed my dissatisfaction with not getting the tenderloin, so the hubs has watched a bunch of youtube vids, we should have the tenderloins next season. ;p

I'll prolly not soak em next time too, see if there is any difference. Thanks y'all!

smoking b · Jan 30, 2013

candycoated said:
I wouldn't be surprised if the fam didn't know what they were talking about. They pay to have their meat processed, they were absolutely no help when I had questions about how to prepare my meats. ;p. And they showed my hubs how to butcher a deer, a quick and easy way where you don't have to skin it, but the down side is you miss the tenderloin... something like that. Anyways, I expressed my dissatisfaction with not getting the tenderloin, so the hubs has watched a bunch of youtube vids, we should have the tenderloins next season. ;p

I'll prolly not soak em next time too, see if there is any difference. Thanks y'all!

I've never heard of such a method - around here that would get a person shunned!

Good deal!

Did you make the sausage balls?

candycoated · Jan 30, 2013

Don't shun us, just call it a learning curve!!

Should have seen us trying to get the meat off a 200lb wild sow he shot while I was with him. It was LOL.

No sausage balls yet, wanted to grind last night but we had bad weather and every time a little rain comes in the electricity goes out. This time it was off for 10 hours!

I'll be grinding tonight, and just because you asked I'll make sausage balls first to see how it turns out, and let y'all know... good or bad.

smokeamotive · Jan 30, 2013

The tenderloins are the first thing I take out of the deer. They can be removed before the deer is skinned. I would not be taking butchering advice from someone who pays to have it done. Where is there experience. There are some good vids out there on deer buthchering, Just keep checking out youtube. The internet is a wonderful thing when you learn how to explore it!

smoke happens · Jan 30, 2013

My guess is they showed him a method on how to bone out a deer without having to gut it, you get everything but the tenderlions pretty much. Ok for small deer where the tenderlions are so small they may not be worth the effort of gutting, but generally a frowned upon practice since the tenderlion is the best part of the deer followed by the backstrap (IMO anyways).

smokeamotive · Jan 30, 2013

Smoke Happens said:
Ok for small deer where the tenderlions are so small they may not be worth the effort of gutting, but generally a frowned upon practice since the tenderlion is the best part of the deer followed by the backstrap (IMO anyways).

X2

themule69 · Jan 30, 2013

it's all worth the effort to me. i use the ribs. trim the neck if i can get a piece the size of a marble. it is going to be got and ground or something. if you will clean a squirrel then the tender loin is a no brain er. just my .02

happy smoken.

David

bhawkins · Jan 30, 2013

First I have to agree with the ones that said no soaking required. I like the flavor of deer meat and if it is handled quickly after the kill it is fine. This is the first time I have heard that cutting the bone creates gamey taste. I can't say that it don't just never heard it before. I always did cut the bones and never knew it to give a bad taste. My two favorite ways to cook deer is either on the grill, or a cast iron skillet, hot and fast. As far as marinades for flavor I would treat it a lot like beef seeing that they are both red meats.

themule69 · Jan 30, 2013

BHawkins said:
First I have to agree with the ones that said no soaking required. I like the flavor of deer meat and if it is handled quickly after the kill it is fine. This is the first time I have heard that cutting the bone creates gamey taste. I can't say that it don't just never heard it before. I always did cut the bones and never knew it to give a bad taste. My two favorite ways to cook deer is either on the grill, or a cast iron skillet, hot and fast. As far as marinades for flavor I would treat it a lot like beef seeing that they are both red meats.

the bone cutting is new to me also. i have cut a lot of bones.

happy smoken.

david

candycoated · Jan 31, 2013

Smoke Happens, you are right. Talked to the hubs a bit more in detail after I read your post.

Yep, seems I'm gonna have'ta supervisor his butchering, like a Boss.

smoking b · Jan 31, 2013

candycoated said:
Smoke Happens, you are right. Talked to the hubs a bit more in detail after I read your post.

Yep, seems I'm gonna have'ta supervisor his butchering, like a Boss.

Teamwork!

Did you get to make the sausage balls? I'm anxious to see how how they turn out

candycoated · Jan 31, 2013

cubing meat for the grinder is not as easy and fast as I had dreamed.

I am so tired, I'll have to grind it tomorrow.

Question.

One of the bags I defrosted was what I guess you'd call the calf or forearm. Little bitty tiny pieces of muscle (1-2" diameter) encased in sinew. Well, that wasn't the smartest choice, I've read several times that stuff wont grind well, and trying to cut it off would have left me with more waste than cubed meat... so what do you do with it? Stew?

Newbie with backstrap

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