deer

[jstartedscott]

So I was planning to smoke some deer meat but I have heard that when you smoke it is hard and get wild taste out of the deer. If anyone has any ieas oh if that is true or not please help. And if it is true is there a trick to soak it or anything please help.

 

[carson627]

Soak it in milk, that should get rid of the gamey taste out.

 

[mossymo]

Soak it in milk, that should get rid of the gamey taste out.

Carson nailed that one out of the park with the first answer !!! Buttermilk is another, that taste is in the blood in my opinion and milk products seem to remove or tame down that unwanted taste.

 

[Bearcarver]

Yup,

I am a firm believer that much of the gamey taste is from Adrenaline, and soaking in milk seems to neutralize that taste. A quick clean kill usually seems to be less "gamey".

I once helped a farmer round up 3 steers that got loose on the way to slaughter. It took us hours of chasing them through the briars & creeks (didn't have any horses). He said he would wait three days now to kill & butcher them, because the chase would get adrenaline flowing through their bodies. Made sense to me.

Bear

 

[brokenwing]

i agree with bear, i had a deer get away from me one time, from a misplaced shot, and when i found him, and got him butchered, it was the worse game taste i ever had.  I think the more a animal is stressed the more of the game taste. So like everyone said, soak that bad boy or bad girl in some milk.  she will taste great

 

[meateater]

I agree, when shark hunting you want to behead asap as the adrenline will flow into the blood system and ruin the meat.

 

[jstartedscott]

THANKS EVERYONE

 

[smokeineyes]

how long should you soak the deer in milk?

 

[erain]

i have to agree with bear on this one...  am a firm believer in how a quick clean kill and proper handling of game meat and how it leads to better tasting meat. you shouldnt have to mask the flavor of your venison.

 

[old school]

WOW I'm surprised to hear allot of thought on the gamey taste from adrenaline.  Thought it was mostly from the handling/processing of the meat.    

 

[wesb]

WOW I'm surprised to hear allot of thought on the gamey taste from adrenaline.  Thought it was mostly from the handling/processing of the meat.    

 I'm with you on this one. Since i've started butchering my deer myself i've yet to taste a gamey flavor. Just never know what you're getting from a butcher, and if you've seen the piles of deer in the back room of some of those places, you'd see where that gamey taste comes from.  Also over cooking venison causes proteins in the meat to break down and release an enzyme that also gives an off flavor.  Medium rare is as far as any venison needs to be cooked.  This is from a local chef who specializes in wild game.  I can also say it's not from the blood, cause i've had many a rare to medium rare backstrap steak.  People cook the crap out of venison till it's tough, and it's just not right.  You cook a beef steak long enough till it's dry and hard and it will have a gamey taste as well.

 

[scrubbyrackbuck]

 I'm with you on this one. Since i've started butchering my deer myself i've yet to taste a gamey flavor. Just never know what you're getting from a butcher, and if you've seen the piles of deer in the back room of some of those places, you'd see where that gamey taste comes from.  Also over cooking venison causes proteins in the meat to break down and release an enzyme that also gives an off flavor.  Medium rare is as far as any venison needs to be cooked.  This is from a local chef who specializes in wild game.  I can also say it's not from the blood, cause i've had many a rare to medium rare backstrap steak.  People cook the crap out of venison till it's tough, and it's just not right.  You cook a beef steak long enough till it's dry and hard and it will have a gamey taste as well.

I agree 100% over cooking is the number 1 reason venison gets"gamey". plus a nice small to medium size doe always tastes better to me than a stinky, rutted up buck.. I
 

 

[smokinjoe1970]

I agree ( No milk Here ) its Like folks Saying dont eat or Buy a Huge Boar Hog  Cuz its nuts will make the meat taste Bad. Not true at all Its all In how its Killed  at least 20% of meat market Butchered hog is Boar Not Choate or Sow . I have smoked and Roasted Bot deer and Wild pig ( males ) with great success depends On How far they run and How fast they Die. Also 2 Years ago I hit a deer in a Car ruined all But  2 shoulders and The tenderloin he was all Boy and Running his But Off and I had to cut it to Finish kill and It tasted fine. Its all preference

 

[sirhuntsalot]

Some people just want to make a deer taste like something else. It's deer.

Like others have said... taking good care of the meat is key. You wouldn't ride a package of ribeyes around for two days then put them in a tree in the sun to "age" for several more days then expect it to be good eats. If you kill a deer and take good care and it still taste "wild" then you need to stick to beef.