CAJUN??? ME??? You got me confused with Vince...I'm not Cajun...I'm from the West and not western Louisiana either...Much farther West...

Will agree that the Cajun's do have good taste in seasonings though...

Younger animals are generally more tender. I used to marvel at this guy I knew up north always bragging about the huge moose he'd get every year, could picture his poor kids chewing and chewing and chewing and chewing....

What 1895 said, from the moment the animal drops, also if you've got a large animal and the right weather conditions, how long you let it hang for before you do your final meat cutting makes a big difference.

An old butcher in Ely once showed me how to press my fingers into the deer to see if it was ready for butchering.
You make a dent and then if it takes a few seconds to go away, the deer is ready to butcher.
Over the years, I just butcher as soon as I can.
When I used to wait and check how he showed me, the meat was more firm and easier to cut though.
Trouble is, the weather during deer season in Minnesota has become warmer, and a guy just can't wait the few days it takes for the venison to cure.

Eric

Sounds like we are all on the same page. I too prefer a younger animal, but in my neighborhood, the bigger the horns you bring home, the less beer you have to buy as the neighbors try and bribe you with beer to get your hunting spot out of you. One thing I did not see mentioned here is in reference to scent gland - I was always taught (with nothing to back it up other than tradition) to keep away from the scent glands/pouches just inside on a buck's rear legs as it would taint the meat, I used to cut them off and then I was told just to stay away from them and hack off the legs. I have never noticed a difference either way - opinions welcome! I also use the majority of my deer to make into small steaks but mostly burger and jerky, so I don't usually care between buck or doe. When I get an elk down I definately have a different plan, if I really need the meat, I will chase a cow, but if I have some in the freezer, I will go after a bull (back to the horn reputation and free beer). I try and get the critter off the mountain and into a cooler as soon as possible, I have also eaten old bulls that were quite tasty and had young cows which were not. To me antelope is the worst, my grandfather used to make delicious steaks from these "goats", but he never had a chance to pass on his secret, so left to my own demise I find them to be rather strong in taste, unless I soak them overnight in milk and then marrinate in soy sauce or worschteshire (what's this here sauce) I do not enjoy it well enough to hunt them anymore.

I also was taught to hang my critters for a week, but as another "poster" above mentioned, the falls have been too warm the past few years to do that, I just get them into a cooler and have at it. I will take frozen milk jugs with me to pack in their chest and will use snow if it is available. I usually bone out my elk and leave the carcass/guts in the field, and hang the meat as soon as I get back to camp - usually above 9,000 ft so it gets pretty cool in the evening.

Sorry Vince, post tangeant here, I prefer the females on deer for taste.

For burger, I don't think sex or age makes as much difference as what they ate and how the meat was handled. For roasts and steaks, I like a doe or young buck. I usually don't add any other meat to the burger, but I added 2 pounds of pork and 2 pounds of beef to 20 pounds of venison trimmings (the rest went to steaks and roasts) from a respectable 4x4 muley I took in the muzzleloader season this week. The addition of the beef and pork seems to help keep the burger together when flipping the burgers.

[quote-"WileyWapiti"]To me antelope is the worst, my grandfather used to make delicious steaks from these "goats", but he never had a chance to pass on his secret, so left to my own demise I find them to be rather strong in taste, unless I soak them overnight in milk and then marrinate in soy sauce or worschteshire (what's this here sauce) I do not enjoy it well enough to hunt them anymore.