Quality of Game Meat

Vince · Posted: Sat Aug 18, 2007 9:03 pm Post subject: Quality of Game Meat

A question for those amongst us who can't pass up an opportunity for a game burger.

Of the two, which meat do you consider to be the better?

Male of the species, or

Female of the species.

The flavour of all meats can be enhanced by the addition of herbs and spices or marinades and I appreciate that tastes are many and varied, but overall, which is the better tasting "unflavoured/unenhanced" meat.

Of course the flavour of the meat can be affected by time of year/season and/or cycle of life for the animal, so take this into account as well.

I am more interested in deer meat, but no doubt there are many others here that chase "game" other than deer.

Reasons for your choice are welcomed, and in fact encouraged.

shrpshtrjoe · Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2007 4:17 am Post subject: Re: Quality of Game Meat

Howdy Vince Your makin me hungry Very Happy

. When I cut my deer I take the back straps for my roasts , cut a package or two of stew meat , and the rest gets grinded into burger. Ther'e are two seasonings I use most , I marinade in mesquite or just use season salt ( the brand is tastefully simple ) It's a great season salt. It's almost always one or the other or both. As far as male or female I don't think I have noticed a difference aside from age. I think the animals diet plays apart , weather there eating crops , soy beans corn etc or your woodland foods acorns , bark etc. I don't think one is better than the other just a little different. Now fer sure a young doe will be the tenderist Very Happy

I will take 90 - 100 lb does as often as I can Smile

.
Joe

Vince · Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2007 4:47 am Post subject: Re: Quality of Game Meat

Thanks Joe...you have already confirmed one thing that I thought...the tender young doe......we're off to a great start. Sorry to make you hungry mate. Laughing

What does everyone else think?

Cheers, Vince

Bushmaster · Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2007 6:27 am Post subject: Re: Quality of Game Meat

Well, I'll help Joe get rid of his hunger. All of the above is absolutely correct (baring every other persons preference of seasoning, marinates and aging). Season salt or Season All are probably the best overall ways to shortcut the meat prep. I also like to to marinate my meat in Season All, garlic powder and warm beer for most of the day when possible. The beer seems to help tenderize the meat. Then onto the grill...

All yes the appetite remover...Deer preseasoned with mesquite, sage and chaparell (the deer eat it in california). Most of the deer, buck or doe, are pretty tough, something like boot leather, and no matter how I dress and prepared them they still did not impove that much, taste or texture. I ground most of the californua deer into hamburger mixed with pork suet and Season All. Helped a bunch. The terrain and what they eat has a lot to do with taste and tecture...

A young Forky or a young doe seem to taste about the same and are generally the most tender...

You got deer worth eating in Aussie???

1895ss · Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2007 3:19 pm Post subject: Re: Quality of Game Meat

I think that a lot of the good or bad taste has to do with care (cooling etc) of the animal starting the minute it's down and whether or not somebody has been chasing the he!! out of it before you shot it. But I agree that a young buck or doe are the best eating although I've had some big bucks that there was absolutely nothing wrong with and were excellent eating.

hunterjoe21 · Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2007 3:39 pm Post subject: Re: Quality of Game Meat

A big old whitetail buck is of little use (other than the backstraps and tenderloins) unless he is ground and mixed/spiced.

Every cut is de-boned, all connective tissue is removed, and everything goes in the "hopper". I mix @ 60/40 with pork for ground meat, and have never had a "bambi lover" figure it out.

It's time consuming, but worth the effort.

Small deer, whether young buck or doe, are extremely difficult to distinguish after a proper grilling, but if I had to make a choice, I'd take a yearling doe for an "eatin" dear.

After the youngster's, any adult doe is definately more desirable table fare than a mature buck, and the bucks STINK too.

1895ss · Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2007 4:19 pm Post subject: Re: Quality of Game Meat

I do my own butchering and always debone my deer, steaks and all. My deer sausage is always mixed 50/50 with "good lean pork". My motto is that "if you use not so good (garbage) meat to make sausage your sausage will also be not so good (garbage)". Like I said, "cooling immediately" is the key to good deer steaks etc whether young or old and here where I hunt we usually have snow during deer season and the best way is to fill the stomach cavity, after field dressing of course, with snow. I have shot old bucks and you could cut the steaks with a fork and tasted great, the way I prepare it.

Another thing is that many people aren't careful enough during skinning and get the meat full of hair. This also taints the meat, no matter if the deer is young or old.

shrpshtrjoe · Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2007 5:36 pm Post subject: Re: Quality of Game Meat

I agree with ya 1895ss. How the animal tastes starts at the shot. Cooling the animal, washing the cavity, gutting it properly ect. I am lucky my neighbor has a cooler box that I use Smile

so cooling is not a issue when hunting close to home.
Joe

Vince · Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2007 6:14 pm Post subject: Re: Quality of Game Meat

Bushmaster wrote:

You got deer worth eating in Aussie???

I thought that all deer was worth chowin' down on? Very Happy

Yep, we got a couple of deer out here. Check this out:

Deer in Australia

There are no deer native to Australia, all were introduced in the 1800's.

I like the idea of marinating in warm beer, must give that a try.

Cheers, Vince

hunterjoe21 · Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2007 6:35 pm Post subject: Re: Quality of Game Meat

Vince wrote:

I like the idea of marinating in warm beer, must give that a try.

Cheers, Vince

be careful, marinating in warm beer also repels the wife (don't ask how I know)

hunterjoe21 · Posted: Sun Aug 19, 2007 6:42 pm Post subject: Re: Quality of Game Meat

shrpshtrjoe wrote:

I agree with ya 1895ss. How the animal tastes starts at the shot. Cooling the animal, washing the cavity, gutting it properly ect. I am lucky my neighbor has a cooler box that I use Smile

so cooling is not a issue when hunting close to home.
Joe

I also couldn't agree more....
get 'em cleaned and get 'em cooled

We are required to check all deer killed here with head and skin attached, so the need to properly dress and wash, especially in warm weather, is multiplied.

Dimitri · Super Member Joined: Nov 25, 2005 Posts: 5944

Sometimes the tougher "leathery" meat can be good, gives me something to chew on. Laughing

In my opinion food is food, and meat is meat. So the texture maynot be like "butter" but its still going to go down in my stomic so I do not give it much thought. Smile

Dimitri

keetoowah · Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 7:46 am Post subject: Re: Quality of Game Meat

Italian Dressing is a good quick marinade for the thicker cuts of meats
we have several marinades we make from scratch at work and lots of either rice wine vinegar or a balsamic vinegerette.
or a citric base
all do about the same to tenderize the meat and to add a flavor to it.
or flavour

SwampFox · Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 8:10 am Post subject: Re: Quality of Game Meat

I do not think that there is a great deal of difference between a young doe and a young buck. But for older deer, a doe seems to eat better when both are cut into steaks, rosts, etc. Our deer herebouts are very small, about 90-110 pounds and most end up in the grinder.

Our deer will eat juniper, cedar and in a tough year will eat pine needles. Misquite would be bad, a turpentine deer is just a mess. Our deer population is pretty much out of control and most deer have little to eat unless they live right next to a crop field.
Ed

ElyBoy · Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 8:24 am Post subject: Re: Quality of Game Meat

I have butchered my own deer sense I was a kid, and I can't agree with you guys more about shot placement, field dressing, skinning and butchering.
I skin my deer as soon as I can get it home, and butcher it as soon as it is skinned.

I like the taste of younger deer, either doe or buck, over older deer.
When butchering, I cut for steaks, roasts, and burger.
My family likes my burgers better than the steaks or roasts, so I will give my burger recipe to you fine folks, for what it's worth.

I go 70% venison, 30% pork.
I will course grind the venison and pork, mixing both into my grinder.
Then I will hand mix the course ground meat, and then fine grind the mixed meat, and hand mix again. I normally grind around 75# at a crack. This will last for around 4 months with my family. My wife will use the burger with a lot of different types of meals.

When I make burgers, I mix Cajun seasoning with the burger meat. {Bushy, you Cajuns REALLY know how to make seasoning}

My family can't get enough of it.

Eric