Terrible tasting deer steak

[Dash]

Hey all,

I hope everyone's season is going great so far!

I'm hoping to get some feedback/thoughts in regards to the deer steaks my husband and I had for dinner last night.

My husband's steak was phenomenal and the first few bites of mine was fantastic as well but on the next bite, my mouth was filled with that terrible musky/rutty/piss smell of a deer. I just about threw up. I instantly spat it onto my plate and the taste was still incredibly pungent. I actually washed my mouth out a few times and had to have a few sips of a drink to wash it out. It literally tasted like what a tarsal gland smells like. Needless to say, it ruined my dinner. At first my husband thought I was crazy. Admittedly, I have a tendency to over think these things and let them get into my head so I offered him my plate. He took a couple bites and said it was amazing then on the third, he spat it out. Same thing. We both love game but him especially. For him to taste the same thing confirmed I wasn't crazy.

This wasn't really a gamey taste, more of a gross rutting buck taste if that makes any sense at all? Between myself, my husband and my brother, we've consumed about 5 different deer in a few years hunting (we're still new) and have never come across this. My first buck a couple years ago was even mid-rut and super smelly and it tasted great. The buck that we ate last night was a young 2 point we harvested in early October this year. Not the least bit rutty and I had really high hopes for how he was going to taste. The worst part was that this was a back strap steak as well. Which is why the first few bites were so amazing.

How could the back strap of a young non-rutting buck get that taste? I'm really confused. Now, I'm generally pretty careful and clean when field dressing and this one was really no exception except that when we were finishing, I had slipped and stabbed myself deeply in the thigh (ouch). The next little bit was a bit of a gong show, between bandaging myself up, getting some help from some passing hunters to load the buck in our truck (priorities, right?) and getting to the hospital, I suppose I could have touched the meat with a dirty knife or something but I can't really wrap my head around it.

In regards to the meat, like I mentioned, it was a back strap streak and it was cooked (I know I'm going to get lambasted for this) medium well/well done. I know that game can taste poorly if over cooked and I'm trying very hard to convert myself to eating a better cooked steak. That being said, it has never happened before and it was fantastic tasting at first and my husband even agreed and he likes his steaks like a normal person haha. It was just those few bites. I've had some sausage and pepperoni from this deer as well and it's been great so far but I'm really paranoid about the ground and other steaks..

I'm really curious what others thoughts are on this?

[Bigchief]

Maybe meat got mixed at the butcher

[eatram]

Very thoroughly explained. Game meat is strange; some are great, some not so much. Depends on their feed and their hormones. I can not help you very much as to this situation, but my advice is aimed at the longevity of your culinary experiences to come. #1 - expect your game to vary in taste from one to another. #2 - finish your plate. #3 - don't shoot goat or sheep unless you plan on using your jaw/pride muscles. Welcome to the club. The good news is that you will learn how to cook your game. This comes over time. Don't get discouraged.

[Dash]

Maybe meat got mixed and the butcher

Yeah that had crossed my mind as well. The butcher I brought it to is very reputable, has amazing reviews and I loved their other products to date but I know mistakes can happen especially with how busy they are this time of year.

[Dash]

Very thoroughly explained. Game meat is strange; some are great, some not so much. Depends on their feed and their hormones. I can not help you very much as to this situation, but my advice is aimed at the longevity of your culinary experiences to come. #1 - expect your game to vary in taste from one to another. #2 - finish your plate. #3 - don't shoot goat or sheep unless you plan on using your jaw/pride muscles. Welcome to the club. The good news is that you will learn how to cook your game. This comes over time. Don't get discouraged.

I really appreciate this feedback and advice eatram, thank you!

[eatram]

If/when you bag an animal that is hard to keep down, they ALL taste great in curries or stews. Often with the older rams, my wife cooks a curry. Then we don't eat it that day. She heats it up the second day, and then lets it cool off again. The third day is when we taste it for the first time. Chili is similar. Enjoy!

[todbartell]

put some BBQ sauce on the pieces that taste like tarsal gland

[whognu]

buried inside the muscles of all deer are 'glands' that provide flavour as you describe

i believe there are 2 in the stern (hind) and 2 up front (shoulder)

they are white in colour and hide nicely in a fatty pocket inside the hams

possibly the butcher tainted some meat by inadvertently nicking one


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCYnaUul-d4

[RICKADY]

put some BBQ sauce on the pieces that taste like tarsal gland
That's not even close to an answer for their question.

[albravo2]

buried inside the muscles of all deer are 'glands' that provide flavour as you describe

i believe there are 2 in the stern (hind) and 2 up front (shoulder)

they are white in colour and hide nicely in a fatty pocket inside the hams

possibly the butcher tainted some meat by inadvertently nicking one


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCYnaUul-d4

Best answer I've read yet. Especially considering the taste you describe.

[GEF]

If you want good game meat here are a few rules I follow ,get the tarsal glands off ,wash your hands,take the hide off right away, cool The meat . Butcher it your self,that way you get your own meat .Not some one else's dirty urine covered grossness
I do not hang my meat for long ,One night .If you want it gamie hang it ,the longer you hang it the stronger the gamie taste.The glands in the hind legs need to be handled carefully when butchering ,wash your hands when you cut them out.
If you have to hang it for a long time remove the glands in the hind legs
Presto good meat and not tough I have been doing this for 30 years .By the way 90 percent of the deer i have shot are rutting late season deer .Worst deer I have ever had was a black tail spike that I left the hide on and it got rained on over night .
My last bucher experience was an immature bull moose that I got 70lbs of meat back .They told me the meat was blood shot .Odd as it was shot in the head.And the meat was strong and tough.That was my last time .

[Jagermeister]

I would question the field dresser first. If it is going to be tainted with rut odor, look no further than he who gutted it.

[Dash]

I would question the field dresser first. If it is going to be tainted with rut odor, look no further than he who gutted it.

It was me (she ;)) and to be fair like I mentioned, it's a real possibility. Given I had just stabbed myself, the rest of everything was pretty panicked and rushed although most of the field dressing was done at that point. I'm pretty thorough and clean as I've been taught by some amazing people on here but I still make mistakes and I'm always learning. In reality, I was more curious what I could have done to cause it more than anything.

[Dash]

You're all sharing some incredibly helpful information, thank you so much! I had no idea about the other glands and some of the tips being offered are really, really helpful!

I'm going to be trying for another deer before the seasons done and if I happen to get lucky, I'm going to try and butcher it myself since the temperatures are more favorable now.

This deer was skinned, cleaned and washed while I was in the hospital that evening then hung over night and looked over/cleaned again the next day. It's definitely possible I caused this by rushed field dressing.

I'm curious, if a gland was cut and then that same knife was used to cut the back straps, could those back straps then be tainted with that taste? It was so strong. However it happened, it's definitely driven home the need to be as diligent as possible when field dressing.

[Gun Dog]

The first thing I do in the field is cut off the tarsal glands (with a knife I only use on the tarsals). Once hanging and skinned I was taught to cut off the outer layer of fat because it has a gamey taste (and smell).

In the video it looks like a fatty nodule similar to the back fat. I'll look for it the next time I have a deer hanging.

[srupp]

Hmmm hope your injury heals completely .
first..one steak was tainted however the other steak was not..so the complete animal was not tainted.wasnt system complete..
Second...there are not any glands in the backstrap...

Third the backstrap location usually precludes tainting by urinating during rut..
In nearly 50 years of hunting have never had tainting of backstraps...
What you describe is not indicitive of hides being left on or gross contamination of entire animal...all meat would have been horrible.
Of the 2 most common causes of bad meat..it definatly isnt bone sour..smells like vinigar upon heating and all would be impacted.
These small glands inside the animal can be impacted by hormone levels..and can be a cause of very questionable taste..
Likewise the tarsal glands on the hind legs can transfer the exact taste reaction you experienced.
I usually use a different knife to deal with these glands..and wait to wash the animal till the hide/ glands are removed and the , lower legs are removed.
Washing with 70 % vinigar..30 % bottled water..
My opinion was an internal gland was cut..and that objectionable taste transferred to some of the backstrap.
Heal well.
Srupp

[338win mag]

I have never had a poor tasting pre-rut Mule deer, in fact I find them to be consistently good eating.
Field dressing is more like surgery, keep things clean.
I never cut off tarsal glands, when processing cut off all fat. If a buck is hit poorly and they run off then the meat will have the rutting buck taste.
The rutting buck flavor is in the fat and when they dont eat and chase does around then the fat reserves are going to be run through the meat on a rutting buck.

[GEF]

If the bladder gets nicked it could tante the back straps as well as having urine or tarsal gland on the hands during the the cleaning process

[Wentrot]

Only time I’ve had poor tasting meat was from a butcher. Doing it ourselves game meat has always tasted great. I think things get switched around far to much behind the scenes....IMO

[Wild one]

Doubt it’s a gland issue myself more likely a cleanliness issue earlier in the process. I did not taste the meat so it’s hard to pin point what exactly caused the flavour urine, bile, spoiled blood, stomach acid or other contaminate. But being the back strap odds are high that it started in the stomach/chest cavity and most likely from not cleaning the cavity properly or within a reasonable time frame. People underestimate how fast blood spoils and the nasty flavour it can cause

You can rescue horribly messy gutting jobs getting every fluid on your meat and poorly hit deer(recovered in reasonable time) if you clean the cavity and any meat touched by contaminate right away and thoroughly. I also use a vinegar water mix but not as strong as Srupp 70% water 30% vinegar is more like what I use

You will find every hunter has different opinions on field dressing/meat handling so expect a mix of advice. In the end get it clean right away and limit contamination is the principle of everyone’s opinions

Without being there for the process or tasting the meat we can only guess what went wrong

[dougan]

Trim all fat .

[Ohwildwon]

Sounds like contamination for sure.

Have to be so conscientious field dressing, skinning game.

The first thing I do is cut the back lower legs off at the knee and chuck them, then wash or rinse your hands and knife etc.

That way the Tarsal Gland is removed from the equation right away? Yes and no.

I assume the gland has been rubbed on the inside of the leg for sure.

Hell, I've seen Deer scratch behind there ear with there hind foot.

So one could assume the hide would be contaminated with it, (Tarsal Gland) at multiple points.

When skinning an ungulate, I bring at least a few pair of nitrite gloves with me. They are a lot stronger then latex.

Once you get the hide off, start fresh with a new pair, should be good to go.

[walks with deer]

1.how long did it sit after it was shot.?
2.where was it shot?
even with a good hit there can been green in the cavity this will cook chops quick.
3.if you rushed off was the piss bladder still in there did it get severed?
4.how long and what temps was the hide on.
5.internal glands will have little to no effect.
6.was it your chop you got back busy season is october even the best butchers have to hire temporary staff...
7.if it was just one steak so far was your deer hung to close to a dirty deer?
i have seen some really dirty deer brought into shops..
havent had any gamey meat since we decided to cut ourselves no matter whats going on.

[RICKADY]

Something to learn here from some very smart people, i'll remember this stuff when I finnaly get there, hope the rest of your meat is better Dash.

[longwalk]

I concur with the internal gland theory. I have had the gland in the ham taint some ground before. Completely unpalatable.

[j270wsm]

cooked back straps from a cow elk one time( killed the night before then left over night.) and they were the most gamey, worst tasting elk steak I’ve ever had. After hanging for 8 days the rest of the elk was great.
The cow was left whole with the hide on and I put logs under her to allow air to circulate.

I always get the hide off as soon as I get the animal home, unless being packed out aways then it’s removed in the bush. I used to butcher within 3-4days of harvest but now I let my animble hang as long as possible. I’ll hang them 8-12 days in a meat cooler and up to 8 days in my garage if the weather permits. I personally find the longer I hang animals the less the meat tastes gamey.

[russm]

I'd lean towards something happening while cleaning it, I've shot a couple swollen up stinky bucks and they still tasted good, I get the glands off right away and then use a different knife for the rest of the job to help avoid any contamination.

[HarryToolips]

I've shot and eaten quite a few deer and honestly never had that issue... get the hide off right away, and the the front legs above the knee right away, the hind lags below the tendon right away...how much of this deer have you eaten before this occurance? Like others have said, maybe some of your meat was accidentally swapped at the butchers?

[mpotzold]

Trim all fat .

Fully agree with you and Gun Dog.
Had a similar experience many years ago when the buck deer steak was good except for the little bit of side fat. It was so bad I had to immediately spit it out & clean my mouth.
The fat was tough & tasted rancid. At other times it was edible in very small quantities.

[HarryToolips]

^^^That is one point I forgot to bring up...not only can it taste bad, but the texture is horrible, and how it sticks to the roof of mouth...I agree that that is one of the most important aspects to butchering deer..

[twoSevenO]

Venison fat is disgusting.

But also, deer steaks taste like shit compared to elk or moose so theres that too.

[mpotzold]

Venison fat is disgusting.

But also, deer steaks taste like shit compared to elk or moose so theres that too.

Agree with the fat part.

Re: steak
It depends on the age, sex, time of the year, proper cleaning & hanging the deer.

I used to visit a good SFU friend's family ranch/farm in Pemberton in the 60's. His Swiss mom made deer roast & steak that were something to die for. 10 out of 10.Every time.

[twoSevenO]

Agree with the fat part.

Re: steak
It depends on the age, sex, time of the year, proper cleaning & hanging the deer.

I used to visit a good SFU friend's family ranch/farm in Pemberton in the 60's. His Swiss mom made deer roast & steak that were something to die for. 10 out of 10.Every time.




Sure, but my point is you dont need a special swiss mom to cook a good elk or moose steak or roast. Anyone can do it and it will taste awesome :)

[finngun]

Dash,,,was it whitetale or muley...they have diff.rut time..

[Wild one]

Dash,,,was it whitetale or muley...they have diff.rut time..

Slightly different start to the rut but not much. There is also a part of the population that starts earlier and later then majority of the deer in the area. This goes for all three species of deer

You can get a stinky buck of all species in BC from late October till into late season December

[dodge456]

Fully agree with you and Gun Dog.
Had a similar experience many years ago when the buck deer steak was good except for the little bit of side fat. It was so bad I had to immediately spit it out & clean my mouth.
The fat was tough & tasted rancid. At other times it was edible in very small quantities.

Absolutely agree with this. Deer fat is one of the most horrid things I've tasted. I once had jerky done at a butcher and there were bits of fat attached, even that was putrid. On a steak without being cured its much worse. I butcher my own now and do not leave a stitch of fat anywhere at all on the meat when I'm cutting. I'd take a look at that next time, before you cook it check for bits of fat and trim it off.

[twoSevenO]

Absolutely agree with this. Deer fat is one of the most horrid things I've tasted. I once had jerky done at a butcher and there were bits of fat attached, even that was putrid. On a steak without being cured its much worse. I butcher my own now and do not leave a stitch of fat anywhere at all on the meat when I'm cutting. I'd take a look at that next time, before you cook it check for bits of fat and trim it off.

I look at my own trim junk pipe and others call that the grind pile. Wtf. Even meat I grind up I dont let an ounce of fat get into.

Grest way to turn others off game meat too is to serve them some gross fatty venison. Yuck

[Bugle M In]

I have just found that it depends from one creature to the next as to how good the meat is, be it tender or taste.
Deer meat isn't on my high list, compared to elk by a long shot.
We had a friend who was a butcher and owned a Deli and did our meat for us for years till his passing.
We had one bull elk that was really old (teeth worn right out!) and yet it was one of the few times where our friend took some meat for himself, as it was the most tender and tasty.
(tender might have been due to the fact that it was deboned immediately, and then hung at a cooler where it was left until we got a call to
pick up the meat as it was "starting to turn"...meaning just starting to smell a little ripe?)
It was awesome.

I agree with the fat not being all that tasty on deer, and that video about removing those glands.
So many factors, such as feed and timing.
Remove any bad blood shot meat right away, get the hair off and meat cooled as quick as possible.
That is all you can do and watch out for those glands and where you touch and where you grab to handle while gutting/processing.

We took 2 WT once at the same time (side by side), they were the same age and size, taken in late September, long before the rut.
One was great and on we had to give to the OWL society.
The one buck I took went down quick, while my buddies buck didn't and we suspect that one was the one that wasn't that good.
(we had split the meat and didn't bother to process one before the other, so meat was mixed, but we always knew when we had a bad piece on the dinner table).
My Dads latest buck will most likely be stew and pepperoni.
Deer meat can be hit and miss, atleast in our experience.

[guest]

Unfortunately it sounds tough for you to determine the actual cause but.......in nearly 50 years of too many Deer harvests to count of all types of BC deer, I must admit Ive never experienced what you describe.
Deer shot early on season openers to the last day of the season in Rut or not......never any issue with Rut flavour, scent gland flavour, never piss flavoured, never gut flavoured.

Yes Ive had stronger flavours in a few, more with Mulies than WT.
BTs can have a stronger flavour specially in Rut but never described as so foul tasting.
Yes I trim all fat off. I butcher my own and have for years, I also package with no bone and cook with all meat deboned.

Stronger flavours certainly come from fat and bone IMO.

Even Bucks Rut stupid and Stinking up the surrounding hills have been some of my better eating deer.

Field dressed properly including piss bags, scent glands removed, skinned and cooled asap.....
Deer is terrific when cooked properly.
Do not overcook, at least a slight juicy pink appearance on your steak or roast is a must.
I hope your healing well and get out for another buck soon Dash.
Good luck to you. CT

[Dash]

Thank you all so much for the feedback and well wishes in regards to my recovery! I'm almost feeling 100% and hoping to get back out there for a while yet this season!

Just to answer a few questions I saw being asked:

- It was a mule deer
- It only ran about 20 feet when shot
- It was field dressed within 30 minutes of being down
- I took out the bladder intact and didn't get any feces in the cavity
- It was a boiler room shot but it did nick the very top of the stomach as it had a really small hole. It was thoroughly cleaned however and very minimal mess
- The hide was taken off within a couple hours
- I can't remember the exact temperatures but I know it was fairly cool, as it was below freezing that evening
- Most the time I trim the fat off the carcass but I didn't this time. The butcher however said he trims a lot of the fat (pleasantly surprised by that)
- Fat and silver skin were trimmed off the steak prior to cooking
- We got the tenderloins and backstraps in steaks, some minimal ground, pepperoni and garlic sausage. These were the first steaks we've had off this deer but we've had some pepperoni and garlic sausage so far and it's been great

As usual I've learned a ton from everyone's feedback and it's incredibly appreciated. I'm going to chop this up to probably my own mishandling in my rush with the possibility maybe the butcher cut a gland or maybe mixed up a steak. They've been amazing and were full but accommodated me this time even though they were insanely busy so I wouldn't hold it against them in the slightest if that did happen. Their meat to date has also been top notch.

I'm really hoping I get the opportunity to try my hand at butchering my own deer still this season! Here's to hoping!

My sincere thanks again everyone. Enjoy the rest of your season!!

Tracy

[tigrr]

Yes it is best to butcher it yourself. That way no other meat is mixed in with yours. Lots of videos and books showing how. Goat and sheep butchering books and videos are very close to deer butchering. Buy a grinder and a sausage stuffer and watch sausage stuffing vids and read some of the sausage recipes and enjoy. Then you get a smoke house and and and!

[Dash]

Yes it is best to butcher it yourself. That way no other meat is mixed in with yours. Lots of videos and books showing how. Goat and sheep butchering books and videos are very close to deer butchering. Buy a grinder and a sausage stuffer and watch sausage stuffing vids and read some of the sausage recipes and enjoy. Then you get a smoke house and and and!

Haha oh the rabbit hole... I have been doing some reading the last couple of days actually! Almost had a line on a smoker this year too but that fell through. In regards to a grinder, obviously I should invest in a good quality electric grinder eventually but for this year, do you think one of those cheap manual grinders would do? How much of a pain do you think it would be for a deer?

[wideopenthrottle]

for a small deer I have used a little moulinex (1/4 hp iirc) grinder and as long as you clean out the sinew frequently and not force it, it worked fine enough

[Wild one]

Deer steak, stew meat, stir fry, ribs and the odd roast if I feel like it. Nothing but a knife and a bone saw is needed and it really does not take long.

You don’t need much to butcher a deer if you keep it simple

[hawk-i]

Generally I really enjoy deer meat, even the fat! However I did have one Mule buck that was so rank (very heavy rut) even the dog would turn his nose up and not eat it.

[tigrr]

Haha oh the rabbit hole... I have been doing some reading the last couple of days actually! Almost had a line on a smoker this year too but that fell through. In regards to a grinder, obviously I should invest in a good quality electric grinder eventually but for this year, do you think one of those cheap manual grinders would do? How much of a pain do you think it would be for a deer?

I'll find which sunmile electric meat grinder I bought. It was the highest rated for $100 electric grinders. amazon.ca

[Brew]

Did your husband use the same knife to skin the tarsal glands off the hind legs and then skin the deer with that same knife? Did he touch the tarsal glands with his hands then touch the skinned buck?
both things can spread that musky stinky buck smell all over the meat and ruin it.

[Ohwildwon]

Absolutely agree with this. Deer fat is one of the most horrid things I've tasted. I once had jerky done at a butcher and there were bits of fat attached, even that was putrid. On a steak without being cured its much worse. I butcher my own now and do not leave a stitch of fat anywhere at all on the meat when I'm cutting. I'd take a look at that next time, before you cook it check for bits of fat and trim it off.


Hmmm, I keep the best 70% of the trim for the dog.

The smell frying it up is, hold your nose! That gamey dear smell, yuk

Oh well, Dash gobbles it up like Caviar

[dodge456]

Hmmm, I keep the best 70% of the trim for the dog.

The smell frying it up is, hold your nose! That gamey dear smell, yuk

Oh well, Dash gobbles it up like Caviar

My dog is a 5 year old Doberman that we adopted in April, 100% positive he'd never had anything like that in his life up til now. I gave him a bone with a bit of meat on it from a deer while I was butchering this fall. He chewed it for hours then had the sh*ts for two days after that haha...so I don't think I'll be giving him any trim or fat at this point.

[Quince2]

Had one bad shot on a doe, totally unprepared, long story short... had a odor that only i caught, had deer processed, butcher(personal friend) said it was fine, everyone who at it said it was great, id get a whiff and mu stomach would heave, even the sausages. Only animal i ever had that with...
that being said a small strip of fat could easily produce the gamey flavor

[Pauly]

My dog is a 5 year old Doberman that we adopted in April, 100% positive he'd never had anything like that in his life up til now. I gave him a bone with a bit of meat on it from a deer while I was butchering this fall. He chewed it for hours then had the sh*ts for two days after that haha...so I don't think I'll be giving him any trim or fat at this point.
Don’t feed dogs raw deer bones or meat they can catch canine tape worms or round worms. They show up as round bumps all over a deers liver . Harmless to people deadly to dogs. The deer pick it up from coyote or wolf scat by browsing close to the ground. Then they get preyed upon by preadators and the cycle starts all over.

[Pauly]

Also the white cysts May or May not be visible in the deers liver.

[Ohwildwon]

Don’t feed dogs raw deer bones or meat they can catch canine tape worms or round worms. They show up as round bumps all over a deers liver . Harmless to people deadly to dogs. The deer pick it up from coyote or wolf scat by browsing close to the ground. Then they get preyed upon by preadators and the cycle starts all over.

Never heard of this.
What if it’s been frozen for a couple weeks like Sashimi?

[Pauly]

Never heard of this.
What if it’s been frozen for a couple weeks like Sashimi?
Good question, I’m not to sure on that one. I’d guess they are tough parasites like trichinosis. Freezing doesn’t necessarily kill those either. I found out about the canine tape/round worm from a doe we shot. Liver was gross so sent a pic to local biologist. He gave me the run down on it, except for if freezing kills it

[gunpower]

Hey all,

I hope everyone's season is going great so far!

I'm hoping to get some feedback/thoughts in regards to the deer steaks my husband and I had for dinner last night.

My husband's steak was phenomenal and the first few bites of mine was fantastic as well but on the next bite, my mouth was filled with that terrible musky/rutty/piss smell of a deer. I just about threw up. I instantly spat it onto my plate and the taste was still incredibly pungent. I actually washed my mouth out a few times and had to have a few sips of a drink to wash it out. It literally tasted like what a tarsal gland smells like. Needless to say, it ruined my dinner. At first my husband thought I was crazy. Admittedly, I have a tendency to over think these things and let them get into my head so I offered him my plate. He took a couple bites and said it was amazing then on the third, he spat it out. Same thing. We both love game but him especially. For him to taste the same thing confirmed I wasn't crazy.

This wasn't really a gamey taste, more of a gross rutting buck taste if that makes any sense at all? Between myself, my husband and my brother, we've consumed about 5 different deer in a few years hunting (we're still new) and have never come across this. My first buck a couple years ago was even mid-rut and super smelly and it tasted great. The buck that we ate last night was a young 2 point we harvested in early October this year. Not the least bit rutty and I had really high hopes for how he was going to taste. The worst part was that this was a back strap steak as well. Which is why the first few bites were so amazing.

How could the back strap of a young non-rutting buck get that taste? I'm really confused. Now, I'm generally pretty careful and clean when field dressing and this one was really no exception except that when we were finishing, I had slipped and stabbed myself deeply in the thigh (ouch). The next little bit was a bit of a gong show, between bandaging myself up, getting some help from some passing hunters to load the buck in our truck (priorities, right?) and getting to the hospital, I suppose I could have touched the meat with a dirty knife or something but I can't really wrap my head around it.

In regards to the meat, like I mentioned, it was a back strap streak and it was cooked (I know I'm going to get lambasted for this) medium well/well done. I know that game can taste poorly if over cooked and I'm trying very hard to convert myself to eating a better cooked steak. That being said, it has never happened before and it was fantastic tasting at first and my husband even agreed and he likes his steaks like a normal person haha. It was just those few bites. I've had some sausage and pepperoni from this deer as well and it's been great so far but I'm really paranoid about the ground and other steaks..

I'm really curious what others thoughts are on this? I had the same thing with a Mulie buck back in 1977, Had to throw out the whole animal because you couldn't even stand the smell of it cooking !!

[303savage]

I would think it was a shitty job if cleaning the animal. if some of it tasted good and some not good.

[Dash]

Fair points folks!

In regards to raw meat/bones for dogs, we feed our lab raw so he gets occasional deer scraps and bones. I've been taught by our breeder that it's best to freeze them for a minimum of 14 days first to be safe. What I've managed to read on the topic also aligns with this and he's been fine to date! Obviously things like bear meat are a different story though.

[tomahawk]

Transfer of external tainted gland smell to the inside untainted meat during field dressing and care, plain and simple

[stan]

Cows are quite tasty

[snipersights]

Was there any silver skin at all left on it?

[Dash]

Well I'm super sad to report that we just cooked up a pack of ground last night that had the same issue :( (We've had other packs of it that have been good so far) I could smell it right away but decided to just spice the crap out of it and cook it anyway. It didn't matter and it was completely unpalatable. Even made that side of the house stink like it... It smelled exactly like that deer steak tasted. I'm pretty bummed about it.. I feel awful for having to throw away meat we've harvested and I feel like a total f*ck up for causing it, if I did. Regardless, I've been watching countless videos and I'm definitely going to butcher my own next time. I'm hoping to still get out a couple times yet.. The good news is that so far we haven't encountered it with the pepperoni or garlic sausage we've had but I'm worried it's only a matter of time. :(

[dougan]

Well I'm super sad to report that we just cooked up a pack of ground last night that had the same issue :( (We've had other packs of it that have been good so far) I could smell it right away but decided to just spice the crap out of it and cook it anyway. It didn't matter and it was completely unpalatable. Even made that side of the house stink like it... It smelled exactly like that deer steak tasted. I'm pretty bummed about it.. I feel awful for having to throw away meat we've harvested and I feel like a total f*ck up for causing it, if I did. Regardless, I've been watching countless videos and I'm definitely going to butcher my own next time. I'm hoping to still get out a couple times yet.. The good news is that so far we haven't encountered it with the pepperoni or garlic sausage we've had but I'm worried it's only a matter of time. :( I’m still betting it fat. Freezer will amplify it.
Trim trim trim . You won’t ever regret trimming your own game.

[ratherbefishin]

Deer fat is generally not good,cut it all off .I do my own butchering and it’s not hard.Picked up a 3/4 hp Kitchener meat grinder from princess auto on sale for about $160 and it works just fine.When doing ground meat ,I add beef or pork fat from the market.I figure butchering is part of the experience ,I cut ,my wife wraps.She even did it when we were first married and she was pregnant,over 47 years ago, a good woman

[Arctic Lake]

Hmmm . I’m not so sure that silver skin would be the cause of bad taste . Silver skin is just heavy connective tissue that keeps different muscle groups separate and enables said muscle groups to slide with each other. Leaving it on would contribute to the meat being harder to chew that is why it is generally removed and with domestic meats mixed in with trimmings and ground .
Arctic Lake

[Arctic Lake]

There are some well pardon the pun “ seasoned hunters “ on here that would know what the cause is due to their own experiences . I have some ideas based on my experience with domestic meat . It could be how the animal was harvested ie. Did it die quickly ? Was the death prolonged ? I would imagine if the shot was not leathel the whole animals chemistry could be affected . When field dressed was the gall punctured and the residue don’t removed,what about a bladder puncture and not rinsed off .I do know that when processing hogs that were castrated late in life and were used for stud prior could be real rank in smell when the flesh is heated . No I never ate one but..... I have eaten a hog that had one testical that had not dropped and missed in castration and it was real pissy tasting ! A hog that is slaughtered like that is termed a Ridgling . With beef if the animal is overly stressed before slaughter it can result in what is called a fired beef , too much too write you could look it up .
Arctic Lake

[mpotzold]

Due to Eve's health issues I didn't go hunting this season:sad: but LT went & the group was successful in harvesting a couple good size mule deer bucks in our regular area(Gang-Big Creek):smile:
The fat was totally trimmed & LT told me that the meat was delicious (phoned last night)

So remember to cut off & dispose all the visible fat & clean the knife before cutting the meat.

[twoSevenO]

I’m still betting it fat. Freezer will amplify it.
Trim trim trim . You won’t ever regret trimming your own game.

X2 .... many people leave a "trim pile" for grinding that has waaaaaaaaaaaay too much gross deer fat on it.

Ground venison is one of my favorite ways to enjoy it and we make sure there is zero fat going into even the grind pile

[albravo2]

Tracy, don’t beat yourself up over it— it happens. I’ve had a few fish ducks that were not edible.

It may or may not have been something you did or it may be something totally outside your control.

Next year’s deer will make up for it, I’m sure.

[338win mag]

Take it all in and have it made into sausage.

[lowball]

Take it all in and have it made into sausage.

Read post 61. He said the burger was not edible. Sausage would suffer the same fate I would think. How about you?

[338win mag]

Read post 61. He said the burger was not edible. Sausage would suffer the same fate I would think. How about you?
The smoking will take alot of the "rank" taste out of it.

[ratherbefishin]

Once we shot a couple of mature mule deer in full rut,they were the rankest deer I ever smelled.anyway,we hung them for a couple of weeks and trimmed every bit of fat off,they were about the finest eating venison I ever had,not a trace of bad taste or smell

[wideopenthrottle]

Deer fat is generally not good,cut it all off .I do my own butchering and it’s not hard.Picked up a 3/4 hp Kitchener meat grinder from princess auto on sale for about $160 and it works just fine.When doing ground meat ,I add beef or pork fat from the market.I figure butchering is part of the experience ,I cut ,my wife wraps.She even did it when we were first married and she was pregnant,over 47 years ago, a good woman
back when I had a butcher, he suggested I use the WT Doe fat for my peperoni.... used all that trimmed fat in the double smoked peperoni he made and it was awesome...no foul taste at all and it saved me a few bucks for not buying pork fat...point being, i'm not so sure I would blame fat for an uneatable cut of meat

[lowball]

The smoking will take alot of the "rank" taste out of it.

The smoking would be in the garbage dump.

[Ltbullken]

Rapid field dressing, skinning, removal of blood shot meat, and cooling along with meticulous cleaning (hair, dirt, etc.) and careful handling after harvesting is a must. I will clean the carcass with water and a bit of bleach - recommendation from an experienced game butcher. Bleach in water won't harm meat. I will clean the carcass thoroughly once at time of hanging and then again the next day to make sure I got everything. If it is warm out, I'll get it processed quickly. There are butchers that bring their operation to your garage, etc.,. I prefer to use those butchers as then you can see what they are doing and make your wishes known at that time. I've shot rutty bucks before and they smell on the ground but once field dressed, the carcass should smell normal. If any contamination happened from the glands, bladder or gut, the meat will be tainted badly for sure. Also, if it was hung prior to butchering, the outer dried silver needs to be trimmed off or it will leave a bad/gamey taste. That's my checklist of things of what can go wrong.

[wideopenthrottle]

Rapid field dressing, skinning, removal of blood shot meat, and cooling along with meticulous cleaning (hair, dirt, etc.) and careful handling after harvesting is a must. I will clean the carcass with water and a bit of bleach - recommendation from an experienced game butcher. Bleach in water won't harm meat. I will clean the carcass thoroughly once at time of hanging and then again the next day to make sure I got everything. If it is warm out, I'll get it processed quickly. There are butchers that bring their operation to your garage, etc.,. I prefer to use those butchers as then you can see what they are doing and make your wishes known at that time. I've shot rutty bucks before and they smell on the ground but once field dressed, the carcass should smell normal. If any contamination happened from the glands, bladder or gut, the meat will be tainted badly for sure. Also, if it was hung prior to butchering, the outer dried silver needs to be trimmed off or it will leave a bad/gamey taste. That's my checklist of things of what can go wrong.

your post also reminded me of the piss bag ...it can get missed during field dressing and can contaminate later when butchering

[Dash]

Thank you so much for your kind words albravo!

Just another update: I tried another pack of ground last night and I could still smell it but not nearly as strong as the previous pack. I cooked it up and had some spaghetti and we weren't able to detect any taste of it! Super happy about that. It looks like I'm just going to have to assess each piece as I go but I'm really pleased that some of it has turned out ok.

In regards to some of your questions, I trimmed all fat and silver skin off the steaks prior to cooking but I can't say for sure what/how much ended up in the ground. I've tasted both before and although it's agreeably unpleasant, this awful taste was very different. It was a good boiler room kill and I was careful not to puncture the bladder etc. Although, I'm not sure about organs like the gallbladder.

Thank you again to those who've already offered their insight and another thank you to those who've just recently chimed in. You've offered some additional, helpful information that I hadn't thought of before.

I'm going to head out on a solo hunt tomorrow to try for a last minute wt buck so hopefully my next update will be that I'm butchering my own :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Tracy


Tracy, don’t beat yourself up over it— it happens. I’ve had a few fish ducks that were not edible.

It may or may not have been something you did or it may be something totally outside your control.

Next year’s deer will make up for it, I’m sure.

[Ohwildwon]

Rapid field dressing, skinning, removal of blood shot meat, and cooling along with meticulous cleaning (hair, dirt, etc.) and careful handling after harvesting is a must. I will clean the carcass with water and a bit of bleach - recommendation from an experienced game butcher. Bleach in water won't harm meat. I will clean the carcass thoroughly once at time of hanging and then again the next day to make sure I got everything. If it is warm out, I'll get it processed quickly. There are butchers that bring their operation to your garage, etc.,. I prefer to use those butchers as then you can see what they are doing and make your wishes known at that time. I've shot rutty bucks before and they smell on the ground but once field dressed, the carcass should smell normal. If any contamination happened from the glands, bladder or gut, the meat will be tainted badly for sure. Also, if it was hung prior to butchering, the outer dried silver needs to be trimmed off or it will leave a bad/gamey taste. That's my checklist of things of what can go wrong.

Yikes, why the hell would one ever use bleach, on food a person intends to eat?

When 10% cleaning vinegar is readily available?

I always bring a 2.5 l jug of Allens along with me.

Soak a clean rag with it to wipe down what's needed.


Usually water is enough, as long as one has enough of it!