Deer meat from the rut

[Tim]

Got my first buck this year! nice 4/3. but forgot to take pictures before I cut him up and froze him. I'll post a picture once I finish mounting the rack.

In your experience whats the best way to prepare the meat? I got him on the 17th of december. I he doesnt smell to stinky, my buddy who helped me butcher him said he really wasnt too bad. but I think any help making him taste awesome would be awesome!

I figure not to shabby for having the reverse gear die in my vehicle at the beginning of october. So I've had to only drive to places where I can turn around in a feild or something. lol...

I'm hoping to find a white tail to finishing the year off. Any sightings south of kamloops would be more than welcome, (with a nice wide field hahaha ...)

[Spy]

Well if he has been hanging since 17th December he should be ripe!

[jeff]

Got my first buck this year! nice 4/3. but forgot to take pictures before I cut him up and froze him. I'll post a picture once I finish mounting the rack.

In your experience whats the best way to prepare the meat? I got him on the 17th of december. I he doesnt smell to stinky, my buddy who helped me butcher him said he really wasnt too bad. but I think any help making him taste awesome would be awesome!

I figure not to shabby for having the reverse gear die in my vehicle at the beginning of october. So I've had to only drive to places where I can turn around in a feild or something. lol...

I'm hoping to find a white tail to finishing the year off. Any sightings south of kamloops would be more than welcome, (with a nice wide field hahaha ...)

steaks i cut really thin and fry on high heat in butter and worchestishire,garlic and pepper.yum yum . roasts i stuff with garlic and spice accordingly

[Looking_4_Jerky]

Really depends how sensitive you are to the taste of "gamey" meat. I am personally very sensitive to it. Even animals that don't seem to smell bad on the outside I still find taste gnarly after cooking. It's got to the point where I've pretty much given up hunting mulies in the rut (after late October) and target elk, whities and moose in their seasons. Kinda presents an moral issue because I'd still take a poke at a booner MD if I saw one, but on the other hand my motto is not to shoot anything I'm not going to eat myself.

I have buddies who are much less sensitive to it and seem to have no problem making into peperoni and getting rid of it. I can still smell it in jerky and peperoni and can't muster much more than a small piece of either. Tried all the recipes in the book.

I hope your experience is different than mine!

[betteroffishing]

last nov 14 i shot a big ol rutting mule deer while hunting with my brother , we hung him at home antlers up , with his hide on and legs intact for about 7 days. we pulled his legs and glands first , washed our knives the skinned him out , butchered him into the pieces we wanted then made a sollution of 10-1 red wine vinegar / water, dipped the roasts / steaks for a min or so , patted them dry then freezer sealed them . the best meat weve ever eaten, both our families agreed on this. my thaught being that the vinegar beat up the enzymes that create that rutty flavor.

[Steeleco]

Cut and wrap as you would normally, the big stinky buck my buddy got last year was only stinky on the outside. The meat was great, as they all are.

[pete_k]

I got a stinker once.
My steaks are cut thick. I thaw them in the fridge and let the blood drain through a rack.
THen I marinate for a day. (1/2 cup olive oil, ginger, sage, salt peper)
I cook my steaks rare and these steaks were delicious

Just get the blood out of the meat and you should be fine.

[wsm]

are there buck open anywhere on dec 17?

[Steeleco]

are there buck open anywhere on dec 17? As were still in Nov it's got to be a typo!!!

[steel_ram]

The cooking in redwine thing works pretty well, otherwise, that's the meat you donate to the local wildlife banquet.

[RustyRipper]

How your animal is killed makes a great deal of difference to how it will taste. i.e. a deer that is wounded and chased down to death will be full of adrenalin and taste awful once it finally dies, contrarily a deer killed swiftly with proper shot placement will be splendid. As betteroffishing mentioned, make sure you clean your knife or use a different one before you skin it out if you cut off the tarsal glands. That's one of the number one reasons some people get stinky "rutty" meat. I was always taught to cut off the glands right away or they would ruin the meat. Now I believe this to be just a wives tale. I just leave them on, rather than risk cross contamination and I don't get bad tasting meat. Also I like to let rutty deer hang a little longer and age, the enzymes eat away at the fibers that make meat tough, this will tenderize your meat, remember most good beef is aged 28 days. Also most of the rutty flavor is in the fat so if you really don't like the ruttiness then trim as much fat as you can and eat lean. Anyway you like to marinade or dress it would be great, you can't beat wild game flavor! bon appetite!

[bosca]

I'm not sure what the variable is that makes some deer so gamey and others not when they are taken at the same time of the rut. I'm guessing the more there 'gettin' the gamier they get...

My favorite cooking method: cut meat semi frozen in to 1/2 inch cutlets, cover with a bunch your favorite spices (garlic powder, Greek spice, salt), tenderize with mallet, dip in egg, cover in bread crumbs and fry in olive oil until golden brown..."I don't care who you are that thar is goooood!

If that downs't work....Pepperonni and Jerkey.

[Ltbullken]

If it's field dressed and cooled quickly, kept clean and hung for a few days to cool internal temp and then butchered so that the dried outer surfaced and silver is trimmed, it should be fine. My butcher states that wild game does not have the fat layer on it to keep it moist for long hanging times (like domestic meat) so it dries the meat and causes 'gaminess.' From experience, I agree. I don't hang for long , maybe 3 - 4 days in a cooler then cut. Garlic and butter with salt and pepper, mighty fine.

[Tim]

are there buck open anywhere on dec 17?

haha, sorry I meant november. brain fart, I didnt go through time to get him. that would be cool though.

[Fall_Guy]

The gamey taste will come from the fat and the marrow in the bone. I always cut boneless steaks and trim all the fat. Also cooking with garlic and soya sauce helps.