Venison is a common subject of conversation wherever big game is hunted, and for good reason. It comes in assorted flavors— some good, some not so good. Many factors contribute to venison’s quality. Some of those factors are due to handling of the meat, but others are attributable to the animal itself.
A rutting animal often has a strong taste, as does a critter that eats certain plants for extended periods. An old animal is often tough, and certain parts of an animal’s body are always tough — regardless of age. Some people say that an animal that has been running a great deal just prior to the killing shot is gamey because the adrenaline affects the meat. I haven’t found this to be true though.
I’ve killed about 100 big game animals in North America over a 25-year span, and I’ve learned that it’s impossible to predict the quality of an animal’s flesh before it’s on the dinner table. Too many incongruous and unexplainable things have happened. I recently killed a whitetail buck that lived in a wood-lot adjacent to croplands. The deer had a regular diet of corn and alfalfa, but he was one of the gamiest animals I’ve ever eaten. I took all the usual precautions of dealing with the carcass, so I’ll never understand why his flesh tasted as it did. A month before that whitetail hunt, I took a big six-point bull elk during the peak of the rutting season. I expected the worst, but he was delectable. I killed a smaller rutting bull the year before, and he was on a par with the whitetail.
Many old-timers in the West believe that mule deer that feed on sagebrush and bitterbrush are not much in the way of decent table fare, but I don’t agree. Actually, both sage and bitterbrush are important winter foods for muleys and are responsible for winter survival throughout much of their range. Deer commonly feed on both plants extensively for many months of the year. The old adage: “You are what you eat,” might apply to humans, but I don’t think it relates much to big-game animals. I’ve killed and eaten many mule deer that fed on sage. Most are superb on the table.
Antelope often receive poor grades on the culinary scale, but rm convinced that most of those disparaging evaluations are due to improper handling of the animal after it’s killed.
The fact is: Wild animals are just that — wild.
In our society, we’ve been programmed to buy cuts of meat that are neatly wrapped in cellophane by supermarket butchers. The government inspects the meat and grades it according to age and quality. We know that veal and lamb is going to be tender and tasty, and we know that prime and choice beef will be most acceptable to the palate. A T-bone or sirloin will be of higher quality than a round or chuck steak, and we pay extra for the best cuts. Domestic animals are carefully fed and managed to produce marketable meat.
Everyone has different tastes. What’s gamey to one person might be delicious to another. Food preferences are essentially influenced by the brain. It’s a question of mind over matter.
Many years ago, when I lived in the East, I hunted with the same group of friends each autumn. We had a deer camp in the Catskills, and we annually held a wild-game dinner that we invited our wives to attend. Many of the women weren’t fond of venison, so one year we announced that we’d have beef for the wives and venison for the husbands. The beef would be recognized by the peas on the plates, and the deer meat would be accompanied by corn. The women enjoyed the meal and remarked on how considerate their husbands were getting in their advanced years. You’ve probably guessed the truth — it was all venison. The wives were blissfully ignorant and we all had a good laugh afterward. The ruse was successful, however, because several women realized that venison can be tasty if it’s prepared the right way.
Proper field care is the first step to quality venison. Quick field-dressing and immediate chilling of the carcass are essential chores. Once that’s done, there are many techniques to transform so-so meat into something desirable.
The following procedures are applicable to all big-game animals. For the purposes of this article, “venison” is defined as the flesh of any hooved animal.
Read Next: 9 Expert Butchering Tips to Make Processing Wild Game Easier
Aging
Whenever possible, a carcass should be aged. According to Don Anderson, who owns a meat packing plant in Vernal, Utah, aging does two things to meat: It allows connective tissues to break down, and it improves the flavor. He recommends aging a deer for five to seven days at 32°. Anderson’s coolers are closely regulated for temperature and humidity, but this kind of control is impossible in the outdoors or in your garage or basement. I hang deer and elk quarters for several days in my garage, or even from a tree branch if the weather is cool and dry.
As a rule, I allow meat to hang longer if the air temperature is low enough. If it’s warm, I might not allow the animal to age at all because spoilage occurs quickly. Be careful when the temperature tops 40 degrees, especially if it does so for long durations.
When you hang venison to age, first cut away all blood-shot meat around the bullet wound. Otherwise, the flesh in the vicinity of the wound will quickly sour. Give the rest of the carcass the smell test. Your nose will quickly pinpoint spoiled areas. Cut them away. If the animal has a heavy layer of fat around the back and hindquarters, trim as much of it away as possible. When you skin the carcass, use a stiff brush or damp cloth to wipe away wisps of fur. Every bit of hair must be removed, otherwise it imparts a bitter taste to the meat if it’s unnoticed while cooking.
If flies are about, wrap the entire carcass in cheesecloth or a similar material that allows air to circulate but will protect the meat.
Be sure that the meat is hanging at least three feet or higher off the ground if it isn’t in a closed garage or basement. Dogs and cats can quickly gulp down your venison.
Some big-game seasons are held while air temperatures are blistering hot. Antelope hunts, for example, often occur in late summer when the temperature is 90° or better. In the South and during early West Coast deer seasons, the temperature can get up to 100°. Aging meat is out of the question, unless you can get it to a cooler. Likewise, if you hunt a long distance from h( ;1e and must cut the meat up for shipm’” nt, you might not be able to age it properly. Your venison will still be edible, though you should make every effort to let it hang as long as possible.
Remove All Fat
Much of venison’s strong flavor comes from fat. Carefully trim all of it away. This effort is worth it and is extremely important.
Use a Meat Mallet
Some carcasses and cuts are so tough that aging does little to break down the stringy tissues. You can tenderize the meat by pounding it vigorously with a mallet. Cut the steaks into half-inch thicknesses and pound them until they’re about one-quarter inch thick. Don’t pound so hard that the meat won’t hold together.
Use Tenderizers
Several types and brands of tenderizers are available in grocery stores. They often work magic on meat that is tough and chewy. Try several tenderizers until you find one that you prefer.
Marinades
Garney cuts of meat can usually be improved by marinating them. As a general rule, vinegar, wine. cider, and lemon or lime juice are basic marinating liquids. Other ingredients can be added, and these will depend on your taste. Soy. teriyaki, and Worcestershire sauces make good additives, along with fresh chopped onions, garlic, and various seasoning salts. Store-bought Italian salad dressing makes a good marinade. I commonly soak meat in milk for several hours before marinating. I believe milk reduces the gamey flavor, as well. Whenever I make a marinade, I use whatever is handy in the refrigerator and cupboard, and seldom make the same marinade twice. You can buy ready-mixed marinades, or you can try one of the following recipes. In each case, place the venison in the marinade and turn the meat every few hours. Always use a glass dish, never a metal one. You can leave the meat in the marinade as long as you like-from three hours to several days. Here are three· recipes that will work well:
- Combine three-quarter cups red wine, one-half cup soy sauce, one-half cup Italian dressing, one teaspoon onion salt. one teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper. and one teaspoon garlic salt.
- Combine one-half cup salad oil, one-quarter cup vinegar, one-quarter cup chopped onion, 0!1e teaspoon salt. one-half teaspoon garlic salt, and two teaspoons Worcestershire sauce.
- Combine two cups cider, one cup vinegar, juice of two lemons and one lime, juice of one orange, one-half cup chopped onion, one clove crushed garlic, two chili peppers, two bay leaves, one teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper, one teaspoon salt. and six sprigs fresh parsley.
Grind Venison Into Burger
By having gamey or tough venison ground into burger, you can do all sorts of things to make it taste great. You can have the chore done in a meat plant, or you can do it yourself. Mail-order houses, kitchen specialty shops, and some department stores sell meat grinders. You can pay from $25 up to several hundred dollars, depending on the type you want. In addition, if you own a KitchenAid mixer or a similar appliance, you can buy a meat-grinding attachment.
If you decide to grind the meat yourself, trim away all fat, and then add proportionate amounts of beef fat. A 10 to 20 percent proportion is about right. For example, if you grind 30 pounds of meat, add three to six pounds of beef fat, according to your taste. Commercial packers will do this to your meat routinely, but it’s a good idea to check first and be sure that they do. If the burger has a distinct strong flavor, add various salts and seasonings when you cook it. I commonly use garlic, onion, and celery salts, and parsley and oregano flakes. Strong-flavored venison burger is good in meatballs, chili, and tacos because the gaminess is neutralized by the various sauces.
Read Next: Venison Recipes: The Best Wild Venison Dishes, from the Experts
Make Stew
This is a last resort for gamey meat that has you baffled. There are plenty of humorous stories about stew. Anything goes -including unlaundered socks, skunks, toads, and bats. Practically any meat will taste delicious if you cook it long enough and add plenty of yummy accessories. Each year, I seem to discover something hidden in the back of my freezer that is of questionable quality. Not to worry, however. It goes into the stew pot and no one is the wiser. If the questionable venison is a steak or a roast, I thaw the meat and cut it into one-inch chunks. After that, I use the same basic procedure. First, I use a heavy pot such as a Dutch oven, which won’t allow the ingredients to burn during several hours of cooking. I roll the meat chunks in flour, and brown them thoroughly on all sides in a frying pan with cooking oil. (You can also brown the meat in the bottom of the pan that you will later use to cook the stew in. Just remember to drain the pot of oils and fats before you add the liquids and seasonings.) As I’m browning, I sprinkle the meat with pepper, salt, and garlic and onion salts. From that point on, I use my imagination. You have to cook stew long enough so that it’s not tough. I figure about four hours is required to tenderize stringy meat. I waste nothing when I butcher an animal. Even the sinewy, tough muscles around the leg bones above the knees go into the stew.
Don’t be afraid to experiment and try different items in the mixture. If you have a little barbecue sauce, ketchup, or taco sauce left in bottles, put it in. A few healthy dashes of soy, teriyaki, A. l., and Worcestershire sauces work fine, as well as leftover soup and meat. Cut other meat up, whether it’s ham, beefsteak, pork, or whatever, and add it to the stew. Even leftover chicken or turkey can go in the pot.
When I cook stew, I put the browned meat in a heavy kettle that’s half full of water. I add two or three chopped onions, a half dozen stalks of chopped celery, a small can of tomato sauce, a package of dry mushroom gravy mix, a package of dry brown gravy mix, three beef bouillon cubes, and generous amounts of dried parsley flakes, garlic salt, onion salt, black pepper, and salt. You can also add bay leaves. That’s the starting mix. I let that cook for about one hour at a vigorous simmer, then I add the other ingredients. These include whole tomatoes cut in chunks, one-half a head of cabbage, a small turnip, and a chopped green pepper. At that point, I also add a cup of dry wine and whatever sauces I have handy, such as A. l ., soy, and so on. I also add remnants of ketchup and barbecue sauce bottles, and leftover meats and soups. After that mix simmers for a full two hours, I add vegetables that cook quickly-potatoes, carrots, peas, and corn. I add water throughout the whole procedure as it is required. After allowing the final vegetables to cook until soft, which usually takes 45 minutes to one hour, the stew is ready to serve. If you want to thicken the stew, you can add a paste of flour and water 15 minutes before you take the stew off the heat. Obviously, I cook stew by guess and golly, but it always seems to taste good.
Special Cooking Tips
Tomato sauce works miracles with gamey venison and neutralizes the strong taste. If you have some problem meat, brown it in cooking oil and then put it in a casserole dish. Add enough seasoned tomato sauce to cover the meat, put a lid on the dish, and let it cook in the oven until it’s so tender you can cut iI with a fork. You’ll be amazed when you try it.
Slow cooking in a crock pot or casserole dish with assorted creamy soups is another great way to produce superb meat. Cut the venison in chunks, brown it in oil, put it in the pot or dish with two cans of creamy soup, such as mushroom, celery, or chicken, and add chopped onion, chopped green pepper, and a few stalks of chopped celery. Toss in your favorite seasonings and spices. Let the whole works cook until the meat is tender.
There is no reason to waste meat or suffer through gamey venison. Some people have psychological hangups and simply will not eat wild meat. Those of you who aren’t paranoid about consuming the flesh of animals that live in the big outdoors can try these tricks in your kitchen. Don’t be surprised if finicky eaters in your household come back for seconds.
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