“I don’t like game meat”

[mtmuley]

As mentioned in the post...a double lung shot is a good start. The heart will pump a lot of blood into the chest cavity. Brining is a good assist. Any sort of soaking works, but I prefer an overnight brine, wet or dry, without water changes. It reduces the amount of blood that remains in the meat without washing out all the flavor that you can wash out with too many water changes. If the animal was double lunged and other meals from it didn’t taste or smell particularly gamey, I’ll go with a dry brine more often than not. A brine isn’t a bad idea on any piece of meat wild or otherwise. Although the salt will pull some moisture from the meat, the moisture that remains is less likely too cook out, and you’ll end up with a juicier finished product.

Also mentioned, commercially slaughtered animals are usually hung and bled(throats slit) while the heart is still beating. This reduces the amount of blood in the meat considerably, and is one of the biggest differences between commercially slaughtered meat and wild harvested meat.

Heart, head, spine, and gut shots leave a lot more blood to coagulate in the meat and usually taste more “gamey”.

Ummmm… No. mtmuley

 

[ImBillT]

Ummmm… No. mtmuley

Believe what you want.

 

[jeremys4]

We always hang deer and lambs a week elk 2 weeks. I love eating mule deer but I hunt in September so the meat usually a lot milder.

 

[BearFoot]

It all starts in the field.

 

[VAspeedgoat]

My friend who eats wild game almost exclusively says he hangs deer not as much to age but to let the "blood get out." He debones and hangs everything but the backstraps and tenderloins. He puts them in an old grill because it's harder to hang. He lets it all hang till it's dang near black. Looks terrible but once you slice off the black layer I will have to say it does seem to taste better. Our temperatures and humidity usually keep me from hanging mine, so I use a refrigerator but it doesn't seem to be the same. There deffinitely seems to be something with the blood. I think the gutless method does a good job of this as well.

 

[dirtclod Az.]

\

Sooooo… how do you get blood out of the meat? mtmuley

It's easy if you own a pet Chupacabra...Ha!,Ha 〽

 

[chuckchili]

I'm not sure where I land on this topic- I have not had a piece of wild game that I haven't enjoyed. The first bite of wild meat I remember ever having was pronghorn and I thought it might be the best meat I have ever had. I got a mule deer this year and dry-aged the quarters but not the backstraps or tenderloins and they all tasted very good. I try to tend to it properly in the field which I know is important but bled out or not, I seem to really enjoy it all. Who knows, maybe I'm just a fat ass.

 

[noharleyyet]

All it takes is one gamey bite and people will tell everyone they know..

 

[Edwin]

I’ll make sure to post recipes on the thread in the future.

I want the wellington recipe

 

[zpooch]

You just need to let them bleed out in the fridge when you thaw the individual packs of meat. That reduces a lot of gamey flavor

 

[PaulRevere]

I always opt to cook game meat like anything else. Below are some examples. Friends and family are always very satisfied and there is never a concern about the way the meat tastes.

Elk enchiladas

Bear sausage biscuits and gravy

Elk tenderloin w/ crab from the san juan's

Elk steaks stuffed with prosciutto and goat cheese, topped with red wine morels

Elk steak salad

Elk tamale pie with homemade cornbread

Elk taquitos

 

[Dave N]

Just had some venison lasagna for lunch at work and I'm drooling all over my laptop looking at those pics!

 

[Mallardsx2]

Off topic but if someone could please tell me how to cook a pork loin on the traeger without drying it out completely, I would appreciate it. It was my first failure on the traeger lol. It was edible. But she was dry as a popcorn fart. Pork loins are my nemesis.


Nice pictures and presentation to the OP!!!!!

 

[chuckchili]

When I want to keep stuff juicy on the smoker, I completely wrap in bacon. Antelope roast and elk heart comes out very nice. And you can eat the wrapping

 

[BuzzH]

Believe what you want.

Its called science...there isn't blood in muscle tissue, its myoglobin.

Google it.

 

[JLS]

There's a little bit of pseudo science rolling around in this thread.

 

[JLS]

Off topic but if someone could please tell me how to cook a pork loin on the traeger without drying it out completely, I would appreciate it. It was my first failure on the traeger lol. It was edible. But she was dry as a popcorn fart. Pork loins are my nemesis.


Nice pictures and presentation to the OP!!!!!

use your thermometer and pull it at the right temperature, then wrap it up and let it rest for 20-30 minutes.

 

[dgc1963]

Tam and I eat venison yr round if I get 2 deer and enjoy it made many ways
I am almost 100% a bow hunter and worked on a farm as a teenager we butchered steer and hogs and was always told that adrenaline causes latic acid to build up in meat if an animal is stressed when being put down. So I have always thought a quick clean harvest makes a big difference in how the meat will taste. Did it take a few jumps and fall over or run like crazy for a mile, no idea if its true or not but most of my bow kills they just take a few big jumps and fall over ( most of em lol) and dont think venison is gamey at all

 

[backcountry_sassn]

There's a little bit of pseudo science rolling around in this thread.

Amen!!!! Just cook it right and it will taste good. I don’t bleed out anything other than shoot it, and I don’t age anything. Most of the meat is wrapped and in the freezer within a day or two. Take your time cleaning it, cool it down quick, and cook it right. That’s all it takes. No need to over complicate it.

 

[Jc2020]

I always opt to cook game meat like anything else. Below are some examples. Friends and family are always very satisfied and there is never a concern about the way the meat tastes.

Elk enchiladas
View attachment 131203
Bear sausage biscuits and gravy
View attachment 131204
Elk tenderloin w/ crab from the san juan's
View attachment 131205
Elk steaks stuffed with prosciutto and goat cheese, topped with red wine morels
View attachment 131206
Elk steak salad
View attachment 131207
Elk tamale pie with homemade cornbread
View attachment 131208
Elk taquitos
View attachment 131210

That all looks amazing