Mule Deer Meat Opinions - A Poll

[rogerthat]

Total speculation here but I would assume that the stress on an animal at the time of harvest would affect meat tenderness and maybe flavor. For example chasing an antelope long distances before harvesting them or a mule deer that has really rutted hard. The couple critters I have had that were bad were handled exactly the same as all the others.

I think sometimes you just get a bad one due to what the critter had going on in its life at the time. I also think some people don’t handle them properly too if they are inexperienced. It’s hard to know for sure.

 

[np307]

Sample size of one for me, but it's a pretty strong one. I'll still eat the backstraps as whole muscle but the rest I'll grind. Having a toddler influences that a little bit because it's way easier to thaw a pack of grind and cook it on a weeknight.

 

[LuketheDog]

But distinctly better than a bad antelope.

Pronghorns are the most variable flesh in my experience. Some have been great, others quite poor.

Oh, definitely agree. I've had a couple antelope that were extremely strong tasting, like the dirt and plants they were living in, and I make a lot of effort to make sure my antelope get cut up and cooled down quickly in the field.

 

[406dn]

Oh, definitely agree. I've had a couple antelope that were extremely strong tasting, like the dirt and plants they were living in, and I make a lot of effort to make sure my antelope get cut up and cooled down quickly in the field.

I have never quite figured out why. One poor pronghorn was a maybe 12-13 inch buck that I watched for the last half hour of his life. He walked and grazed the entire time. I killed him very quickly, dropping at the shot. The weather was cool and the meat was given the same care as every other animal I've killed. Another poor one was standing at the shot, killed and into a cooler in less than 30 minutes.

The largest one I ever killed was very good.

 

[Irrelevant]

I did a blind taste test at work, hunters and non-hunters, mule deer, wt, elk, antelope, and grass fed beef, all ground with 10% fat. No one scored 100%.

Removing the glands on a buck is first and foremost, and has always been my speculation when people talk about bad tasty bucks/bulls. Don't touch anything that stinks, then the meat, not with your hands or the blade.

 

[MTTW]

I have probably eaten parts of at least 50 mule deer bucks. About 6 were nasty. All bad ones were older and late November. I don't believe it has anything to do with tarsal glands, I learned about them 50 years ago. I have never tasted a bad one from Eastern Mt even though some were old and late November. I have never been able to pinpoint what caused it but I have read that older bucks quit eating when they rut and young bucks keep right on eating. Maybe that has something to do with it.

 

[4ohSick]

I went with "It's OK" as well. I've had mule deer made by friends that was awful; however, I can't speak to all the variables like how quickly it died, how quickly it was cut up, what care was taken in the field. For my deer personally, all have been very good with the exception of my 2022 buck that was bad enough to push my evaluation of the species to "meh." The first shot wasn't perfect, but he was killed within 5 minutes of being hit and only went 200 yards or so, and meat was removed and cooled immediately. It was early rut, but he'd just been run off by another buck tending does so may have had adrenaline pumping from that. The meat was so stinky during butchering that I ground everything but the backstraps, and after eating the first backstrap steak I ground the rest of those too. I'm not convinced a single person would misidentify it as anything other than a rutted up mule deer buck upon taking a bite. Never shot a muley doe, just bucks and generally pre-rut to rut, so that could color my judgement.

 

[jpcoll01]

Sample size of only 1 LOL but couldn't even make it taste manageable as taco meat. He was pretty old and big bodied and had a fat cap like I have never seen on a deer 1.5" thick on his back. I didn't eat/grind the fat but wonder if that had an impact on the taste?

 

[Elky Welky]

Noted an enormous difference in flavor quality when I moved east from the Helena area: western MT deer had smaller bodies, antlers, and far more strong or "gamey" (whatever that means) flavor, and eastern MT deer had more fat and more mild flavor. I do think it depends on if they are scrapping it out for sagebrush in the high country or feeding on crop fields.

 

[88man]

some folks like gamey meat

 

[Bambistew]

Total speculation here but I would assume that the stress on an animal at the time of harvest would affect meat tenderness and maybe flavor. For example chasing an antelope long distances before harvesting them or a mule deer that has really rutted hard. The couple critters I have had that were bad were handled exactly the same as all the others.

I think sometimes you just get a bad one due to what the critter had going on in its life at the time. I also think some people don’t handle them properly too if they are inexperienced. It’s hard to know for sure.

This made me think of the two worst eating bucks I've tried to eat. Both were actively chasing does when I shot them, hard in the rut. The first we watched for about an hour before finally getting up to him to shoot. No idea how long he'd been at it, but probably all night. The second one was a similar situation. You could taste both of those deer through the jalapeno/cheese in summer sausage. It was awful. I've killed a pile of whietail bucks in similar situations, and they were fine eating.

This made me think, most of the caribou seasons are closed here during the rut because the meat is unpalatable. There is no debating it. Its flat awful. I've talked to a few natives who remarked that they will watch bulls during the rut and if they are actively chasing and rutting they will avoid shooting them because they will be inedible. The true rut is like 10 days, and the bulls will lose most of their spicy flavor in a week or two post rut. The lactic acid builds up in their meat, supposedly. They don't eat for 2 weeks more or less. I've sampled a few dozen of them starting from Aug all the way through early November. There is a marketable difference in meat flavor once you hit about Sept 10. I've never killed one between Oct 1 and 20th when the season is closed, but have shot a bunch on the 21 and they were far better eating than the Sept 10-30 bulls. A fat august caribou may be one of the best eating game animals I've ever had. Out of about a dozen everyone was superb.

The blind taste test would be interesting. I can taste the flavor of all them, whether knowing or not. I will say one thing, given the choice between MD, elk, whitetail, antelope in the freezer the MD is eaten last. Put some moose, bou or sheep in there, and its still last. A well cooked moose is almost indistinguishable from grass fed beef, IMO. I need to go get a moose roast out for dinner now...

One last note, I've considered not labeling the animal on the packages to stop high-grading the good stuff and leaving myself with a pile of lessor palatable meats.

 

[406dn]

I may or may not kill another deer. One thing that will be different than all of the other deer, is that the animal will get quartered and carried out by a horse. Having a horse(s) to bring the meat out has been a game changer. It is so much easier to keep the meat clean. My brother and I spread a tarp on the ground before we start butchering. The quarters and other cuts get laid out on the tarp. From there, it is into game bags for the deboned meat, and into saddle panniers for everything. Leading a horse out beats dragging or carrying meat out on your back.

There are so many variables, not everyone of them in your control, to getting an animal from the field to the freezer. I think most people do the best they can, but many times there are things less than ideal.

 

[noisy]

I can't add much to what's been said except I have never had a whitetail or elk that I didn't think tasted great, but I have had a couple mule deer that I did not like. And I've had lots of mule deer that were just fine.

 

[Elkoholic]

"I really like it" although only a small sample size of one from the Breaks and a mountain muley from NW MT, both ate great!

 

[Art Vandeley]

I had one that was completely rank and not edible. The rest have been very good. A couple small bucks from an alfalfa field might have been the best wild game steaks I‘ve ever had. Sample size is roughly a dozen

 

[Walkathon]

I know people that touch the tarsal glands with their hands, gut the deer, skin the deer, handle the quarters, etc..with tarsal gland stank on their hands, and you can smell it in the meat when they're done. I think people that aren't aware of what they are doing have this happen and the meat is "gamey". Not saying some deer aren't gamey on their own, but tarsal stank on and in the meat will make any buck gamey.

 

[MTLabrador]

Mule deer backstrap seasoned, dusted in flour, and pan fried, is my favorite wild game preparation. I love elk, I love antelope, and I’ve really enjoyed the moose and sheep I’ve eaten as well, I just like wild game in general. But mule deer backstrap is my favorite.

 

[MTelkHuntress]

Our family has never been great elk hunters but my dad could usually get a mule deer. I grew up loving it and still do.
A most recent comparison is a younger buck from a few years ago I shot. Very strong for some reason. My mom refused to eat it and she's the picky gauge in the family for wild game. I still enjoyed it and it made some good lunch bowls.

This year's buck was shot at the end of season, around the same time as the last buck. Older buck but not strong at all and just tastes great. I was very surprised since everyone had told me it wouldn't taste very good. My mom actually asks for some steaks so I know it's good even by her palate.
I might be a little selfish with sharing that deer this year.

 

[MTelkHuntress]

Mule deer shank (plus whatever other cuts of meat I threw in) tacos on homemade tortillas. I rest my case.