Mule Deer Taste, Is it just me?

[teej89]

I took my first mule deer this fall, doe and buck. They weren't really rutting yet, just starting to. I took them home and was cooking up some backstraps, oil salt and pepper then I roast it in the oven @ 350 to a perfect 135ish degrees. Take my first couple bites, tender as ever(which was expected) but holy man talk bout a gamey taste that I've never tasted or had issues with before lol!

Is this just me or do other people feel this way?

Or is this like the pronghorn debate, I think they're amazing and best meat I've ever had but others say it's outright terrible, to those who do I say I'll take the meat lol!

 

[Carnage2011]

I feel the same way as you. I’ve tried mule deer several different ways and it always seems to be really gamey. So now when I harvest one I use it strictly for sausage. It works out well for me because I love elk and antelope steaks so I have plenty of great meat.

 

[MThuntr]

I think it all depends on a laundry list of potentials...individual animal, what they were eating, if they've been pushed, how fast the meat was cooled, etc. I haven't shot a mule deer in a few years but the last ones I did shoot tasted no different than the whitetails of similar age.

 

[1_pointer]

Mule deer are far enough down my preference scale that I do as Carnage does; sausage and jerky. I generally have a lot of other, better tasting options in the freezer.

 

[Bulldog0156]

I'm curious, if you throw it on the grill is it less gamey? The only time I had mule deer baked in the oven, I thought it was gamey.

 

[u1299]

I’ve eaten muledeer for over 50 years and it always tastes the same, ok but not great. Antelope is the best, whitetail good as well.

 

[hank4elk]

Depends on what it is eating.
Mulies eating black sage can make meat strong I have found.
Mulies eating acorns,mtn.mahogany & pinion nuts taste pretty damn good.

 

[HighDesertSage]

Salt/Fresh ground black pepper, grill it, and put a Terriyaki glaze on it the last 4 min of cooking. Yum

 

[teej89]

I'm curious, if you throw it on the grill is it less gamey? The only time I had mule deer baked in the oven, I thought it was gamey.

I was thinking this as well, but I like to roast my backstraps whole (I cut the strap into thirds). I'll give it a go on the grill and see how she turns out, maybe throw a sliver of butter on top of it after it's cooked.

 

[schmalts]

Like any other critter they will vary. The MD I shot this year pre-rut is one of the best deer I have ever eaten. I have had WT that were inedible, all killed at peak rut. I shot a Caribou that was inedible, you just never know. You know you get a bad deer when you would eat a Javalina over the deer.

 

[Nameless Range]

Whether a roast or steaks, I think Mule Deer tastes great. I think that like antelope though, it has a tipping point and is sensitive to factors that influence the taste of the meat.

That said, outside of a roast or two, we turn our mule deer almost exclusively into jerky. Between my folks and brother we did 6 this year. This is how I do it.

1.Use a meat slicer to cut the deer up into 1/4 inch thick slabs

2.Using seasonings you've made yourself or seasonings you buy(my favorite is Hi Mountain Hunter's Blend) mix the cure and seasonings together. With any seasoning packet I have used, I have found they claim their seasonings go too far. So in the case of Hi Mountain or Hi Country, if they say the seasoning is good for 15 lbs of meat it should be mixed with 12 lbs.

3. Into a 12 lbs batch, mix in 8 oz of honey and 12 oz of a dark beer.

4. Let it marinade for 2 days, covered and in the fridge, mixing once at the 24 hour mark.

5. Lay it all out on dehydrator racks. My father has 2 10-rack Excalibur deyhydrators, and a whole deer will fit in each. Before I dehydrate, I sprinkle some Hot Shot on the meat.

I have never shared the jerky with anyone who didn't like it or thought it was "gamey". I vacuum seal small bags and send it out as Xmas gifts which people have come to expect, and when I bring a few pounds into work to share it is all gone before lunch.

It's a good way to eat your mule deer.

 

[npaden]

I have a mix of mule deer and whitetail in my freezer right now. I would have to go look at the package to tell you which was which. I can't taste any difference.

I like them both. Steaks get grilled to medium rare with a tiny sprinkle of serendipity salt mix. Nothing else.

I can taste a difference between deer and elk and antelope. I like them all.

 

[teej89]

Whether a roast or steaks, I think Mule Deer tastes great. I think that like antelope though, it has a tipping point and is sensitive to factors that influence the taste of the meat.

That said, outside of a roast or two, we turn our mule deer almost exclusively into jerky. Between my folks and brother we did 6 this year. This is how I do it.

1.Use a meat slicer to cut the deer up into 1/4 inch thick slabs

2.Using seasonings you've made yourself or seasonings you buy(my favorite is Hi Mountain Hunter's Blend) mix the cure and seasonings together. With any seasoning packet I have used, I have found they claim their seasonings go too far. So in the case of Hi Mountain or Hi Country, if they say the seasoning is good for 15 lbs of meat it should be mixed with 12 lbs.

3. Into a 12 lbs batch, mix in 8 oz of honey and 12 oz of a dark beer.

4. Let it marinade for 2 days, covered and in the fridge, mixing once at the 24 hour mark.

5. Lay it all out on dehydrator racks. My father has 2 10-rack Excalibur deyhydrators, and a whole deer will fit in each. Before I dehydrate, I sprinkle some Hot Shot on the meat.

I have never shared the jerky with anyone who didn't like it or thought it was "gamey". I vacuum seal small bags and send it out as Xmas gifts which people have come to expect, and when I bring a few pounds into work to share it is all gone before lunch.

It's a good way to eat your mule deer.

Awesome thanks! I've never made jerky but I'm going to give it a shot this year. Can I use this seasoning/marinade with ground meat for the jerky as well?

 

[Brittany Chukarman]

I like it chicken fried the best. The burger coarse ground with 5% beef suet is also really good. Backstrap on the grill quickly seared and finished with indirect heat is also hard to beat. All from bucks killed in early October that are still in good shape.

 

[Walkathon]

I usually use my mule deer round steak, backstrap and sirloin for grilling or broiling steaks, or I slice thin and use in Chinese recipes, and I like them. The rest is ground into burger. I can't really taste much of a difference between the mule deer and whitetails I shoot, but I usually shoot my mule deer before the peak of the rut, this probably helps.

 

[Nameless Range]

Awesome thanks! I've never made jerky but I'm going to give it a shot this year. Can I use this seasoning/marinade with ground meat for the jerky as well?

You bet. For ground meat the seasonings will go a little further. Whole muscle jerky requires a bit more seasonings per pound.

 

[el unit]

Last year, I shot a white tail deer in our south pasture in early October. It tasted excellent! The year before, I shot a mule deer in the same pasture in late September. Yuck! Even the breakfast sausage didn't smell or taste good.
That was the only bad tasting deer I've ever had. I have no clue why.

 

[375H&H]

Was it a plains deer or mountain deer? The mule deer I have shot and eaten are really hit or miss with the mountain bucks being much better. That buck I shot this year smelled off while skinning, and tainted my game bags. Not sure why other than he was on the plains as he was shot in October and meat care was great.

 

[teej89]

You bet. For ground meat the seasonings will go a little further. Whole muscle jerky requires a bit more seasonings per pound.

Awesome thanks!

 

[Jamen]

I have never had an issue with the few I have eaten. One thing I started doing last year and this year once my deer is cut up I season the steaks with a few different seasonings I use. I like this 12 pepper roasted garlic the best season them real good and vac seal them and throw in the freezer. I have never had a deer steak taste as good as those do. They go over well ice fishing I bring buttered buns and grill to med rare. They fall apart!