Why Does Deer Meat Taste Gamey

[Nick87]

Deer meat taste like deer meat, it ain't beef. Either you like it or you don't. It ain't rocket science.

 

[Pucky Freak]

I’ve seen a dramatic reduction in off-tasting meat since I started practicing better carcass care.

 

[ImBillT]

My opinion is primarily not cooling and not aging, and to a much more minor extent not bleeding. Shooting at least one lung and/or aging, seems to be good enough on the bleeding front.

 

[ImBillT]

Deer meat taste like deer meat, it ain't beef. Either you like it or you don't. It ain't rocket science.

I largely agree. Knowing it isn’t supposed to taste like grain finished beef goes a long way toward enjoying it. If you think it’s gonna taste like a feedlot cow, you’ll think something is wrong with the meat.

That said, once I started letting my deer age, it tasted a lot more like grass fed beef than it did before.

I have a friend in the restaurant business that fancies himself to be quite the chef/butcher/meat cooker. He was telling me about about the deer and elk that his wealthy neighbor gives him, and how he doesn’t really like it. I gave him some of my deer and elk, and he was floored with how much different it tasted, claimed it was better than high end beef, and begged for more.

So, I totally agree that deer and other wild game do not taste like beef, and nothing you do will make it taste exactly like beef, BUT, how you treat it can still make a dramatic difference in taste and enjoyment.

I started out dressing, butchering, and freezing my meat as quickly as possible. But now, I do it gutless, then, dry/cool it to 60-ish as quickly as possible, and let it hang or sit in a cooler with dry ice for 3-7 days. If I know I’m gonna try to do it in 3 days, I’ll let it hang in air well above freezing for at least 24hrs before I put it in a cooler with dry ice. If I know it will be 4 days or longer, I’ll go straight into a cooler and try to keep it 30-40 degrees with some dry ice if possible or frozen jugs/cold packs if dry ice isn’t easy for me to come by at the time. My meat was tougher and “gamier” when I butchered and froze within 24-48 hours.

 

[shootbrownelk]

What a mule deer eats determines how it tastes to some degree. I've shot some high country mule deer bucks pre-rut that smelled and tasted like crap. The meat stunk up the house when the meat thawed on the counter.

I have also shot big mule deer bucks that were feeding in alfalfa fields that tasted great, no smell and no gamey flavor. I never had a bad tasting elk or antelope.

 

[TOGIE]

deer meat doesn't taste gamey. that should be the entirety of that article, any other that follows it, and any that have preceded it.

it just doesn't.

 

[hank4elk]

Had some stronger meat from black sage country. Anything near the rut.
Never had that with most CA deer or southern NM. There is no black sage and acorns & pine nuts are the mast crop.
Never had bad elk I have taken care or or deer in many years.
Been given some meat that I had a hard time feeding to Rio. I always say I have plenty now, no thank you when offered any meat.
Well,not my buddies white tail he brings from the family farm in WI. Or the fish.Veggies....lol

 

[R.K.]

The absolute gamiest meat is an old male gray squirrel. Cooking one of those is a mistake few repeat, since you have to air out the house for several days.

I’ve found that aging the meat (not soaking) really cuts down on both the toughness and gaminess, but that’s not what we’re here for.

For deer? Bleed first- good shots to the vitals (preferred to leave the heart intact to keep pumping), no contamination from guts. Get it cooled down quickly- skinned is best, but you can gut & hang if you have cold moving air. This is how you prevent gaminess. After that, it’s about keeping the oils on the hide from contacting the meat in any way (especially with antelope).

Age for 48 hours minimum, 35-40 degrees- this makes the meat tender, as it first comes out of rigor, and then starts to break down muscle fibers. Warmer aging speeds up the process, but also accelerates spoilage from bacterial growth. It’s trade off based on your schedule and equipment available.

Remember- most beef you get has been dead for a couple weeks before you get it. Keep that in mind when comparing it to game meat.

 

[hank4elk]

I have not bled out an animal since I raised them. Shoot them in the heart lungs now. They are bled out...

 

[FI460]

Beef doesn't taste like much of anything and that's what Americans are used to. I've had people tell me that domestic goat and sheep taste gamey. Not sure how that can be since they aren't game animals...

Gamey: a word that folks use to describe meat that actually has flavor, regardless of it's origin.

 

[LopeHunter]

Here you go!

"Papilla is the little bumps that we all have on our tongues. People who have a ton of bumps usually find flavors to be too much and don’t like the taste of things, LIKE ME. We have sensitive tongues so we like things mild and toned down. While people who do not have a lot of bumps on their tongue like spicy things and their tongues can handle foods like that. Another factor in liking different tastes has to do with the tongues taste bud’s ability to detect molecules in the food. Everyone can recognize the 5 tastes, but the different chemicals that we all have can make the range of those tastes differ."

Super Taster in the house!

 

[Scott85]

Deer meat taste like deer meat, it ain't beef. Either you like it or you don't. It ain't rocket science.

You will like this; I had someone call duck slimy the other day.

 

[Nick87]

You will like this; I had someone call duck slimy the other day.

Diver?

 

[hank4elk]

Because most chicken tastes like everything, tofu included.

 

[Scott85]

Diver?

Nope farm raised restaurant served duck.

 

[brocksw]

My default reaction when someone complains about wild game meat.

 

[jtm307]

I've never killed a mule deer that tasted gamey. I've also never killed a mule deer past late October.

 

[mottlet]

I've attended the death of a fair representation of east coast whitetails, from suburban fawns to November Appalachian bucks, and they pretty much all tasted like deer. My only mule deer kill came last November and that buck tasted like...deer.

I'm not an expert on elk, but every one I've eaten was good, better than deer to a palate like mine. But could easily see where somebody that only ate Kroger cow meat couldn't differentiate. Also bet that I could have slightly improved all of that elk meat by butchering it myself instead of hauling it off the mountain straight to processors and rushing back to the woods.

 

[steveshuntn1]

Last fall I killed a wild hog that had been gorging on white oak acorns. Had him on a trailcam under a bunch of white oaks for a couple weeks before I killed him. I made breakfast sausage out of the meat and it’s the best I’ve ever eaten. So it’s all about what they’re dining on. I like game to taste like game though…if I want a supermarket meal I’ll go to the grocery store.

 

[88man]

I met a guy "Wild Bill" in the wagon wheel in Mesa Colorado heck this had to be 15 years ago he asked for some deer meat as he said he fell on some hard times any way he said he Likes his meat gamey. He then tells me he knows the spot where G&F throws road kills over a bank for disposal and he goes there for the aged meat says its awesome with rice & beans.