Mule vs. White in taste

I don't think theres much difference. It all depends where they were harvested. A prairie muley may taste different than a mountain mule deer etc. The mule deer around here seem to have a slight sagey taste when compared to the whitetail. The most important thing is to be sure the carcass is clean of hair and bloodshot areas before butchering. Taking a few minutes to pick the crap off goes a long way in eliminating the gamey taste.
 
Heh.

Depends on what they have been eating, and the time of year.

Early season deer out of grain fields or off alfalfa crops, taste about the best. :D Couldn't tell the difference between Mulies or WT.

Cheers
Trev
 
I can tell the difference between a deer that has been eating grain or other crops and a deer that has been eating sage, but I have never been able to detect which species it is by the taste.
 
I prefer bush deer over farm fed deer. Can't tell the difference between mulie and whitetail though. A big rutted up mulie buck stinks more but once cleaned off and properly butchered tastes just fine.
 
I have eaten both in the last 3 weeks and in this area they eat wheat, barley, oats, peas and hay. With a little garlic powder I couldn't tell which was which!

I will say when we cleaned buddies mulie it stank!!
 
Mule Deer that aren't rutted up are fine table fair....doesn't matter what they eat.

I think people are put off by the smell these Deer emit when you get them in South Sask on sage bush&juniper berries. They stink like crap....and I think people translate that smell into what the meat might taste like.

Once they are cleaned and in sausage they are fine.

I also make a point of singing off all hairs, cutting off all blood shot meat and usually do NOT split them. Completely debone and trim all tallow and fat. Bone and fat/tallow is where off/wild taste will come from.

I usually don't eat the venison.....just all goes into sausage....back straps too:eek:....I know sorry guys but I prefer my steaks to be Beef, although Elk or Moose steak is a treat sometimes.:D
 
It's all in the cleaning and handling. I know several lazy hunters that don't field dress their deer. The carcass can ride around in the back of the truck for the whole day while they continue to fill tags. When they get home they hang them for gutting and skinning.
I always get the guts out of them as soon as I can and wash the body cavity out with clean snow. As soon as it's washed out, I pull the tenderloins out and wrap them so they don't dry out.
I cut one up for a friend last week that had been hanging for a few days and the tenderloins had turned to jerky :(

just all goes into sausage....back straps too
Click to expand...
Burn the witch :D
 
Of the deer that I've taken, I generally prefer the taste of mule deer over whitetail; as stated here, it seems milder in taste.

I've never had a bad tasting deer, or meat that wasn't handled with care.

FWIW, I also have preferred the meat from bucks to that from does, at least in the lean cuts. Burger/sausage/stew meat takes so much flavour from the cooking process that I can't tell.
 
Too many variables to make a solid statement like, which is best.
I grew up on wild game in northern, bush Saskatchewan. The meat I ate came from a very knowledgable meat hunter, who knew how to spot a good meat animal before he shot, and how to take care of it from then on.
We had delicous meat. If you have never eaten a dry cow elk, shot in September in a cold country and well taken care of, you just don't know how good game can be!
Yes, I mentioned a cold country, because that is of vital importance. In a cold country, with short summers and long winters, the game takes on a tremendous amount of fat in a short while. With moose, especially, the steaks will be mottled right through with fat, just like the choice beef steaks they tell us we shouldn't eat!
The moose of northern BC, the Yukon, and I suppose, Alaska, are absolutely choice. While, in many peoples opinion, including mine, the moose, a different sub specie, from the Kootenays of southern BC, are not good to eat.
I have had choice elk from Alberta and Saskatchewan. I was once talking to a person with a lot of wild meat experience. He talked about the great elk of northern Alberta. I asked him how he liked the elk in the Kootenays. His answer was short and simple. "They are not fit to eat."
I have really only touched on the subject of the taste of wild meat.
As I said, so many variables.
 
mulie in the rut , not so good, same for whitetail, get that extra tag , and bag a dry doe.
Now if hunting farm land, an early buck , prior to the rut, will be pretty awesome. Guess grain fed deer would also require less hang time, for the same results...
 
H4831 said:
Too many variables to make a solid statement like, which is best.
I grew up on wild game in northern, bush Saskatchewan. The meat I ate came from a very knowledgable meat hunter, who knew how to spot a good meat animal before he shot, and how to take care of it from then on.
We had delicous meat. If you have never eaten a dry cow elk, shot in September in a cold country and well taken care of, you just don't know how good game can be!
Yes, I mentioned a cold country, because that is of vital importance. In a cold country, with short summers and long winters, the game takes on a tremendous amount of fat in a short while. With moose, especially, the steaks will be mottled right through with fat, just like the choice beef steaks they tell us we shouldn't eat!
The moose of northern BC, the Yukon, and I suppose, Alaska, are absolutely choice. While, in many peoples opinion, including mine, the moose, a different sub specie, from the Kootenays of southern BC, are not good to eat.
I have had choice elk from Alberta and Saskatchewan. I was once talking to a person with a lot of wild meat experience. He talked about the great elk of northern Alberta. I asked him how he liked the elk in the Kootenays. His answer was short and simple. "They are not fit to eat."
I have really only touched on the subject of the taste of wild meat.
As I said, so many variables.
Click to expand...

+1

We had some Elk tenderloin @ Moose camp this year...did on a grate over top of hot coals and a little flame. It was tender, juicy and tasted great. Was a Cow Elk taken in early archery season....AWESOME!
 
With both a Mulie and a whitetail in the freezer, I would be hard pressed to tell the differnce. They were probably eatting alfalfa and oats. Vancouver Island elk are hard to beat - the closest to beef in texture. My brother claims mule deer are only fit for sausage as he objects to the taste of buck brush. Getting the guts out, the hide off, and a quick cooling are the best I can offer to good meat. Then there is the "down east" taste test comparing Beef to Venison . . . which typifies some "hntreus" treatment of game.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom