whitetail, after the shot, how to handle meat？

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xingyc

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I started hunting in the past two years, I find my whitetail meat is gamey and full of blood. Can someone share how to improve the taste of whitetail meat?

Here is how I handle my meat, after I shot my deer, usually I can get the deer in my car within 1 hour, and drive home in 1-2 hours. I don't gut or skin the deer because I am worried about contamination. After I get home I hang the deer, gut, skin, cut up the meat, remove most silver skins within 4-5 hours. the meat gets into freezer within 6-7 hours of the deer's death.

I think the meat is gamey due to the amount of blood in the meat, every time I take the meat out of the freezer, there are massive amount of blood after the meat defrosts in the fridge. how do you remove blood from your meat?
 
Field dress asap then you can process the rest later. I field dress where it was shot, then hang for a while before skinning. Have you had other venison that tasted different? Maybe all of it tastes this way to you?

North
 
cool the meat ASAP after the kill
this means gut the deer at once, then skin it and bag the meat in cheesecloth bags
if it's cool outside you can hang the bags in the breeze
if it is warm, consider cooling the meat in a cold lake/creek or with ice
this should reduce the gamey taste
 
When I shoot a deer I gut it as soon as it is dead..mere minutes..i don't wait around. Last deer I shoot this fall was dead, gutted and in the truck within 15mins of pulling the trigger. I even made it back home before the sun went down!
 
I gut and clean ASP... take it home and cut it up, debone right away and like OP usually have it in the freezer within 4-5hrs after the shot..... Don't have any game taste to it all.
I remove as much fat as possible during the initial cutup before going into the freezer. I think gamey taste comes from not cooling down quick enough and not removing the fat before freezing/cooking... Plus you must make sure you clean the animal well especially if it hit the stomach......
A lot of that blood looking liquid that you see after defrosting may be the juices from the meat, may not be the blood as most of the blood would have been removed during the kill? (I guess depending on shot placement)...
Don't overcook it either...some pink in the middle is good
 
xingyc said:
I started hunting in the past two years, I find my whitetail meat is gamey and full of blood. Can someone share how to improve the taste of whitetail meat?

Here is how I handle my meat, after I shot my deer, usually I can get the deer in my car within 1 hour, and drive home in 1-2 hours. I don't gut or skin the deer because I am worried about contamination. After I get home I hang the deer, gut, skin, cut up the meat, remove most silver skins within 4-5 hours. the meat gets into freezer within 6-7 hours of the deer's death.

I think the meat is gamey due to the amount of blood in the meat, every time I take the meat out of the freezer, there are massive amount of blood after the meat defrosts in the fridge. how do you remove blood from your meat?
Click to expand...

One advantage of shooting the deer just above the heart, and through the lungs, is that the resulting bleed out is very beneficial to meat quality. If the heart is left intact, it will pump for several seconds, spraying blood out the wound to help in trailing, and filling the chest cavity with blood that will require "dumping" out as you immediately gut the animal. Immediately.

Then hang as long as is practical in your situation before butchering.
 
Gut it immediately. Number one rule. When you get it home wash it out, then wipe the inside down with vinegar to kill bacteria.

Post processing, marinating in soya sauce does wonders for removing strong game taste, and couldnt be simpler.
 
I would gut the animal ASAP to move along the cooling of the carcass which is very important especially in warmer conditions. I had my white-tail cleaned this year 10 or 15 mins after I harvested it. It is the first thing I do. I think there is little risk of contamination if you are reasonably careful.
If you leave the skin on until you get home it keeps it much cleaner while your dragging the animal out and as well in your truck on the drive. Prop the chest cavity open with a stick to help the cooling.
I would consider hanging the animal for at least a few days if you have a place to do so and temperatures allow. Hanging will help in tenderizing and aging the meat and as well can mellow the flavor.
 
Get the guts out....skin off...and into game bags ASAP...like within an hour of pulling the trigger.

A young buck taken out of Rut is absolutely great table fare!
 
xingyc said:
I started hunting in the past two years, I find my whitetail meat is gamey and full of blood. Can someone share how to improve the taste of whitetail meat?

Here is how I handle my meat, after I shot my deer, usually I can get the deer in my car within 1 hour, and drive home in 1-2 hours. I don't gut or skin the deer because I am worried about contamination. After I get home I hang the deer, gut, skin, cut up the meat, remove most silver skins within 4-5 hours. the meat gets into freezer within 6-7 hours of the deer's death.

I think the meat is gamey due to the amount of blood in the meat, every time I take the meat out of the freezer, there are massive amount of blood after the meat defrosts in the fridge. how do you remove blood from your meat?
Click to expand...

Get it cooled down ASAP, let it age. My deer doesn't head to the butcher shop for at least a week minimum. Your best beef is aged 28 days, not sure why guys are scared to let their deer hang awhile
 
Like everyone has said, gut ASAP and skin if possible. If you cannot let your whole carcass hang because of temperature being too high or low, or lack of place to hang the deer, get meat tubs and you can "age" the deboned meat in a fridge.
 
I have a limited experience of three deer but have had good success with the following. Field dress right after kill. I like to use the Outdoor edge swing blade and saw plus the steel sticks for holding open the chest cavity. When I get home I skin the deer. Followed by a propane torch lightly passed over the carcass which burns any stray hairs (makes a snapping noise). Then wash it inside and out with a hose which removes any remaining blood and any burnt hair debris. Then I let it hang three days before butchering (temperature dependent). Hanging has the same purpose as hanging beef.
 
One more thing I have come to believe is that you get the best meat from deer that had no idea you were there until the shot. The psychological state of the animal can have an effect on meat quality; you want calm, relaxed animals if you can manage it, and a clean kill.
 
Gut immediately, hang the critter, prop open the cavity and split the pelvis and prop it open and we never bother to skin until butchering day and we will never butcher a deer unless it has hung a minimum of 36 hours for the rigormortis to go out of it.

When you do skin DO NOT run your knife through a tarsal gland and use it further it will give a tarsal taste to everything you touch. As far as hanging goes lower temps are definitely better but a cool dry place, with no flys that cools off at night will work.

Skin it, bone it, trim to your liking and bag We shoot mature deer every year and never have a gamey taste. Yes you can smell a buck by the meat, slightly stronger, but never any taste.
I agree if you have touched the gut with either the shot or knife vinegar is your best friend
 
White tail deer is one of the less gamey animals around in my experience. After the animal is shot it is gutted ASAP avoiding contact with scent glands, I bring a water jug along to wash out the cavity, then it is a short drive to the cabin where scent glands are removed (again without contacting the meat) then it is hung ass up, carcass completely hosed out thoroughly with water provided the exposed meat has not started to get a dry skin on it. This also helps with cooling. Then it is skinned and left hanging provided outdoor temperature is low enough to prevent spoiling
 
I gut asap, then get it home or back to camp hang and skin it . The skinning is much easier when done while the deer is still warm. Depending on how cool or warm it is I will let it hang between 1 & 2 weeks.
 
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