Field Dressing and Processing Deer

I am new to the forums and hope someone can point me in the right direction.

I have been hunting deer for many years and have recently started processing my own. I follow the gutless method of field dressing and skin and quarter the deer in the field.

The problem I am having is that I end up with pretty gamey meat.

I don’t think the issue is letting the meat sit too long or get to warm. Since I quarter in the field and pack it out I always have an ice filled cooler in the car to put it in for the drive home.

Once home I soak the meat for a hour or so in cold water to clean it off. Then I dry it and put it back in an ice filled cooler for 4-5 days. I put a bunch of ice on the bottom of the cooler, then the meat and then more ice and I drain it at least once per day.

After coming out of the cooler I bone it out, trim the silver skin and vacuum seal it for later processing. I do sometimes go straight to processing, just depends on how much time I have.

I have processed 4 deer this way. They are very tender but my family doesn’t enjoy eating them because of the gaminess. I don’t know if I am doing something wrong or if it’s just because of my hunting location and deer are living on browse rather than on corn and beans.

Some things I wonder about…

Should bone it out before putting in on ice for 4-5 days?

Should I hang the quarters rather than use the cooler method?

Does it need more than 4-5 days?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

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I’m no expert but never use water on your meat, it can allow bacteria to start to grow on it. If it is warm out get the meat below 50 as fast as possible, maybe take it off the bone and into a cooler/fridge….a couple days in the cooler to help tenderize it is good but not needed unless it is an old deer. I have cut many deer up the same day we harvested it and it was fine. I really think you are getting the gamey taste from the water though….all water has some bacteria in it and the meat gives it a place to grow.

Personally, I would never “wash” or soak the meat. Bone out the easy ones in the field, which would be the femur on the hind quarters. The front shoulders take time to do so I would do them when you got home.

Eliminate as much hair as you can. Cut out all bloodshot meat and discard.

In my opinion, if you’re going to serve venison steaks, it has to be served “HOT” and cooked no further than medium, at the most, medium rare is better. Have your family ready at the table when it comes off the grille.

I can eat a venison steak, but, even served hot, my family will turn their nose up at it because when you cut into a medium rare or medium steak and it shows some red, it turns them off right away, and they wont enjoy the meal. Our experience is that venison when cooked and cooled off gets an odor to it that is indistinguishable when served hot.

What Ive found, is that if I serve them chislic in bite sized pieces cooked to medium rare and served HOT. it will disappear as fast as I can bring in batches. This stops them from cutting into it to see that its MR, (or even biting a piece in half) and its served hot in bite sized pieces, so theres no downtime cutting it up with the knife which keeps it hotter going in.

Lawrys seasoning salt and venison go very good together.

Thanks for the replies.

Sounds like soaking the meat is where I am going wrong then, and maybe not deboning soon enough.

I will try that for the next deer for sure.

I agree on cooking temp as well. My family is all ok with medium rare to medium, it’s just the gamey taste they don’t care for.

I figured it was something I was doing wrong. A friend of mine takes deer for same general hunting area (Black Hills of SD) and he doesn’t have this issue with his either. He doesn’t quarter in the field though and brings the full carcass home for hanging.

It could be the diet that the deer are eating as you’ve mentioned. Corn/bean fed deer generally have a less gamier taste than deer that are not eating grain. Also, the age of the deer makes a difference too, as does the gender. Antlerless deer will usually be less gamey than bucks in rut. A young, corn fed antlerless deer is often the best eating. To me it sounds like you are taking proper care of the meat after you harvest the deer.

Gimruis – I am sure that is part of it also. It’s just so convenient to hunt where I do I hate driving further to find better feeding grounds

I may have to try that this season though and see if I can get on some corn and beans.

Barrertt wrote:

I am new to the forums and hope someone can point me in the right direction.

I have been hunting deer for many years and have recently started processing my own. I follow the gutless method of field dressing and skin and quarter the deer in the field.

The problem I am having is that I end up with pretty gamey meat.

I don’t think the issue is letting the meat sit too long or get to warm. Since I quarter in the field and pack it out I always have an ice filled cooler in the car to put it in for the drive home.

Once home I soak the meat for a hour or so in cold water to clean it off. Then I dry it and put it back in an ice filled cooler for 4-5 days. I put a bunch of ice on the bottom of the cooler, then the meat and then more ice and I drain it at least once per day.

After coming out of the cooler I bone it out, trim the silver skin and vacuum seal it for later processing. I do sometimes go straight to processing, just depends on how much time I have.

I have processed 4 deer this way. They are very tender but my family doesn’t enjoy eating them because of the gaminess. I don’t know if I am doing something wrong or if it’s just because of my hunting location and deer are living on browse rather than on corn and beans.

Some things I wonder about…

Should bone it out before putting in on ice for 4-5 days?

Should I hang the quarters rather than use the cooler method?

Does it need more than 4-5 days?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

If you’re into podcast, check out Meateaters, Red Cutter episode. They have a meat scientist on that explains how you should properly handle all types of meat. He also explains the hanging process and the importance of an animal going into Rigor Mortis.

We have butchered our own deer for years and I still learned a ton from that podcast.

Barrertt wrote:

Thanks for the replies.

Sounds like soaking the meat is where I am going wrong then, and maybe not deboning soon enough.

I will try that for the next deer for sure.

I agree on cooking temp as well. My family is all ok with medium rare to medium, it’s just the gamey taste they don’t care for.

I figured it was something I was doing wrong. A friend of mine takes deer for same general hunting area (Black Hills of SD) and he doesn’t have this issue with his either. He doesn’t quarter in the field though and brings the full carcass home for hanging.

this. I don’t quarter the deer in the field either. Gut it bring it back to camp and hang it. Depending on the temp it could be a week before I debon the animal.

I doubt your gameiness is from the deer’s diet.
I have eaten deer from farmland to the north woods and clear into the mountains. They all taste the same.
Most flavor problems come from field handleing, storage issues,processing,
and over cooking.
Drop the soaking in water and make sure you are processing as much red meat only.
Silver skin, tendon and fat will make the best venison taste awfull.

Tom schmitt wrote:

I have eaten deer from farmland to the north woods and clear into the mountains. They all taste the same.

If you think a 6 year old rutted up buck pumped full of hormones tastes the same as a one year old corn fed doe, then your taste buds are not working correctly Tom.

I also believe deer don’t taste the same. A nice young doe tastes good especially in farm country. I remember a trick from my mother was to soak the venison steaks in buttermilk then right to a hot cast iron skillet with some oil. Still try and keep the meet med rare.

I will definitely check out the Meateaters, Red Cutter episode. Sort of surprised I haven’t listened to that one yet, I have listened to many others.

The cooler aging process I am using was something I saw on muley freak website. He lets his sit in the cooler on ice and some salt for up to 14 days if I recall before processing.

I appreciate all the recommendations… deer season will be here again very soon and I hope to get my boys a couple deer and antelope if possible. Heck maybe I will even get to hunt as well

Has you family had venison that they have liked before? I know a lot of kids and women that just don’t care for the taste of venison. Also depends how you how eating it for example just throwing steaks on the grill or making sausage and adding pork and seasonings for flavor.

We gut in the field take home and spray the inside out with a garden hose and skin and quarter.

We let our deer hang throughout the whole season quartered up in a refrigerated keg cooler trailer so they sit anywhere from 1-7 days in the refrigerated trailer.

Good discussion on here. I really can’t pinpoint anything you are doing wrong. My friends and I use the gutless method as well and our meat is not gamey. We’ve harvested corn fed deer, deep woods deer, and some that have access to mix of feed. All taste the same. A 3.5 year old buck is probably the oldest we’ve harvested since hunting together. Fortunately all of our deer have died within a few minutes of being shot, so that might make a difference. This year was a warm year so we hung the game bags in the shade for 24 hours and then a refrigerated trailer at 34 degrees for 4 days, and then we deboned and took off the fat, hair, and silver skin. Rear quarters hang in their own bags and front shoulders we may double up depending on size.

10 years ago I hunted with a group of guys from Louisiana. Apparently they all soak their deer in water down there. I shot a mature doe, let it hang overnight, skinned and quartered the next day, and soaked for 48 hours in ice water. I still wouldn’t describe it as gamey, but it had a different taste.

I have 2 relatives that have given me all different cuts of their venison and sausage they make and it is disgustingly gamey. One hunts in SW MN and the other Bemidji. The one common thing they do is drives where the posters keep shooting until the deer falls over. I don’t think they clean the meat exceptionally either.

We have had some very good venison steaks and smoked tenderloins that we all enjoy. Unfortunately most of these have been at friends house rather than at my own. That is why I am trying to figure out what I am doing wrong with my processing.

Since I haven’t figured it out yet I tend to grind all ours and mix them into burgers with bacon and pork fat. We have also used some in chili and stew and that is fine. Those dishes are also pretty heavily seasoned so it masks the gaminess we would normally taste if fixed venison steaks.

Driving game is not really fair chase in my book and not something I am interested in. Only when archery hunting have I had a deer run on me before dying some distance away. All our rifle kills drop on the spot so no extra adrenaline from being chased.

Do you think they are “gamey” in comparison to other venison you’ve had? My wife thinks all plain venison is “gamey”, but she loves it if I marinate or do other treatments that mask the flavor a bit. I don’t think you are doing anything wrong, but I would skip the soak them in water step, and try and keep them as dry as possible. We gut out the deer, and usually it’s cool enough to hang for the weekend, and then bring it in for processing where it hangs in refrigeration for a day or two before processing. When it’s an especially warm year, we stuff the cavity with ice and try and get it into hang in refrigeration asap. And I agree all deer taste the same, an old buck will be a little tougher, but they are all delicious in my book!

Your initial process of getting the meat from the field shouldn’t be a problem. We do gutless quarter/loin packouts all the time here in SD on deer and antelope. I’ve also never had a problem with meat tasting gamey after soaking in water in a cooler for a day or two. I don’t do that much any more, but it’s never been an issue when I have.

I’ll bet money you’re over cooking the meat. You need to use a meat thermometer when cooking venison. 140-145 degrees is more than enough. If “bloody red” meat is an issue for your family, you need to prepare thinner steaks/chops, chislic as mentioned, or just start grinding it all. It’s taken my wife years to come around to eating any red meat that’s not medium-well. But put a properly seasoned and seared 140 degree venison steak on her plate now and she’ll be asking for seconds in 5 minutes. Same with my kids. (now I just need to hide the ketchup from them.)

Dont hide the ketchup. Dont know why everybody get so butt hurt about it. Thought my buddy was gonna cry when i asked for it with my prime rib. I just like the flavor. (Heinz only)

Reading the recent posts, I suppose it’s possible I am just not using enough seasoning on venison steaks and tenderloins. The gaminesses we taste is not overwhelming or anything, just enough that the family doesn’t care for it.

I will be upping the seasoning level next time I make steaks and see how that goes. I typically just use salt and pepper but have heard montreal seasoning is excellent with venison so I will definitely try that.

Pretty sure my internal temps are ok as I almost always use an internal thermostat. Although, sometimes I skip this when I am in a hurry so maybe I didn’t. I will definitely be checking that next time.

Thanks for all the comments and feedback. I have been on some other forum sites and people are just rude or simply don’t respond. Nice to find a good one!

Thanks for the response.

Maybe that’s it then and will try that for the next dear. I got the cooler idea from an aging post I had seen here.

The Best Venison Aging Process You’ve Never Heard Of

I suppose I could still do the cooler thing but just not soak it in water.

We skin and debone the deer as soon as we can,…no later than the next morning. I hunt on my own land so that’s easier than when traveling. I use as little water as possible to clean the meat. we’ve not had any problems even with rutting bucks.

Barrertt wrote:

I will be upping the seasoning level next time I make steaks and see how that goes. I typically just use salt and pepper but have heard montreal seasoning is excellent with venison so I will definitely try that.

My personal favorite is to season with S&P and a little cayenne pepper, and I dip it in BBQ sauce (the audacity, I know! ). Otherwise this cocoa rubbed recipe from Meateater is REALLY good and my wife likes it as well! The salsa is good too but not necessary.

https://www.themeateater.com/cook/recipes/cocoa-rubbed-venison-loin-with-an-avocado-strawberry-salsa