I see why some don't like deer meat.

[Blackwater]

Amen, 44man! You said a mouthful!

[MaryB]

You got that right! And why I buy beef from a local rancher who butchers at a local shop that only does 10-20 head of cattle a week. They age 2 weeks and the beef is grass fed until the last 4 weeks. Then the animal has a choice of grass or feed form grain grown on their farm organically! This beef is leaner than other beef but it tastes so much better than grocery store cardboard tasting beef! Friends had me over for a roast and I ate it and kept my mouth shut lol! It was edible but NOT beefy flavored.

[Lloyd Smale]

when I was a young lad my father had an old indian friend that would shoot a deer and hang it in his basement and scape the mold off of it as he cut enough for the day off of the carcass. Never killed him but he can have it.

I think deer meat can be aged like the most expensive beef. It is what we hunters have at hand that stops it. Cost and time is not in the back of our PU's. I don't have a walk in cooler or a basement under control with racks. Do the best you can.
What I can't stomach is rot and many people eat rotten fish. Just how bad can it get? Many cultures do eat rotten meat. They dump bodies in the river in India and drink the water. Sorry, not to be. Far east has rivers of oil, gas, muck and death and they live on it, wash clothes, cook and drink with it. They fertilize with human poop and feed fish with chicken poop.
We buy from China treats that kill our dogs. Fish with poison, even in a restaurant. False lobster and shellfish.
Be thankful you can eat good with a gun and care.

[borg]

I think deer meat can be aged like the most expensive beef. It is what we hunters have at hand that stops it. Cost and time is not in the back of our PU's. I don't have a walk in cooler or a basement under control with racks. Do the best you can.
What I can't stomach is rot and many people eat rotten fish. Just how bad can it get? Many cultures do eat rotten meat. They dump bodies in the river in India and drink the water. Sorry, not to be. Far east has rivers of oil, gas, muck and death and they live on it, wash clothes, cook and drink with it. They fertilize with human poop and feed fish with chicken poop.
We buy from China treats that kill our dogs. Fish with poison, even in a restaurant. False lobster and shellfish.
Be thankful you can eat good with a gun and care.

LOL, If I buy sea food of any kind, I check the label for country of import, If it's out of country, I don't buy.
Secret, If you thaw out shrimp, and is smells like shrimp, it's already spoiling. Fresh shrimp don't smell.

[MaryB]

I went to the local HyVee grocery store, they were advertising fresh cod fillets. I ask the butcher if I can see one closer so he put it on the counter on a sheet of butcher paper... I gagged from the smell and told him rather loudly he is selling rotten fish and needs to be shut down by the health department. He got all nasty until the store manager walked up and asked what in the hades is that stench? That butcher is no longer employed there!

[Lloyd Smale]

Have to laugh around here. The great lakes (out my back door) has great perch fishing and perch is considered by many the best fish to eat (not me). Ive gone to resteraunts and ordered what they called fresh perch off there menu and when it came it was ocean perch a totally different fish and taste and a lot cheaper to buy. I send it back and kind of loudly let it be known that there ripping people off. Fresh fish to me is just that FRESH. If its been on ice for a couple days I can live with that but it sure cant be called fresh if its been frozen and there aint no way there bringing ocean fish to Michigan fresh and selling it at a fish feed for 10 bucks. By the way if you get so perch off of fish fry one day and its a bit rubbery, kind of like the texture of imitation crab ect and its not real flaky you've been had. If you tasted fresh lake perch and ocean perch side by side youd spit the ocean perch out. Now that said ive never at FRESH ocean perch either. Anymore I just order whitefish. Theres not way to fake that.

[44man]

I grew up with lake Erie perch, fished about every day. Once in a while walleyes and blue pike. Then to ponds for bluegills and any sunfish. Cats and lucky to catch a spawning run of channel cats at the river.
I still prefer perch over most. Can't buy it here or catch any.
Lloyd, do they have blue pike left in any lake? Perch family, small blue walleye.

[Lloyd Smale]

We have northern pike and walleye here. I don't know if our walleye are what your talking about but then get pretty good sized. Most guys just eat the smaller ones and throw the bigger ones back as there not as good eating (still pretty good) and they want them to breed. Walleye out of cold water is very good. It tastes very close to pike out of cold water and if I could have any fresh water fish i would take pike. Problem i have is I'm just not that good fileting them and have to bring them to the neighbor to get them done right. Big old pike filet is right up there with a fat juicy t bone to me.

[MaryB]

Oh yeah I will take a northern pike fillet over any other fish. I grew up eating it at least once a week in summer. I just fillet it and leave the Y bones in. Once cooked they are easy to pull out.

[reloader28]

You guys are lucky. We have to go quite aways to get something other than these trashing stinking trout. Some walleyes showed up in the big reservoir by Cody and now the game and fish wants to poison the entire lake to kill out everything and put back in trout. They want nothing but trout.

[44man]

Blue pike were much smaller then walleyes, the name might have been a local thing on Erie. Once we could fill a boat with them using minnows at night. Never caught one in the day. Commercial fishermen went for them big time and they were in every store.
I think they are all gone now. The name in my fish book is blue pikeperch, only gets to 18". Waters of the great lakes. The yellow pikeperch is the walleye and related to the sauger, all are true perch.
Bowfin was called dog fish on the lake.

[snowwolfe]

The best deer we ever ate was one I shot, quartered and iced down and packed in a cooler within 2 hours of death. After this experience decided to never age one again.

[Lloyd Smale]

Got to agree on trout. Some around here really like lake trout but they can have it. Steelhead trout is lower on my list of fish favorites then suckers are. About the only trout that's editable is brook trout and even they are better served smoked in my opinion.

You guys are lucky. We have to go quite aways to get something other than these trashing stinking trout. Some walleyes showed up in the big reservoir by Cody and now the game and fish wants to poison the entire lake to kill out everything and put back in trout. They want nothing but trout.

[MaryB]

Trout greasiness and texture turns me off... salmon too!

[Lloyd Smale]

young salmon (we call them salmon jacks) aren't bad eating but you can have the big ones.

Trout greasiness and texture turns me off... salmon too!

[44man]

Same here with trout and only brookies in a frying pan. I had too many others that tasted like mud. I never liked salmon but a friend gave me fresh caught from Alaska, I cooked it in the oven like he told me and I was surprised. I like all smoked though.

[Lloyd Smale]

ya even big salmon and trout aren't bad smoked if you let them stay in the smoker long enough to render out the fat.

Same here with trout and only brookies in a frying pan. I had too many others that tasted like mud. I never liked salmon but a friend gave me fresh caught from Alaska, I cooked it in the oven like he told me and I was surprised. I like all smoked though.

[Shawlerbrook]

Another reason is that venison cannot be over cooked. Since it is a lean meat, if you over cook you end up with shoe leather or bad jerky.