what to do with fresh venison

[farmbif]

well I finally did it, got me a nice doe today. I'm really not much of an experienced deer hunter so I let my neighbor help dress it out and we cut it up and gave them half. not much room in the fridge and no place to hang it where wild critters would not get at it. so I cut the half in a 3 pieces ribs and hind quarter and shoulder and put in bag in a cooler with couple bags of ice. tomorrow what should I do? some say cut out back strap cut the rest thin and make jerky. season and smoke the ribs? I got the head in a bag and that I was gonna give to the dog to chew on.
some say the meat has to age a week or more to be any good. I'm no expert but I know there are lots here that have more experience than I could ever dream of having.

[hawkenhunter50]

Aging is good, but have got some where I didn't have the time or weather to age, and it turned out good too. Being a doe probably even better chance of it being good. Backstraps are good deasoned and fried in a cast iron skillet. Jerky is also great, just made a 13 lb batch over Christmas. Roasts are another good way to go. Can make them in the crock pot with veggies or can also corn them and make corned venison reuben sandwiches, which are excellent.

[John McCorkle]

It will be good no matter when you process it up....

However, when you age it like you are (exact process I use actually) it does taste better after a week or so. Keep fresh ice on it and open the drain plug....put a block on the other end to let the bloody water drain. Oh, btw that water that drains out of the cooler onto the ground will sour/smell if you have any weather above 45 degrees or so just to let you know.... nothing wrong just keep it rinsed off or cleaned and you won't have any issues. Do keep fresh ice if needed....don't let it get above 38 or 40 degrees in the cooler...I just keep ice on it and as it melts I add more.

The work starts here, there is alot to do to process it but nothing fancy is needed, just a sharp knife, a large cutting board and some time.

Congratulations! Venison is by far my favorite meat. It's lean but man it's healthy...tastes great and very versatile.

When you go to process make sure all your surfaces and utensils are clean...wash your hands regularly and take your time. You can even save the bones and roast them to make a really really good broth.

It's an honor and a blessing to process the meat you kill. Enjoy the work....it's good honest and honorable labor.

Congrats again

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[cwtebay]

Whoever decided ageing game idea is a fool. Ageing is designed to break down muscle fibres and incorporate fat into the muscle. There is NOT intramuscular fat in any game animal - period ( unless you are hunting in a feedlot?!?!!) Hang / age for 48 hours or less. Cut out the tenderloins now, backstraps tomorrow. Slice them into 3/4" steaks, prepare as you wish (olive oil rubbed in, cast iron pan,.cook high and hot until 140° internally.....rest..... delicious!!!). Rest of the carcass - cut every cubic millimeter from the bone, put it in bags and freeze it until you have time to deal with it rightously.

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[HWooldridge]

I grind everything and make sausage or use it for anything that you’d normally do with ground beef. I have a big Hobart commercial grinder so it’s quick work.

I buy a boneless Boston butt at the local butcher and grind the two meats separately through the 1/2” plate then mix both thoroughly and grind again through the 1/8” plate. You can add seasoning before final grind or leave it out. I never preseason because I use it for so many dishes.

Very few people can tell me that it’s something other than beef…I made enchiladas over Christmas and they tasted like restaurant fare.

[cwtebay]

I grind everything and make sausage or use it for anything that you’d normally do with ground beef. I have a big Hobart commercial grinder so it’s quick work.

I buy a boneless Boston butt at the local butcher and grind the two meats separately through the 1/2” plate then mix both thoroughly and grind again through the 1/8” plate. You can add seasoning before final grind or leave it out. I never preseason because I use it for so many dishes.Heck yeah!! What this guy said^^^^^^

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[Markopolo]

i pretty much live on Venison! I love it, and we cook it for everything. one of my favorites is grab a large chunk of whatever cut with the bone in, throw it in a large crock pot my wife has, open a jar of stewed tomato and throw it in with some salt and pepper and whatever you like.. let it simmer all day.. be sure to cut the ball off the bone so the marrow also gets cooked down.. about 5 to 6 hours later the whole house will smell like goodness.. sometimes we add whatever taters and such that we have available and wowza..

[GregLaROCHE]

Those hams can make great oven roasts. Cover with bacon to keep from drying out. Add whatever herbs and spices you normally like to use. Don’t overcook! I would always invite friends over, because it was a lot to eat for a small family. Put what’s left over in the fridge and use for sandwiches the same as roast beef.

If you have a lot of meat to process, make sure you are working at a counter top height. Bending over a kitchen table gets tiring fast. We used to have wooden blocks to put under the kitchen table legs to raise it up. Cut everything into portion size before freezing. Vacuum sealed is great, but butcher’s paper still works fine. I wouldn’t use aluminum foil or plastic wrap for freezing. Mark what cut it is and put the date on it. Enjoy!

[Silvercreek Farmer]

1000 ways to cook deer meat but this is what I would do: Grilled or panfried backstrap is a mighty fine meal. Hams make the easiest jerky. Throw the shoulder in a slowcooker with some salt, pepper, and a healthy splash of vinegar, cook until it pulls apart then top with your favorite bbq sauce. I usually trim the fat and sinew out of rib/belly meat and grind, but absent a grinder you can make make decent stew meat.

[fiberoptik]

Can always “can” it. Did one once. Took a couple quarts to Mexico. Told my brother in law it was Bambi. He asked me to bring all his cartoon friends next time. Great with mashed potatoes and cream of mushroom soup for gravy.


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[John McCorkle]

Whoever decided ageing game idea is a fool. Ageing is designed to break down muscle fibres and incorporate fat into the muscle. There is NOT intramuscular fat in any game animal - period ( unless you are hunting in a feedlot?!?!!) Hang / age for 48 hours or less. Cut out the tenderloins now, backstraps tomorrow. Slice them into 3/4" steaks, prepare as you wish (olive oil rubbed in, cast iron pan,.cook high and hot until 140° internally.....rest..... delicious!!!). Rest of the carcass - cut every cubic millimeter from the bone, put it in bags and freeze it until you have time to deal with it rightously.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using TapatalkIt's typically good practice to shy away from calling others fools outright...this isn't the place we hold those who pop off at the mouth in high esteem.

Aging isn't about breakdown of fat alone. The enzymes at work tenderize the meat, break down collagen in the connective tissues and allow more blood to drain from the carcass. Killed alot of deer in my lifetime...aging absolutely helps tenderize and flavor.

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[GregLaROCHE]

Can always “can” it. Did one once. Took a couple quarts to Mexico. Told my brother in law it was Bambi. He asked me to bring all his cartoon friends next time. Great with mashed potatoes and cream of mushroom soup for gravy.


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You just reminded me of all the great sauces I’ve made with cream of mushroom soup. Cream of celery and butter makes a good sauce for fish.

[cwtebay]

It's typically good practice to shy away from calling others fools outright...this isn't the place we hold those who pop off at the mouth in high esteem.

Aging isn't about breakdown of fat alone. The enzymes at work tenderize the meat, break down collagen in the connective tissues and allow more blood to drain from the carcass. Killed alot of deer in my lifetime...aging absolutely helps tenderize and flavor.

Sent from my moto g power (2021) using TapatalkI DEFINITELY did not call anyone here a fool. Only the one that decided to perpetuate this idea.
It's derived from beef ageing and the British practice of "high game" (huge fan of ageing beef BTW). It's apples and oranges, look at the science of meat breakdown by the ageing process - speaks for itself.
I definitely do not wish to "pop off at the mouth" - merely share what I know about carcass degradation due to enzymatic process and the interaction of intramuscular fat in that process.
Many decide to skin their critters and hang them until dehydration and degradation has claimed a good chunk of their meat - I choose to side with science and a lifetime of learning and experience to keep mine to feed my family rather than trim and waste.


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[brewer12345]

Pull the tenderloin and backstrap and package how you will. I like to wrap cuts in freezer grade plastic and then butcher freezer paper. The front quarter I usually chunk for stew, but save the shanks as their own cut for braising. The rear quarter I would separate into component roasts for different uses. This video is very helpful in understanding how to break down the hind quarter: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=How+to+Cut+Up+a+Hind+Quarter+Deer&&view=detail&mid=36551C50CFCE6597F53536551C50CFCE6597F535&&FORM=VRDGAR

All the little bits and pieces I grind. If you are stumped for recipes, google Hank Shaw.

[missionary5155]

Did ya ever build you a fire and sit down.... take a breather.... and cook a chunk of meat ?

[farmbif]

thanks for all the great info. I think I'm going to be on a quest today to get a meat grinder, sausage stuffer and correct spice mix and find a pork butt

[MT Gianni]

Don't forget to keep some just sliced as chops. One of my favorite recipes is to cut venison as thin as possible when frozen. Melt come butter in a cast iron skillet and heat it to just smoking. Toss in the slices and heat 60 seconds then put it straight onto good bread.
I processed 3 deer in 2021 and made less than 1/6th burger and sausage.

[KWJohnston]

@farmbif , congratulations on harvesting a deer. So much can be done with Venison. Best not to get caught up on too many complicated recipes on your first one. Keep things simple and you can experiment more with your next one. I will recommend the following suggestions:

The Back straps and Tenderloin are the most prized pieces. Trim all silver skin and fat off of them. These pieces work great Pan fried, or Grilled wrapped in bacon, or choose a good marinade and bake in the oven. They are VERY lean so dont overcook them!

The front shoulders, neck meat, and meat off the leg shanks can be ground up into Breakfast sausage or Summer Sausage. A local processor can help with that.

Ribs work good in a Slow cooker/pressure cooker or in a smoker. Not much meat but worth playing around with.

The hindquarters are a big chunk of meat. They can be separated out into Top Round,Bottom Round, Sirloin ect. Lots of recipes online for these..but...You may not want to tackle that just yet. If not, the hindquarters can be ground up into burger meat with some added fat. They work perfect for Chili, Spagetti, Tacos, anything you would use ground beef in. OR you can also have them cut and ran through a cuber to make Cube steaks.

Thats some straightforward things that aren't too hard to do. Dont get too overwhelmed. Try a few things out to see what you like. You'll know more next time and have a better idea about what to do.

Oh and btw, the best meat comes from a Deer that was Gutted out and skinned asap to cool the meat.

Good luck!

[Smoke4320]

Just remember if fan frying or baking Deer is lean meat and will dry out very quickly if no additional juices are added
even then less than med done is your friend or crock pot and let cook all day
Could spend 1/2 day with all the recipes I have for deer including sausages and lebanon bologna
we will go thru 2 to 3 good sized deer a year

[missionary5155]

Makes my mouth water thinking of some jerkey !

[DougGuy]

Since no one has mentioned crock pot, here is how I do mine..

2 pkgs Lipton Recipe Secrets soup mix, you can mix golden onion, beefy onion, onion mushroom etc... Mix in enough water to cover the meat + about an inch. Taste the broth, you want it plenty strong and salty. Cook on High about 5 hours, until a fork breaks off pieces of the meat easily.

(You can mix in a few good shakes of Wonder flour now, or you can wait until after the meat cooks and take some of the broth, heat it in a skillet and whisk in wonder flour and water as necessary to make gravy.)

My favorite trick is to mix in about 1 1/2 TBSP of Alessi Raspberry Infused Balsamic Vinegar (I think they label it Raspberry Blush now) and it will impart a wonderful raspberry flavor and aroma to the gravy. If you don't think raspberry and a hearty beefy gravy don't go together you haven't LIVED! This stuff is TONGUE SLAPPIN' YO JAWS GOOD!

Serve this with some Sister Shubert's yeast rolls, OMG you can have the meat, give me the biscuits and GRAVY!

[dale2242]

Here`s how we process our venison.
We do not have a cool room so the meat is hung in the shop for no more than 4 days depending on the temperature.
If the temperature is warmer than 40* it is quartered and placed in the fridge.
All the meat is boned out and muscle masses are separated so the meat can be cut across grain.
Tenderloin is removed first and steaked out.
Shoulders are removed and made into roasts or steaked out for swiss, fajitas, stew, etc.
Backstraps are removed cleaned of silver and steaked out for pan fry.
Ribs are removed and boned out for grind.
Hind quarters are removed, muscles separated and steaked out for pan fry.
The neck is removed and boned out for grind.
All smaller pieces are cut for stew or fajitas.
Scraps are used for grind.
Pork fat or bacon can be added to the grind for making patties.
Grind can be made into any number of sausages by adding whatever seasonings.

[Thumbcocker]

Backstrap: season with garlic powder, meat tenderize, and black pepper. Let sit overnight in the fridge. Slather with olive oil and grill over hardwood charcoal until just a little pink in the middle. DO NOT OVER COOK. It will be the best meat you have ever eaten.

Jerky: can be made with ground or straps of deer. For ground use low salt soy sauce, Mrs. Dash, garlic powder and black pepper. Mix everything together in a bowl with your hands. Test out the flavor by taking a small amount and pan frying it. A pice rge diameter of a tangerine is plenty. Adjust spices to your taste. Pat out meat on a cutting board by the handful until it is about 1/4" thick. Place in dehydrator until it is fully dry. An acquaintance of mine went for the commercial Jerky texture (which is full of nitrites) and had all the meat mould. Dry means dry. I have found a bag of Jerky in my truck console that was there for several months that was still tasty. Dry is important.

Strip Jerky: cut meat in 1/4" strips WITH THE GRAIN and season as with ground. Let it sit overnight. Place in dehydrator. Dry until DRY.

Deer burgers: one pound ground deer one package of onion soup mix. Mix together and form into patties. Put each patty on a piece of aluminum foil. Put some olive oil on each patty and wrap in the foil. Put on a grill with hardwood charcoal. After a few minutes the patties will plump up. Take off the grill and remove from the foil. Put the patties back on the grill until done. Best burgers you can get.

There is nothing mysterious about venison. It is meat. It is very lean meat so don't over cook it. Personally I never fry it.

[Tripplebeards]

I Normally age mine in the fridge or cooler for a week before cutting it up. Gives it a change to drain all blood out which imo gives it a “gamey” taste. Back straps I don’t age and they still taste great. I use to grind mine onto burger myself until I found out the local butcher charged my pops $34 to grind up 27 pounds of boneless venison. He added 3 pounds of beef tallow and sealed it in 1 pound bags for that price too! He ended up with 30 pounds of 1 pound vacuumed sealed bag venison burger for $34! I took over 7 pounds and go 9 back and paid $11! I make my own jerky with some. I also just cut ALOT up into small steaks. Been fonduing it lately. Good stuff! I wouldn’t give your poor dog the head. I won’t feed my dog anything I wouldn’t eat. I am currently making venison liver jerky as we speak. I made liver pate out of my other deer from this year. Was something new to try. Cooked it with onions and then threw it in a blender till smooth. I added cream cheese to the mix and sprinkled caramelized onions on top…along with a little plastic deer and pine tree.lol. Very good but a little strong. Made it for a Christmas get together. Everyone liked it. I will stuff the back traps with onions and cream cheese then wrap them in bacon. Plenty of good things to make without spending hundreds to get it processed. Imo by the time you get sausage, wieners, and ring baloney made it doesn’t taste like deer and cost more than top grade Sirloin at the grocery store. I can remember when I was a kid my parents would spend hundreds (and complain) every year getting deer processed into sausage, ect. Then they would get sick of eating it and give most of it away. Lol

I have some picky eaters so I marinade my fondue venison pieces with virgin oil for a day or two first. Removes any “gamey taste”. I had burgers, BBQ, meatballs with the burger I had processed so far and you would think it’s beef. Some like that “gamey deer” taste but I don’t. So far this week I had venison fondue twice, venison burritos twice, and venison meatballs! Good stuff!!!

[CastingFool]

I find that processing a deer yourself is a lot of work, especially if you don't have the proper equipment an/or location. I've only processed 3 deer so far, all 3 were roadkills, in front of our house. We live on a country road. Fortunately, I know a local processor that is happy to take all my firearm killed deer. He does a good job, he's prompt and his price is fair. Besides, he has to make a living, too, and I'm blessed to call him my friend. He also processes maple sap on 50/50 shares, in the spring. Last spring, I took about 170 gallons of sap to him, and got 1-1/2 gal of syrup back.

[farmbif]

after trying to hunt down a meat grinder and sausage stuffer and then found a little local slaughter house/butcher. I cut out tenderloin and let him mix the rest with a big pork butt and make sausage out of it.
not that I don't like learning how to do new things but I thought letting an expert help out and getting a whole bunch of kryovaced bags ready for the freezer will ensure nothing goes to waste and its all done properly for much future enjoyment.

[Smoke4320]

deer sausage can be good but he will need to get the fat content up
pork butt usually runs 30 to 35% fat . mix 50/50 deer pork butt and you have a fat content of closer to 15 to 17%
Makes for some very lean dry sausage

[farmbif]

the guy that's doing it knows what he is doing, and me. I dont, that's why I thought it best and easiest to drop it off with an expert, one of the first things he said was he keeps lots of pork fat in freezer for making venison sausage.

[Doog-Meister]

For sausage, get pork fat from the butcher, or ask the meat counter at the grocery store. They may have to get it back to you in a day or two. I use beef fat for ground venison. use 20% for sausage, @ 12-15% for burger. The big box sporting goods stores sell a hand grinder that works quite well on deer or feral pigs.

hind quarters are good for steaks or roasts. Backstrap and tenderloins are for the grill. Front shoulders, neck, and flanks become ground meat or jerky. Nothing better than processing your own free-range, organic meat. I learned (i.e. taught myself) when I was much younger and there wasn't money to pay someone else to do it for me. Never looked back.

[Bentstick]

Shoot, track (if need be), gut (save heart), get home hung up in pole barn skin out (while still warm), pull back straps, let hang for 5-7 days if weather does not freeze it up, qt it up bring to house and muscle it out, hinds make steaks, roasts, front shoulders get corned, trims or if a rutting buck get ground, seasoned and stuffed or make breakfast sausage, have done it that way and on kitchen counters for 40 + yrs have done it the same, only difference being the help I have had, wife now of the last 23 yrs usually has it dose the main cutting and grinding while I am working then on the weekend we make sausage. always the day of harvest its a Heart and backstrap supper meat is egged floured and pan fried in butter with cast Iron skillet with side of homemade biskets and gravy, and fried po-taters with peppers onions and garlic, nothing like deer season and fresh kill in the big woods.

[farmbif]

since this is back up
a few days ago I got a cooler full of cryovac packages from the butcher. its an outstanding sausage, they use leggs spice mix to blend the venison with pork meat and fat to make a really great sausage. I gave away a bunch of packs to the widow lady down the road and still filled the freezer. sausage eggs and hash browns yesterday, sausage and biscuits today, we might experiment with sausage, egg and cheese pie.

[Scrounge]

well I finally did it, got me a nice doe today. I'm really not much of an experienced deer hunter so I let my neighbor help dress it out and we cut it up and gave them half. not much room in the fridge and no place to hang it where wild critters would not get at it. so I cut the half in a 3 pieces ribs and hind quarter and shoulder and put in bag in a cooler with couple bags of ice. tomorrow what should I do? some say cut out back strap cut the rest thin and make jerky. season and smoke the ribs? I got the head in a bag and that I was gonna give to the dog to chew on.
some say the meat has to age a week or more to be any good. I'm no expert but I know there are lots here that have more experience than I could ever dream of having.

Chili is a good choice, and the venison doesn't need to be aged, if you don't have time to age it.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

since this is back up
a few days ago I got a cooler full of cryovac packages from the butcher. its an outstanding sausage, they use leggs spice mix to blend the venison with pork meat and fat to make a really great sausage. I gave away a bunch of packs to the widow lady down the road and still filled the freezer. sausage eggs and hash browns yesterday, sausage and biscuits today, we might experiment with sausage, egg and cheese pie.

Just ate dinner and you are making me hungry!

[10x]

Steps in preparing venison.
Make sure the deer has a quick death.
Field dress and cool the meat to below 40F as soon as possible
Hang to get the blood out. 12 to 24 hours.
For a mule deer a breeding buck in rut will have flavour in the meat.

My friend and I have cut out the backstraps and tenderloins within an hour of field dressing and cooked properly (Rare or as tartar) they are as tasty and tender as venison that has been aged a week or two weeks.
Most folk overcook venison at too high a temperature.
Cooking time and temperature depends on the cut.
My wife loves the shanks cooked Osso buco (275F for 4 to 5 hours).
after over 30 years of shooting mule deer and turning it into sausage and biltong jerky my wife has decided that it is a gourmet treat .
Back straps, cut into 1 inch medalians, browned, then into the oven at 275F for 10 minutes while a pink pepper sauce is made in the pan, then the medalians are sliced to 1/4" strips and served with the pepper sauce and either mashed potato and a green are incredibly tasty
Still rare inside, can be cut with your fork, and are not dried out and chewy.

[WinchesterM1]

I make chicken fried Bambi out of the back straps!294649

[Yooper003]

Every one of these ideas is good. My recommendation is to try a lot of them to determine what you & family like best. As this is your first time you are goi g to have more scraps so you will probably have more to grind which is no problem. Chilli , meatloaf.sausage & burgers.you don’t need s stuffer & casing’s to make sausages.tight rolled 1# logs work well.the canning idea is also very good. Easy & versatile.

[BJK]

My $.02 worth but here it is for free. Probably worth as much too, but it's my experience.

So how do commercial butcher operations treat their beef and other animals? They slaughter and cool the carcasses immediately. No hanging to age, aging means spoilage. Aged meat happens under very special conditions. Want "gamey" venison? Age it. If it tastes gamey you're tasting spoilage. As a child a neighbor would give us aged venison and I hated it. I thought it tasted like exactly what it was, rotten meat. As an adult getting my own deer and processing it myself venison was really good. No aging. Let the carcass cool, or process it immediately warm and allow the packages to cool. As an adult I had a neighbor and he'd hang his deer for quite awhile. I can't imagine how gag worthy that meat was.

Sausage making isn't difficult folks. Many mixers come with attachments that will do it. Our Ankarsrum grinder will grind conservatively 300#/hr but to do that requires 3 people, the grinder grinds to fast. Just get recipes and stick to them. Or buy mixes and stick to the directions. It's really not difficult. As previously written less than 20% fat makes for a dry sausage. 20% is what you want to strive for. That will be juicy but not be overly fatty. Burger can be less, I try for 15% for a good balance.

[JWFilips]

I like fresh venison Pan fried rare! Tenderloins cut 3/4 inch thick. Hot cast iron pan! Slab of butter and 1 minute per side!
Same with the steaks! Do not over cook! If you do you need to sauté for at least an hour to get their tenderness back!
Sliced Deer heart the same as the first note for tenderloins! You will never have a tastier cut of meat!

[hoodat]

For me, most everything that can be cut cross-grain, get cut and cooked that way. And I don't over cook. Quick and simple in butter and a little garlic, and leave some pink in it. -- sometimes even medium rare.

I've also quit hanging for any length of time. I used to find myself trimming off twenty or more pounds of dark and unusable crust for the garbage waste.

If I wind up with cuts that are tough, I just give em the oven/mushroom soup treatment. That will turn any critter into a succulent meal. jd

[JWFilips]

For me, most everything that can be cut cross-grain, get cut and cooked that way. And I don't over cook. Quick and simple in butter and a little garlic, and leave some pink in it. -- sometimes even medium rare.

I've also quit hanging for any length of time. I used to find myself trimming off twenty or more pounds of dark and unusable crust for the garbage waste.

If I wind up with cuts that are tough, I just give em the oven/mushroom soup treatment. That will turn any critter into a succulent meal. jd

Plus 1

[unclemikeinct]

Slow roast the front shoulder of fresh tender doe. A day of rest in the fridge after quartering. I like a mild marinade OverNite. I use some black coffee, cider vinegar couple of ozs, Squirt or two of lime juice, Few good splashes of fav hot sauce. Apple Cider n nice white wine. Usual spices Salt Pepper garlic oregano Some rosemary .. Remove & wipe dry in the early next morning. Wrap w plastic film wrap & return to Fridge [only a day or two to rest] . Morning I'm going to cook. Fire up the grill for a quick flame job 2 to 3 mins per side just to color it up. Put in roasting pan with cover With nice Braising liquid similar to the marinade. add Usual spices . Cook for up to 4 hours at only 225 degrees. I add my favorite veggies cook covered for at least 1.5 hours at 275 degrees. Check everything, should be near done. Uncover Raise the temp to 325 finish & serve. UNCLEMIKEINCT295067295068

[firebyprolong]

As a guy who has spent the last 20 or so years in the meat industry, both as a cutter and butcher then over to the dark side as inspection. I’ve got to say that I’m solidly on the side of processing venison as soon as rigor is resolved. In small plants beef hung for 10-14 days in controlled coolers after being slaughtered under a haccp plan with strict sanitation control, zero tolerance contamination step and a requirement for a 5 log ecoli intervention applied. Deer aren’t beef and aren’t killed on a sanitized slaughter floor. The lack of general sanitation even on cleanly shot and dressed deer, means that usually it’s not aging, it’s decomposing and fairly rapidly at that. it’s a race after the first two days of hanging in a cooler even in a locker plant. Get it under 35 as soon as possible and keep it that way for a minimum of a day and go for it, get it frozen or thermally processed.
But do what you like, your eating it! I currently have 30lb of venison chili cheese dogs fresh out of the smoker, quickly turning into meat popsicles in the -16 windchill in a tub on my porch and 25 pounds of roasts curing out in corning brine in the fridge. We eat a lot of deer in this house.

[cwtebay]

As a guy who has spent the last 20 or so years in the meat industry, both as a cutter and butcher then over to the dark side as inspection. I’ve got to say that I’m solidly on the side of processing venison as soon as rigor is resolved. In small plants beef hung for 10-14 days in controlled coolers after being slaughtered under a haccp plan with strict sanitation control, zero tolerance contamination step and a requirement for a 5 log ecoli intervention applied. Deer aren’t beef and aren’t killed on a sanitized slaughter floor. The lack of general sanitation even on cleanly shot and dressed deer, means that usually it’s not aging, it’s decomposed and fairly rapidly at that. it’s a race after the first two days of hanging in a cooler even in a locker plant. Get it under 35 as soon as possible and keep it that way for a minimum of a day and go for it, get it frozen or thermally processed.
But do what you like, your eating it! I currently have 30lb of venison chili cheese dogs fresh out of the smoker, quickly turning into meat popsicles in the -16 windchill in a tub on my porch and 25 pounds of roasts curing out in corning brine in the fridge. We eat a lot of deer in this house.^^^^^this guy said it all.
Thank you.

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[1hole]

.... not much room in the fridge and no place to hang it where wild critters would not get at it. so I cut the half in a 3 pieces ribs and hind quarter and shoulder and put in bag in a cooler with couple bags of ice. tomorrow what should I do?

You have a common problem for the common man and you've done half of what is needed. Now you need to make a brine solution to soak the meat in!

The salt concentration isn't critical. I usually put enough water in the cooler to cover the meat and float the ice; about a half pound of table salt in a 10 gallon cooler is enough. When more ice is needed, just pour out enough bloody water to allow any new ice to float and keep the temp down to about 35 F without diluting the brine too much.

Thing is, raw meat will absorb fresh water like a sponge, causing it to swell, discolor and lose flavor. When the brine is stronger than the meat the liquid flow is out, not in, taking away much of the so-called "wild" flavor and beautifully cleaning the blood-shot meat.

I've found that I can "age" the meat for at least two weeks if I just keep a little bit of ice floating in a cooler full of brine. It's best to use gallon size frozen milk jugs for the ice but keeping store packaged ice in its plastic bags also does pretty well.

To get the best quality, tenderest and cleanest meat possible, I butcher and package my own game. I've learned to bone and trim away as much of the fat and "silver" sheath/tendons from the red meat with my trusty razor sharp fish filleting knife as I can.

Plastic ziplock bags work very well for packaging it into meal size bags. Carve out and keep those long succulent back straps - from head to tail - separate for you and your wife because some things are just too good to share!

[OverMax]

Jerky is good. Having a out door smoker makes it even better.
Steak. Never tire of eating. But you have to know how to fry it.
Roasts. are great! Prepping the meat prior to the oven is a very important procedure.
Venison Hamburger. Requires it being blended with other red meat.
If you have cable TV. Watch UTube > search for the "bearded butchers" lots of experience they both have w/venison.

[Flogger]

Got some backstrap marinating now. Fajita's are on the menu tonight!!

I have always aged mine 14+ days when possible. the last few years it has not been possible so a day or 2 is the best I get. We are in the process of building a cooler/butcher shop to get take mother nature out of the equation and to handle the family's beef and pork as well. I have a chili recipe that is astounding so for the past few years I chop up all but the tenders and back strap for chili.

[Nazgul]

We make summer sausage and breakfast sausage. The breakfast sausage is 1/2 venison and 1/2 local hot pork, which is quite hot, I like it others don't. I touch up the seasonings with some brown sugar and spices. I use the small loaf containers and it goes in the smoker for 3 - 4 hrs until temp is reached. Vacuum seal whatever we don't use right away. Slice it and on the skillet for a crisp and it is awesome.

Summer sausage doesn't make it past the grandkids, it is gone in a couple days. Same thing, grind, mix with spices and smoke with apple wood.

Don

[Jeff Michel]

As a guy who has spent the last 20 or so years in the meat industry, both as a cutter and butcher then over to the dark side as inspection. I’ve got to say that I’m solidly on the side of processing venison as soon as rigor is resolved. In small plants beef hung for 10-14 days in controlled coolers after being slaughtered under a haccp plan with strict sanitation control, zero tolerance contamination step and a requirement for a 5 log ecoli intervention applied. Deer aren’t beef and aren’t killed on a sanitized slaughter floor. The lack of general sanitation even on cleanly shot and dressed deer, means that usually it’s not aging, it’s decomposing and fairly rapidly at that. it’s a race after the first two days of hanging in a cooler even in a locker plant. Get it under 35 as soon as possible and keep it that way for a minimum of a day and go for it, get it frozen or thermally processed.
But do what you like, your eating it! I currently have 30lb of venison chili cheese dogs fresh out of the smoker, quickly turning into meat popsicles in the -16 windchill in a tub on my porch and 25 pounds of roasts curing out in corning brine in the fridge. We eat a lot of deer in this house.

State or Federal inspection? Just curious, I retired from FSIS 2 1/2 years ago, same gig.

[Petander]

As a guy who has spent the last 20 or so years in the meat industry, both as a cutter and butcher then over to the dark side as inspection. I’ve got to say that I’m solidly on the side of processing venison as soon as rigor is resolved. In small plants beef hung for 10-14 days in controlled coolers after being slaughtered under a haccp plan with strict sanitation control, zero tolerance contamination step and a requirement for a 5 log ecoli intervention applied. Deer aren’t beef and aren’t killed on a sanitized slaughter floor. The lack of general sanitation even on cleanly shot and dressed deer, means that usually it’s not aging, it’s decomposing and fairly rapidly at that. it’s a race after the first two days of hanging in a cooler even in a locker plant. Get it under 35 as soon as possible and keep it that way for a minimum of a day and go for it, get it frozen or thermally processed.
But do what you like, your eating it! I currently have 30lb of venison chili cheese dogs fresh out of the smoker, quickly turning into meat popsicles in the -16 windchill in a tub on my porch and 25 pounds of roasts curing out in corning brine in the fridge. We eat a lot of deer in this house.

What's your take on vacuuming and aging the meat like that,packed in vacuum right after cutting?

I'm the only one in our club to age moose, never had problems since the 90's. My steaks are just better after a week or two,depending on the weather. Fridge temp is good. Old cows especially need that imo.

I like my steaks rare which is also untypical here. But I have lived in a steak culture (Brazil), the usual finnish way (overcook the non-aged meat until dry and gray) just makes me wonder.

Many people can't stand any red in meat...

[Fishman]

It appears there are as many ideas of how to process venison as there on how to cook venison. I am constantly amused by people who believe with certainty that their way is the only way. I would agree that it likely is the best way . . . for them . . . that they have tried so far. Many try something once and then never change, pronouncing it the best way for everyone everywhere every time.

In my experience, as a person who lives in a hot dry climate (Texas), who doesn't have a walk-in cooler, wet aging in ice works great. This has already been mentioned at the beginning of this thread. My family and I have shot and processed several dozen deer with bows and guns, and hands down, quartering the deer and submerging in ice for several days results in the best venison for our needs. I have taken the opportunity to test many different approaches, and this works the best in my situation. Drain the water daily as previously stated, and add ice as needed. Obviously cleanliness is important, for example this won't work if you gut shoot a deer and don't clean and remove the affected areas. Due to circumstances we have processed deer immediately after harvest all the way out to 7+ days, and the best is always that which has been aged. We make a lot of steaks from the backstrap and hindquarters. We remove as much silverskin and fat as possible once the quarters are aged and that helps with quality as well.

So my two cents. This works well for me and results in a superior product that my family loves. It may not work worth a flip in Minnesota or North Carolina or wherever, I have no idea.

[OverMax]

Making venison summer sausage has the same mix figures as concrete.
3-2-1. Venison to beef to pork ratio. 10% water by weight. Nothing more besides a good spice recipe w/ mustard seed.

[Charlie Horse]

As a guy who has spent the last 20 or so years in the meat industry, both as a cutter and butcher then over to the dark side as inspection. I’ve got to say that I’m solidly on the side of processing venison as soon as rigor is resolved. In small plants beef hung for 10-14 days in controlled coolers after being slaughtered under a haccp plan with strict sanitation control, zero tolerance contamination step and a requirement for a 5 log ecoli intervention applied. Deer aren’t beef and aren’t killed on a sanitized slaughter floor. The lack of general sanitation even on cleanly shot and dressed deer, means that usually it’s not aging, it’s decomposing and fairly rapidly at that. it’s a race after the first two days of hanging in a cooler even in a locker plant. Get it under 35 as soon as possible and keep it that way for a minimum of a day and go for it, get it frozen or thermally processed.
But do what you like, your eating it! I currently have 30lb of venison chili cheese dogs fresh out of the smoker, quickly turning into meat popsicles in the -16 windchill in a tub on my porch and 25 pounds of roasts curing out in corning brine in the fridge. We eat a lot of deer in this house.

Over the years, whenever possible, we would field dress our deer and hang them head down for a week in the garage with the hide on, and we never lost one to spoilage. Always under 40 degrees. Guess we just didn't know any better. And I've eaten a ton of it rare.
I was told under 40 degrees bacteria slows way down and enzymes age the meat.
Have done the same with rabbits and squirrels except they always got cooked well done of course.
Anymore I skin then cut them up as soon as all the heat goes out. I quit aging them, although that really does help with flavor and texture.

[HWooldridge]

I hunt on our property so I can get one hung and cleaned pretty quickly. I always hang the carcass head down and work from the tail. I recently started cutting the head off first before anything else, which gets quite a bit more blood to drain. Almost no fluid is left in the cold storage bins.

And I process as fast as possible. Everything is usually finished within 24-48 hours - at least for initial cut and grind.

[OverMax]

A little rant. A little tutelage. My comment about.
The hide has allot to do with how big game animals will taste on the plate. Aging just tenderizes the meat (sometimes) doing will not enhance the taste. The following will enhance. ASAP. A well rinsed gut cavity and quick hide removed than refrigeration is the key to tasty venison. Absolutely No gaminess no matter the size or gender if you follow those procedures. Those who hang their deer for 2-3-4 days hide on in the open air or wait many hours in 40-50 degrees weather before taking their deer to a locker plant or butcher shop. Will assuredly be eating such animal alone at the family's dinner table year after year. Making sausage of so to enjoy their yearly woodsy reward. If they had taken care of their game to begin with. They'd never grind or blend with other red meats and use spice's to cover up what was intended to enjoy on the plate as is.

[10x]

A little rant. A little tutelage. My comment about.
The hide has allot to do with how big game animals will taste on the plate. Aging just tenderizes the meat (sometimes) doing will not enhance the taste. The following will enhance. ASAP. A well rinsed gut cavity and quick hide removed than refrigeration is the key to tasty venison. Absolutely No gaminess no matter the size or gender if you follow those procedures. Those who hang their deer for 2-3-4 days hide on in the open air or wait many hours in 40-50 degrees weather before taking their deer to a locker plant or butcher shop. Will assuredly be eating such animal alone at the family's dinner table year after year. Making sausage of so to enjoy their yearly woodsy reward. If they had taken care of their game to begin with. They'd never grind or blend with other red meats and use spice's to cover up what was intended to enjoy on the plate as is.

After over 60 years of hunting deer and home processing venison I have discovered what works best for me.
A quick and humane kill with a heart/lung shot.
Field dressing and cooling the animal as quickly as possible. This includes skinning
Quartering the deer so it cools faster blood drains quicker
Hanging for one or two days at 33F to 38F to allow the blood to drain from the meat - when the blood stops dripping, it is ready to cut and wrap.

I have discovered that the tenderloins and backstraps are just as tender within 5 hours of the animals death as they are after hanging for 14 days.
I have also discovered that sometimes when a deer is wounded and lives for over a half hour or longer before it dies can give the meat a funky taste, Sometimes if the deer bleeds out it will not have any significant different taste.
I have also discovered that beef and venison that has not been bled sufficently and is ground up will give a different and unpleasant taste (in my opinion) to the cooked ground meat. In sausage the spices mask this.
Some folks have grown to like and expect this taste.

There is no substitue for a well placed shot on a healthy deer that ensures a fast and humane death and cooling the carcass quickly while allowing the blood to drain.

Finally , there are ways of cooking wild game that give the best results. Shanks of venison make incredible Ossobuco, cooked for up to 4 hours or more, while the backstraps and tenderloins should be very carefully not overcooked to keep them tender and moist. There are recipes for cooking each cut of venison that will give incredible texture and flavour and cooking time, as well as internal temperature when it is served will result in very tasty meals

[10x]

I hunt on our property so I can get one hung and cleaned pretty quickly. I always hang the carcass head down and work from the tail. I recently started cutting the head off first before anything else, which gets quite a bit more blood to drain. Almost no fluid is left in the cold storage bins.

And I process as fast as possible. Everything is usually finished within 24-48 hours - at least for initial cut and grind.

pretty much nailed it...

[Charlie Horse]

A well rinsed gut cavity...

In the past I hung my deer for a week with the hide on. I always avoided rinsing the body cavity. That is a perfect way of spreading stuff you don't want spread.
Instead, I would wipe out the cavity with a slightly dampened cloth, only if it needed it, only where it needed it.

[MT Gianni]

So much is climate related. When I hunt I expect temps to have highs in the 40's for 2-3 hours a day, above freezing for 8 hours and 35 or below for the balance. Most of that will be freezing. I don't see a taste difference between immediate skinning and just before cutting. I do see a huge meat loss in skinning it twice. I hang meat in the garage bay that is just for that and a storage area. Nothing idles inside and the door is up before the engine starts and stops.
If any waste is in the body cavity do a complete rinse and make sure it's complete.

[Norske]

We lived in a western ND small town for 30 years. It had a privately owned butcher shop that wanted deer delivered with the hide on and the interior rinsed, but not scrubbed clean, to seal the carcass. They offered the best sumer sausage we ever ate. It contained 70% trimmed venison, 30% trimmed beef, and spices (no pork or fat). Trust me, Germans make much better sausage than those of us of Norwegian descent. No, they don't share the recipe.

[pls1911]

Proper aging makes a HUGE improvement in venison flavor and texture.
I prefer aging a whole carcass 5-7 days at 38 degrees when I have access to a walk-in cooler,
but have had success with primal cuts hung in a spare refrigerator.

[bandanaman]

Diving in late on this thread but my experience has been if the meat has had a few days to hang or be kept cool it is somewhat firmer and easier to process.In my bachelor days I could stuff a bunch in the fridge and pick away at it evenings doing say a quarter each night depending on the size of the deer and save the trim to grind with a hand grinder at the end. My hunting buddy was a meat cutter and had a walk in cooler. He would do a big deer cut and wrapped in 3.5 hours or so. He was really ,really fussy on trimming and cleanliness. Before the cooler days I would also keep the meat in coolers on ice but always made sure the kept dry. Looks like we'll have to do that again as my pal is "in a better place now"......

[ChristopherO]

297426

This is what my son and I have done with 180 lb of venison this past season. Much of it was turned into pepperoni and other seasoned burger, wrapped up in the plastic burger bags and marked for future baking/dehydration of logs, sticks and slim jim type of snacks. I still have steaks from prior season, so didn't need any of those this year. Really enjoying the burger for chili and dried seasoned sticks lately.

[calm seas]

Bad shot placement busted a deer's stomach open right at dark years ago, it lay all night. My boss's wife told me to clean - and I do mean CLEAN!! - the body cavity with 10% white vinegar and water solution and rags. Never tasted anything bad from it.

[Travisbishop]

Years ago, I bought a walk in cooler to hang deer in. I normally tag out here in Texas and up in south east Oklahoma. That amounts to 10 or 11 deer. I quarter them, then hang them to age for a month or longer. It really improves the meat quality in a big way.

[NorthMoccasin]

Whoever decided ageing game idea is a fool. Ageing is designed to break down muscle fibres and incorporate fat into the muscle. There is NOT intramuscular fat in any game animal - period ( unless you are hunting in a feedlot?!?!!) Hang / age for 48 hours or less. Cut out the tenderloins now, backstraps tomorrow. Slice them into 3/4" steaks, prepare as you wish (olive oil rubbed in, cast iron pan,.cook high and hot until 140° internally.....rest..... delicious!!!). Rest of the carcass - cut every cubic millimeter from the bone, put it in bags and freeze it until you have time to deal with it rightously.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk
Absolutely correct! No aging needed the sooner you process it and freeze it the better. good suggestions on using the loin and tenderloin. Grind the meat bundles that have tendons like the shanks, shoulders and bottom round, mix with beef fat or pork. the top round can be made into super corned venison or roasted/braised in a crock pot. lots of good recipes on line. Enjoy!