[Deerseason Widow]

Do you pat dry the inside of the deer after you gut it like the hunter education video says or do you take it home and hose it out with water and hang dry?
Does it really matter what you do if you get it to the butchers right away?
Sorry, this may be a old question but I was up at 2 am doing the book since I couldn't sleep.

 

[killerinusall]

I hose it out with ice cold water then off to the butcher.

 

[mysticguido]

You can do all 3, If I'm butchering it I wash it first then I skin it then I cut it up.... If I take it to the butchers sometimes I wipe it out, the one butcher I go to washes it down then puts it in the cooler. Cold weather coming so I'll be cutting it up myself soon.

 

[houndawgg]

While I'm very cautious when I gut a deer, I don't worry about cleaning the cavity, unless guts were broken with the projectile. If they were, I'll wipe, vey well.
I also don't like water touching any of my meat. I'm very fussy while skinning and butchering, not to get any hair on the meat.
I believe all the people who claim they don't like venison, because of the game' taste, ate some that had poor processing.

 

[mysticguido]

I believe all the people who claim they don't like venison, because of the game' taste, ate some that had poor processing.

Thats the number 1 answer, If you debone it the same day you shoot it, That will get rid of most of the game taste.

 

[Deerseason Widow]

I've found it has a different taste if I re-warm it; i.e. left overs. I don't care for the taste it has on the second go around, but was excellect the first time I prepared the meal. Why would this be?

 

[Dave2122]

I was told by a Manager of a Meat Packing Company who is also an outdoorsman, that you should not wash out the cavity because the dried film protects the meat from bacteria. I was told to wash it out with cold water only if the stomach, intestines or bladder were punctured.

 

[JERSEY BOB]

damp (not wet) paper towel rub down to get any blood that has not been gotten out of the cavity. then a dry one to finish up.

It should look like a carc [no swearing please] hanging in an butcher shop.

Skin and bone as quickly as possible to release heat and prevent spoilage. Try to get the deer down to "primal cuts" asap. If you're hunting bigger game (elk,etc.) this is even more important due to the size of the cuts, and the amount of heat the hide and bones can retain.

The meat will harden over at the surface, protecting the meat inside. ("glazing over")

If in doubt, mixing a bit of veg. oil and chili oil and spraying on with a spritz bottle will deter yellowjackets, etc. Rubbing black pepper on the meat is also good for this, but remember you're putting the pepper on your hand, your hand on the meat, your hand BACK into the pepper, etc.--that can contaminate the pepper or leave YOUR bacteria on the meat. Shaking the ground black pepper from a can is prob. best.

as far as the taste on reaheating--there is "NO" fat on a deer...and the meat does get stringy and gamey the 2nd time you cook it. Its breaking down in the cooking process.

 

[El Jefe]

I don't eat anything from inside the cavity of a deer. The only part that I immediately pull out is the TENDERLOINS and I place them in a zip lock. The left over meat that I don't eat is boiled for the dogs, to be mixed with his dry food.
Water is a no no as it creates bacteria. Then again I have never had a butcher touch any of my meat. I do my own always.
The reason I don't eat any meat from the inside area, is because we gut the animal in the woods, and its not a control environment. Before it goes to the table all kinds of stuff contaminates the insides.

 

[houndawgg]

I don't care for the taste it has on the second go around, but was excellect the first time I prepared the meal. Why would this be?

As said above, venison is lean, reheated drys it out.

 

[Deerseason Widow]

I'm not a heart, liver or gizzard eater anyway! Those are THROW AWAY parts in my book on any animal!
Have seen too many anatomy books to know what those parts are used for in the body, why would you want to eat a filter of toxicans? YUCK!

 

[Elmo]

By the way, the GAMEY taste is all in our heads. Gamey is not even a word!! Chicken tastes different than beef, and beef tastes different than pork and so on. Venision has its OWN taste...Sorry guys and gals, that word just annoys me!!! Just need to learn how to cook it properly and not dry it out ( I;m still learning)[up]

 

[Elmo]

I hose out my deer every chance I can.

 

[mack]

Thats the number 1 answer, If you debone it the same day you shoot it, That will get rid of most of the game taste.

my dad said hes tried venison and he says his was as tough as leather...is most venison tough or he just didnt cook it right?

 

[jrhunt]

its not tough if its prepared right.

 

[Deerseason Widow]

It doesn't take very long to cook, that's for sure.
Prep for dinner has taken me longer than the actual cooking time.

Question...doesn't the meat get tougher the older the deer is? IE a 10 year old deer vs a 2 year old deer....or does that matter at all?

 

[Guest]

I was told by a Manager of a Meat Packing Company who is also an outdoorsman, that you should not wash out the cavity because the dried film protects the meat from bacteria. I was told to wash it out with cold water only if the stomach, intestines or bladder were punctured.

I've heard the samething

 

[jerseyhunter]

I gut it in the field, check it in, and once home hose the insides real good, just to be safe. Then I let it hang a few days depending on temp. Then I cut it up. If it's warm I'll hose it, put it in a cheese cloth bag and butcher the next day. PS. I always use a rib spreader to get plenty of ventilation and help dry it.

 

[Hawkeye525]

Anyone ever thought about putting all these tips into writing, ( unless it is already out there) seems to me there is a lot of great info that is not a standard rule and so forth. Sounds like many of the hunters here have sort of an underground knowledge of the hunt.

 

[hunterpanz1100]

I always hose the inside when I get home. In the field I prop the cavity open with a stick and try to drive home with the deer on it's back to help the heat escape.