Cooler draining

[Bowhunter500]

That is exactly what I want! Drives me crazy seeing all the steaks and roasts running around the yard and then blowing up the bank on beef. I will definitely give that a try this week.

Always remember, the longer the better. So if you want to try a day and a half to two days in milk (change milk at least twice for one day -- and you don't need a ton of milk either) I do one day -- thawed meat plus a cup and a half to two cups of milk first thing in the morning. Change out milk at dinner time, and first thing the next morning drain the milk from the previous night, do your marinade if you choose. I like to coat mine in a salt/spice mixture for most of a day or whole day, the roast/grill it up. We went from eating deer maybe a couple times a month to just about weekly.

Lemme know how it goes for you! I'm curious to know if it works for you as well!

 

[Wapsi Tree Rat]

So I harvested that doe and had it butchered and on ice Sat by 1:00 PM.
Question: What's the longest I can leave it in the cooler on ice? I'm just slammed busy right now, but I like to get the cuts trimmed before they go into the freezer. I just don't have time for a couple more days.

Those of you that are self employed know exactly what I'm talking about....

There are 2 times during the year you can plan on new work pouring in....Christmas and usually around November 5th!

 

[JNRBRONC]

So I harvested that doe and had it butchered and on ice Sat by 1:00 PM.
Question: What's the longest I can leave it in the cooler on ice? I

I've boned out a deer, placed it in the fridge (covered with Saran wrap to prevent top meat from drying) and trimmed on it for a week, doing a chunk every night. I'd drain water and blood off occasionally. Though people say to hang beef, I've never really felt that venison benefits all that much from it (personal opinion, oxidization of venison fat increases the gamey flavor). Still, you should have some time to work on it if you keep it on ice. Two weeks top?

 

[BDAHMS]

She couldn't stand the "game" taste in the deer. I love coming home to my wife making deer roast, steaks, etc.

Give the milk a try. Seriously, I was skeptical until I made "beef roast" and my wife liked it better than beef after soaking in milk for a night!

Milk also works really well on fish- I dislike a "fishy" taste in some fish- and milk takes it right now. Buttermilk is what i usually use.........

 

[Bowhunter500]

Milk also works really well on fish- I dislike a "fishy" taste in some fish- and milk takes it right now. Buttermilk is what i usually use.........

I have heard of doing it in buttermilk, but never tried it. I will definitely give it a shot!

 

[HorseDoctor]

It's the acid component to buttermilk that helps with the strong "muddy" taste of some fish (catfish). Personally, I've never found it to be necessary or helpful with venison.

 

[Progear2]

I don't soak with water on the front end but do before I cook any steaks or roasts. Whenever I have steaks I put them in a bowl and let them thaw in the fridge. Once thawed I drain any blood then completely cover them in water and add a couple tablespoons of salt and let them sit in the fridge for a day. I drain all the water and redo this for another day. My dad showed me this as a way to get the blood out of the meat. After soaking for 2 days I drain and then add marinade (Lawry's Teriyaki/Pineapple is my favorite) and let them sit for another day in the fridge before I put them on the grill. Doesn't matter old buck or tender doe, these will be the most tender and best tasting steaks you have ever had.

 

[StickersNKickers]

I don't soak with water on the front end but do before I cook any steaks or roasts. Whenever I have steaks I put them in a bowl and let them thaw in the fridge. Once thawed I drain any blood then completely cover them in water and add a couple tablespoons of salt and let them sit in the fridge for a day. I drain all the water and redo this for another day. My dad showed me this as a way to get the blood out of the meat. After soaking for 2 days I drain and then add marinade (Lawry's Teriyaki/Pineapple is my favorite) and let them sit for another day in the fridge before I put them on the grill. Doesn't matter old buck or tender doe, these will be the most tender and best tasting steaks you have ever had.

I don't do many venison roasts, steaks, or burger as my wife doesn't like the flavor (typically do processed stuff like summer sausage, sticks, etc). Maybe a dumb question, but why do you want the blood out? In the past I've done a few loin roasts, and because my grandpa or dad told me to (but didn't really tell me why), I soaked them in water for a day or two prior to cooking or freezing, draining off the blood and replacing in new water. I get putting them in salted water (brine) to tenderize, as that is typically done with a lot of meats. Does the blood make them tougher or more gamey? The roasts I did still had some gamey flavor (tasted like deer, not beef), but I also used a lot of garlic and other spices that I believe toned it down. Have never tried soaking in milk, so may have to try that sometime for my wife.

 

[Jbohn]

She couldn't stand the "game" taste in the deer. I love coming home to my wife making deer roast, steaks, etc.

Give the milk a try. Seriously, I was skeptical until I made "beef roast" and my wife liked it better than beef after soaking in milk for a night!

I agree on the milk, I have used butter milk as well .. also oil and few splashes of apple cider vinegar fur about 15 minutes seems to tender it up if I skip the milk marinade. Deer meat is awesome if you take care and process properly.

 

[HorseDoctor]

The red in any meat is not blood, it's myoglobin (muscle protein). Has nothing to do with "gamey" taste. Soaking in salt does in fact brine the meat, which helps not so much to tenderize as to retain moisture when cooked. If you trim the fat and cook to medium rare (at the most) and still don't like venison it may well be that you are expecting it to taste like beef. Common mistake! It's not beef, it's venison! Doesn't taste like beef any more than it tastes like pork or lamb. If anyone expects that because it's "red meat" it should taste like beef, they will be disappointed and think it is "gamey" when in fact it's venison (usually very mild flavored). Either embrace it for what it is, make pepperoni or shoot squirrels... or just go to the store and buy beef.

 

[Forestryguy]

Wet aging is a bigger thing farther South where temps never cool enough to age or let deer hang to bleed out, unless you have some kind of cooler. If the temps are right I will let a deer hang for a week. Some of the highest end stakes that are aged are done so in a cooler for 6 months, they have a black crust on them that is peeled off. I have yet to figure out why people think that introducing water to meat is what causes bacteria to grow. I could see this theory from way back when when water was procured from steams and rivers and could easily be contaminated by feces or run off. Most water that is used to age meat these days comes from either wells or a public water supply that is treated. If there is bacteria in those two sources you are going to be sick anyway. You definitely want to keep the water iced and keep changing it out till it is light pink. I have used this method since I started hunting in Southern Illinois back in 2003. Opening day was guaranteed to be close to 80 or 90 degrees. Everyone that I knew had coolers with ice in them to put in a carcass ASAP or had someone ready to bring ice. I also do not like to have a lot of blood coming out when I can venison raw.

The only way my girlfriend will eat venison is if it is soaked in 1 cup of vinegar and then completely covered with water for over night and then marinated or cooked. We add or subtract the amount of vinegar based on the amount of meat or size of roast.

 

[StickersNKickers]

If you trim the fat and cook to medium rare (at the most) and still don't like venison it may well be that you are expecting it to taste like beef. Common mistake! It's not beef, it's venison! Doesn't taste like beef any more than it tastes like pork or lamb. If anyone expects that because it's "red meat" it should taste like beef, they will be disappointed and think it is "gamey" when in fact it's venison (usually very mild flavored). Either embrace it for what it is, make pepperoni or shoot squirrels... or just go to the store and buy beef.

Agree that deer should taste like deer, not beef (my comment above may have been misleading about my expectations--should have read "tasted like deer as it should, not beef"). Unfortunately my wife doesn't like the "deer" taste of deer steaks and roasts. She is no stranger to venison as her family also hunts and they typically would can or freeze the meat. So, either she never acquired a taste for it, or she was forced to eat it too much! Possibly cooking it until done is/was the issue as well. Anyway, maybe I'll turn her around some day.