Getting rid of GAMEY taste in killed animals & Fish.

[Deephaven]

If you hunt for food, wall hang hunters will be like:

 

[Darth-Baiter]

I think gamey taste is what meat used to taste like. Now we breed for flavor.  
 

in some other countries I’ve had beef that tasted more gamey than what we gave here. 

[TOXIC]

A little late to this topic but seriously gamey is more often than not just a different taste due to the cut and location of the meat.  I got a rough cut deer from a friend and I couldn’t tell which parts he gave me but the first cut I cooked was delicious and looked like a front shoulder.  The second batch (from the same animal) looked to be from the rear leg quarter and cooked the same way it was much stronger.  It’s no different than white meat and dark meat on a chicken.  Different location, different taste.  I know there are other factors like the rut and muscle damage but my point is that there is also different taste to different cuts. 

[Bird]

Been harvesting deer for 50 years and a deer that's been bled out and hung properly has way better taste than a deer that's been Head shot and instantly processed. Imo

 

Not to be to graphic but when butchering hogs we'd slit the neck while the heart was still beating to expell the blood......it was a lot.

 

This said, I'm thinking the gamey taste is in the blood. 

 

[A-Jay]

7 hours ago, Bird said:

Been harvesting deer for 50 years

 

I really enjoy responses that begin like this.

Half a century is a great teacher.

A-Jay

[Catt]

7 hours ago, Bird said:

Been harvesting deer for 50 years and a deer that's been bled out and hung properly has way better taste than a deer that's been Head shot and instantly processed. Imo

 

Not to be to graphic but when butchering hogs we'd slit the neck while the heart was still beating to expell the blood......it was a lot.

 

This said, I'm thinking the gamey taste is in the blood. 

 

 

Exactly ?

 

The guys that ride around with their buck in the bed of the truck that's not even gutted ain't one I wanna eat!

 

Every animal, bird, or fish has to be properly feild dressed.

[J Francho]

36 minutes ago, Catt said:

Every animal, bird, or fish has to be properly feild dressed.

I think this is extremely important.  I also think that there are some myths.  Different animals taste...different. A Cornish game hen doesn't taste like a chicken, and neither does a goose taste like a duck.  Squirrel will NEVER taste good to me.  Everybody up here loves their Friday Haddock fish fry.  Hate to spoil it for you, but that mild, white, flakey meat comes from a bottom feeder.  How something as delicious as northern pike can come from such a slimy, stinky, miserable animal is beyond me.  I don't think you can make any broad statements about where an animal lives or what it eats and link it to flavor.  There are probably many situations where one factor or another affects flavor, however.  There's also the deal where some animals simply taste gamey or fishy by nature.

 

Closing thought: Why?

Gamey

Slimy

Skinny

Stinky

No consistency in spelling, lol.

[DaubsNU1]

Turkey is a difficult one to get right. Best I've tried is wrapped in bacon, and smoked. 

 

Wife loves the bacon cheddar deer brats from the processor. I keep the loins and steaks from my deer...sometimes marinade them in Italian dressing (full fat), Worcestershire sauce...but the most important is to not over cook. Once they hit 145 on the grille, they are off and nicely medium rare. 

 

Goose and Duck is the same...marinade, then grille to 145. 

 

Pheasant and quail need little doctoring in my kitchen. Yummy.

 

Dad's rule was always, "if you shoot it, you eat it."  

[gim]

6 hours ago, DaubsNU1 said:

Dad's rule was always, "if you shoot it, you eat it."  

What about coyotes, fox, and other predators?  You eat those things too?  Mmmm, barbecued yote back straps.

[DaubsNU1]

2 minutes ago, gimruis said:

What about coyotes, fox, and other predators?  You eat those things too?  Mmmm, barbecued yote back straps.

 

Don't hunt them, so I don't eat them  : ) 

 

[gim]

6 hours ago, J Francho said:

How something as delicious as northern pike can come from such a slimy, stinky, miserable animal is beyond me.  I don't think you can make any broad statements about where an animal lives or what it eats and link it to flavor.  There are probably many situations where one factor or another affects flavor, however. 

Well played.  I have trouble getting past the slime of a pike too.  Its just gross and stinky.  It reminds me of a bad sinus infection in the winter with all the snot, but the filet is pretty freaking good for such a stinky fish if you can properly removed the y bones.

 

The age, the diet, and of course how its prepared/cooked all play roles in how a bird, animal, or fish will taste.  I generally think that the younger/smaller, the better.

1 minute ago, DaubsNU1 said:

Don't hunt them, so I don't eat them 

That's fair.  I don't hunt them either but my point is that not every animal or bird we hunt is worth consuming.

 

The one wild critter I always had trouble with was Canadian Goose.  I just could not get myself to eat them after I tried it a couple times.  I always thought they would be good pothole filler since they were so tough and rubbery.

[DaubsNU1]

1 hour ago, gimruis said:

The one wild critter I always had trouble with was Canadian Goose.  I just could not get myself to eat them after I tried it a couple times.  I always thought they would be good pothole filler since they were so tough and rubbery.

 

Pothole filler!  L O L !

 

I've actually started to like goose breast. I cut in strips about an inch thick...marinade in  worcestershire sauce for 24+ hours...throw on the grille and cook to 145 internal temp (medium rare). 

 

Actually not bad.  

 

[Deephaven]

7 hours ago, DaubsNU1 said:

Once they hit 145 on the grille, they are off and nicely medium rare. 

135-145 is medium; 145-155 medium well; 155+ well.

 

I pull mine at 108f and they rest to 120-125f which is under medium rare but regularly gets close.

 

Absolutely right in that the worse thing you can do to game is over cook it.  People who order well done frighten me 

[GaryH]

9 hours ago, DaubsNU1 said:

 

Dad's rule was always, "if you shoot it, you eat it."  

Words to live by..?????

[Bird]

If you don't intend to eat your kill, there is always someone who will.

I shot a bear last year and had locals fighting over it. Lol

They remind me of an overgrown possum.

[gim]

2 hours ago, Bird said:

If you don't intend to eat your kill, there is always someone who will.

I already have a home for the wild turkey I “might” harvest later this month.

[Bird]

13 minutes ago, gimruis said:

I already have a home for the wild turkey I “might” harvest later this month.

That's actually another wild game meat I don't particularly care for.

Good luck on your hunt .

[jbsoonerfan]

About 8 years or so ago, a couple buddies and I were sitting around drinking a few beers. This was back when "prepping" was a big thing. We were talking about how long we thought we could survive, etc. We were on the front porch and a jackrabbit came hopping across the pasture. My friend said something to the effect of, "see, that right there is a meal". I said, "there is no way you could eat that". To make a long story sort of shorter, I went and got a 17 HMR and put it down. We cleaned it and cut it up. Fired up the grill and cooked it like you would a steak. He couldn't even swallow it. It was the worst thing I have ever tried. Talk about gamey.  

[SWVABass]

Large mammals like deer and elk come down to field care of the meat. Keep any hair and non tissue out/off of your meat and it won’t have a strong flavor. I’ve had rutted up elk and antelope before that tasted amazing. 
 

Never been a fan of catfish at all. Perch, white bass and crappie are all delicious. I prefer saltwater fish hands down though. 
 

show respect to your quarry and you will have amazing meals every time. Also love home grown grass fed beef over the steroid and antibiotic pumped up so called beef you can buy at the big box grocery stores. Most of America doesn’t know what home grown taste like anymore. 

[DaubsNU1]

2 hours ago, SWVABass said:

Never been a fan of catfish at all. Perch, white bass and crappie are all delicious. I prefer saltwater fish hands down though. 
 

show respect to your quarry and you will have amazing meals every time. Also love home grown grass fed beef over the steroid and antibiotic pumped up so called beef you can buy at the big box grocery stores. Most of America doesn’t know what home grown taste like anymore. 

 

Parents shared a cabin on the Platte River growing up...love me some Catfish!! Perch, white bass, walleye and crappie are great as well. Nebraska doesn't lend much acess to saltwater fish, unless I'm at a restaurant. 

 

Agree on beef!  My wife has a connection...the rancher sings to our beef : )  Even with processing and the two hour drive, it's still cheaper than store beef.  

 

 

[gim]

8 hours ago, jbsoonerfan said:

About 8 years or so ago, a couple buddies and I were sitting around drinking a few beers. This was back when "prepping" was a big thing. We were talking about how long we thought we could survive, etc. We were on the front porch and a jackrabbit came hopping across the pasture. My friend said something to the effect of, "see, that right there is a meal". I said, "there is no way you could eat that". To make a long story sort of shorter, I went and got a 17 HMR and put it down. We cleaned it and cut it up. Fired up the grill and cooked it like you would a steak. He couldn't even swallow it. It was the worst thing I have ever tried. Talk about gamey.  

 

LOL that's funny

 

[Bird]

The best wild game I've ever had was a mule deer taken by a family member on a hunt in South Dakota.

Not had a fish I don't like but agree, salt water fish like flounder can't be beat. Imo

[gim]

1 hour ago, Bird said:

Not had a fish I don't like but agree, salt water fish like flounder can't be beat. Imo

I haven't had a lot of saltwater fish either but I found it to be significantly better than freshwater fish too.  And I pretty much only eat walleye and perch which are considered two of the better table fare freshwater fish out there.  The snapper species were especially tasty.  Living in MN I just don't get the opportunity to catch, prepare, or eat freshly-caught saltwater fish very often.

[TnRiver46]

On 4/6/2022 at 11:28 PM, Bird said:

Been harvesting deer for 50 years and a deer that's been bled out and hung properly has way better taste than a deer that's been Head shot and instantly processed. Imo

 

Not to be to graphic but when butchering hogs we'd slit the neck while the heart was still beating to expell the blood......it was a lot.

 

This said, I'm thinking the gamey taste is in the blood. 

 

My father in law catches the blood for blood sausage. They are ruthless haha

[T-Billy]

I kill most of my deer early season with a crossbow. Hanging isn't an option in the fairly warm weather. I get it off the bone and packed in ice ASAP. I leave the drain plug out of the cooler and let the ice melt out taking lots of blood with it. Young doe or rutted up mature buck doesn't matter much as far as flavor, but young deer are more tender. Never cook past medium rare.