Venison

[snowangel]

sjemac, excellent pictoral. Just how my father-in-law and I do it, except we hang the deer by the neck.

Mallet, the way the sinew and membranes work in a deer is much different than in a domestic cow or pig, as you cn see by the pieces that sjemac came up with. Just how I and countless other butchers of deer do it. Once you lay out the quarters, it is just the natural way to do it. Remember, these animals work a lot harder than even a free-range cow or pig.

[sjemac]

When you try to cut deer like you cut beef (going through bone and muscle groups)you get bone dust on the meat for one and it doesn't impart good flavors and it along with excess fat probably accounts for what people describe as "gaminess" in meat. If you cut steaks composed of different muscle groups you get some that cook faster than others or contact more during cooking which causes the steaks to twist and curl in pan and then makes them very difficult to eat. Not to mention the fat and silverskin between muscles can impart stronger flavors than desired. Venison fat is very tallowy and coats the mouth so it is best to get rid of as much of it as possible. Like others have mentioned we never cut into steaks until we are ready to eat the meat. We freeze all the prime cuts in roast form and then cut into steaks if needed or simply sear and roast whole. We've used sous vide quite a bit on it in the past year and it is great for getting the meat to that perfect doneness every time.

Snowangel, if you like Indian food, sub in the tougher cuts of venison in recipes that call for goat or lamb. Plan on at least double the simmering time listed in the recipe you use. We just finished up a batch of rogan josh (spelling?) made with moose and it was excellent.

We use thin marinated slices of the leg roasts for Korean BBQ wrapped in lettuce leaves. Ground spiced meat for empanadas. Bolognese sauces (really let it simmer). Bigger stewed pieces for meat pies etc. Lots to do with it particularly if you make sure you apply the "5 or 5" pricipal to cooking it. Either cook 5 minutes and serve med-rare or cook 5 hours and serve falling apart. Not much room in between.

[Dana]

How different tasting is moose than venison or elk? I favor elk meat over venison, but I've never tried moose.

[David Ross]

How different tasting is moose than venison or elk? I favor elk meat over venison, but I've never tried moose.

For my tastes, all three are quite different tasting. Now assuming we are talking about wild animals, (as farm raised venison and elk taste much different than their wild cousins), I prefer elk as I personally think it is more tender in texture and a bit milder in flavor than venison. I'm lucky to have an employee who brings me a yearly supply of elk steaks and tenderloins--the choicest cuts in my opinion. He usually hunts the Rocky Mountain species out of the high mountain ranges of Eastern Oregon. Elk tenderloin with a wild huckleberry sauce is divine.

I've only had moose a few times and it was terrible-stringy, tough and tasted "off." As I recall it was a roast. It may have been the animal, may have been the way the hunter harvested it or may have been a bad cook. In any case, it left me with a bad memory and one I don't care to revisit! I'd rate moose at the bottom of the scale next to the bear meat I've eaten.

[snowangel]

I think there are a few things can affect the taste of wild game. How old was the animal? How good were the year(s)? A young animal in years that have had kind winters are vastly different from those who are old and have endured many tough winters. And, then there's field dressing. If it's not done correctly, it can wreck it a good piece of meat.

[sjemac]

How different tasting is moose than venison or elk? I favor elk meat over venison, but I've never tried moose.

Good moose is like execeptionally beefy beef. Less care needs to be take with removing the fat as it is less strong than venison and has a very rich beef fat flavor to it. Most people around here prefer elk to all other animals because it tastes the most like beef. I don't really have a preference as the different flavors of the meats lend them well to different cooking style. For instance a moose bourguignon is exceptional when compared to the same dish done with venison -- which is still good just not as good. Venison lends itself better to "sweet" and light dishes with fruit and cookie type spices than moose does which is a good candidate for savoury seasonings and rich sauces.

For my tastes, all three are quite different tasting. Now assuming we are talking about wild animals, (as farm raised venison and elk taste much different than their wild cousins), I prefer elk as I personally think it is more tender in texture and a bit milder in flavor than venison. I'm lucky to have an employee who brings me a yearly supply of elk steaks and tenderloins--the choicest cuts in my opinion. He usually hunts the Rocky Mountain species out of the high mountain ranges of Eastern Oregon. Elk tenderloin with a wild huckleberry sauce is divine.

I've only had moose a few times and it was terrible-stringy, tough and tasted "off." As I recall it was a roast. It may have been the animal, may have been the way the hunter harvested it or may have been a bad cook. In any case, it left me with a bad memory and one I don't care to revisit! I'd rate moose at the bottom of the scale next to the bear meat I've eaten.

A big bull shot at full rut in early fall and slowly removed from the bush is going to be bad -- but the same can be said for elk or deer. Moose are big and it is important to get them cooled quickly. We tend to shoot dry cows or small bulls. We field dress them and get them out of the woods within a couple of hours and then halve them and hang them for a week or two depending on weather. If it is any warmer than refrigerator temps we skin and cut sooner.

I've had bad moose and bad deer but it was always either "gifted" meat (when people want to give you lots of meat it usually isn't because it is prime stuff) or meat that had been butchered and cooked by someone else. With proper care and cooking even the oldest ruttiest animal can be made into something that is a pleasure to eat.

I think there are a few things can affect the taste of wild game. How old was the animal? How good were the year(s)? A young animal in years that have had kind winters are vastly different from those who are old and have endured many tough winters. And, then there's field dressing. If it's not done correctly, it can wreck it a good piece of meat.

A rutting male will be stronger than an early season male. A lactating female will be stronger than a dry female. And all of the above will be stronger than a yearling fawn (which has meat nearer the color of free range pork).

I get a thermometer stuck into the hams of all my animals as they hang. I'm looking for it go to a temp below 40 degrees and stay there. If you shot the animal through the guts and got intestinal juices and stomach contents all over everything, all bets are off. Immediate skinning and cutting of the animal is the only hope at this point.

Like all food, you should question where game came from. If hit by a car, was death instant? Were the insides ruptured? Bad news if the animal lingered for a couple of hours or has internal organs punctured. If hunted, was it run by dogs first or shot while in a calm state? Was the kill clean or did the animal need to be tracked for hours or even worse, left until the next morning as seems to be so common with bowhunters? I try to make head shots whenever possible to save on meat and ensure clean kills.