Interesting read here. I never dislike the taste of my venison but hear it all the time from other people on why they don't like venison. Maybe some tips to learn here. 12 Reasons Why Your Venison Tastes Like Hell | Deer Hunting | Realtree
I agree my only exception is that I do not field dress, I hang it up in the cooled garage to gut it with good access and lighting. I line a garbage can with a heavy duty garbage bad and drop the guts right into it. I can wipe out the gut cavity with paper towels and get it clean without water. Seems to help I get tender venison from bucks.
One thing not stated that a family friend who owns and runs a processing business told us at least for toughness of the meat is to let it completely thaw still wrapped. Thawing in it own juices will tenderize the meat.
Nice article and I agree with pretty much all of it. I'm lucky enough to live and hunt in an area where the deer have all the crops they want so they aren't spending their lives looking for browse. I think that makes a huge difference in the taste of an animal, along with proper care and processing.
I had to wet age in the cooler last fall and I did not notice the difference from dry aging except the inner side of the carcus did not dry out so I will be going with the cooler method.
I agree that what they have to eat is the number one influence on how the meat tastes and how tough it is. There is a reason that chickens, hogs, and cattle is fed corn and soybeans and that grass fed beef a open range chicken is a niche market "health food".
I get the guts out and the carcass cooled as soon as I can. I certainly agree that it goes into what you put into it.
Anymore I don't gut. I just skin and debone. A thick layer of ice in the cooler, layer of meat with nothing touching. Another layer of ice and so on. I get the tender loin out after I've removed the back strap. I just use my fingers to remove it, works awesome. Meat cools faster. Keep an eye on it for 3 days or so and then trim it up and package. I use ziplocks under water to get the air out so it doesn't freezer burn.
did the cooler aging this past fall but kept the meat out of contact with the ice. aged for a week and was real pleased with the results.
