Hunting Forum

I was just looking at a site on aging deer (in my lagering fridge, which has an external temperature controller for making
lagers), which is my only real option, and saw something strange.  They say shooting a deer in the shoulder is deadly
(of course), but that there is more meat "ruined by the bullet."

Ok, here's my thoughts on this---someone please correct me if I'm wrong.  This meat "ruined" by the bullet is sausage!
Would that work?  Or is it literally just trashed?

Oh, while I'm here....  If I process the meat prior to aging in the fridge, and use the two racks that came with the fridge (I
kept them just in case), and the meat is all in freezer paper:

A) should it be in the freezer paper in the first place?  Or just exposed?
B) If in freezer paper, pack it loose or tight?
C) Is it ok to stack the deer on multiple shelves?  Or should there be one and only one layer?

Thanks,
   --jim

I always trim any bloodshot meat off and feed it to the dog. That's how I got him trained to blood trail wounded deer. Everything that goes into sausage is basically scrap pieces of meat, or hard to process as steak, chops, or roasts and it probably wouldn't make any difference if it's bloodshot or not; but it's a personal thing with me.

As for your question about the paper and the racks, I've put wrapping paper on the racks and laid the meat out on it, unwrapped and have used multiple racks at the same time. That was back before I had access to the walk-in cooler.

A) meat ruined by a bullet is trash or trapline bait. Don't try and make it into sausage.
B) There is no reason to age venison. Just makes it gamey process and freeze as soon as possible. That's what I've done for years with no issues.

Hey gut, just what is "gamey"? I've been eating wild game all of my life and I've never experienced anything other than natural flavor, so I have no idea what a "gamey" taste is!
I age my venison so that all of the blood can drain from the meat. Then when I process it, there's very little mess.

Posted By rthomas4 on 24 Oct 2012 11:53 AM
I always trim any bloodshot meat off and feed it to the dog. That's how I got him trained to blood trail wounded deer. Everything that goes into sausage is basically scrap pieces of meat, or hard to process as steak, chops, or roasts and it probably wouldn't make any difference if it's bloodshot or not; but it's a personal thing with me.

No dog here.  Just two cats (one about the size of a medium-sized dog, but he's not allowed to eat anything but his prescription
food---anything else and he gets stones in his urinary tract and would then need another surgery; the other is a small female
that probably wouldn't know what to do with it).  Once I have a sausage grinder for my Kitchenaid mixer, and have a deer to
test this on, I'll make a test batch of breakfast sausage.  :-)

As for your question about the paper and the racks, I've put wrapping paper on the racks and laid the meat out on it, unwrapped and have used multiple racks at the same time. That was back before I had access to the walk-in cooler.

Sounds like that would work.  I'll have to see how much I can really get in there, first, but right now, I'm just checking around
to find out what my options are.....

Thanks,
   --jim

Posted By gutpile on 24 Oct 2012 11:56 AM
A) meat ruined by a bullet is trash or trapline bait. Don't try and make it into sausage.
B) There is no reason to age venison. Just makes it gamey process and freeze as soon as possible. That's what I've done for years with no issues.

I've read that aging also allows various enzymes in the meat to break down some fibers (I'm hoping that means that white
stringy stuff---I'm drawing a blank on the name[1]---that's virtually impossible to chew, which, IMHO, will ruin even the best
(otherwise) steak.  If aging doesn't do anything more than that, it's still well worth it.  I have definitely read that it makes
the meat much more tender...again, well worth it to me.  Living on disability since my first cancer, I don't buy steak, as it's
too expensive for a "luxury" food item.  First deer I take down now that I'm finally almost able[2] to get back to deer
hunting, as soon as it's aged and I start processing, I'm pulling a few steaks that won't last beyond that day and the
next....  Steak and a baked potato plus veges for dinner, steak and eggs for breakfast, and another steak dinner.  :-)  My
mouth is already getting impatient.  :-)

Later,
   --jim

[1] chemobrain strikes again
[2] almost able is close enough for me...I'll deal with any pain and/or migraines that result from going beyond what I can
do comfortably......  (It's called taking back another part of my life that my first cancer took from me.)

If you're talking about the stuff that covers the outside of a muscle its called fascia (pronounced fasha). The only other white stringy stuff would be tendon or ligament. Tendons connect muscle to bone. Ligaments connect bone to bone.

Rt I've had venison from some other hunters that was absolutely nasty. Don't know what they did to it. But I was always taught to get it gutted, cooled down, processed, and in the freezer. With the exception of what you're going to use in the next few days. With the weather lately days in low 60s to mid 70s I ain't hangin nothin in the garage.

Posted By gutpile on 24 Oct 2012 03:45 PM
If you're talking about the stuff that covers the outside of a muscle its called fascia (pronounced fasha). The only other white stringy stuff would be tendon or ligament. Tendons connect muscle to bone. Ligaments connect bone to bone.

I remember now (chemobrain works that way) ... I was referring to what I know of as gristle.  I'm not sure what the
anatomical name for it is, though.  That, to me, will ruin any otherwise great steak, brisket, etc.

With the exception of what you're going to use in the next few days. With the weather lately days in low 60s to mid 70s I ain't hangin nothin in the garage.

I forgot to mention this, but that's the other reason why hanging deer outside is not an option here, in NW Florida (Gulf Coast).
Just a few days ago, it was 50 deg. overnight, and 82 deg during the day.  Even during winter, you can easily see that kind
of temperature variation from day to night (and so on).  Not good...definitely not good.

It's been my experience that the meat that a bullet passes through is not "ruined". It's just seperated from the rest of the muscle and torn up, and looks somewhat bloodshot. I soak mine in cold water with just a dab of white vinegar and non-iodized salt.
The salt and vinegar takes the blood out of the meat and if mixed with a pork sausage blend (your taste), the meat is just as useable as the rest of the deer.
Fryed at breakfast with eggs, homemade biscuits, and "sawmill" gravy, what more could you ask for?
Only part of deer I throw away is the fat, Lymph Nodes and meat that has the liver bile duct spilled on it.
I leave the fascia on the meat until I am ready to cook it because the "oldtimers" in my family believed this natural plastic wrap kept the flavor from leeching out of the meat. After the meat is thawed out it is easy to remove with a fillet knife before cooking. I've tryed it both ways and I feel the old timers were right. You can always take it off, but you can't put it back.

Posted By etaylor8 on 24 Oct 2012 08:40 PM
It's been my experience that the meat that a bullet passes through is not "ruined". It's just separated from the rest of the muscle and torn up, and looks somewhat bloodshot. I soak mine in cold water with just a dab of white vinegar and non-iodized salt.
The salt and vinegar takes the blood out of the meat and if mixed with a pork sausage blend (your taste), the meat is just as useable as the rest of the deer.

Fried at breakfast with eggs, homemade biscuits, and "sawmill" gravy, what more could you ask for?

What more could (would) I ask for?  My homemade habanero sauce, that's what.  :-)   Breakfast without habanero is, well,
just wrong.  Btw, my habanero sauce can be dished out with a fork ... but I use a modified cookout-style mustard/ketchup
bottle (the plastic type) with the spout cut wide enough for the chunks of habanero to get through....I call it "Habanero
Hellfire Heaven".  This year (soon, VERY soon---I've only got about a quart and a half left) I'll have to make a new batch
before I run out  I just hope my pepper garden has produced the required 750g of habs, 250g each of tabasco and
cayenne (for a more complex flavor), or I'm going to have to buy some (or, I might use Thai priks, Prik Ki Nu, to be
exact).  (Actually, to be really exact, that'd be Prik Ki Nu Daeng, as I won't pick them until they're nice and red/ripe.)
For those who don't know, there are two main types of Thai priks (chillis).  The one you normally see, long and thin, is
Prik Chi Fah, and it's the mild one (yawn).  The good one, shorter and fatter, is Prik Ki Nu, and it'll send your mouth for
a visit on the surface of the sun.  That's the one I grow (obviously)...and my Prik Ki Nu plants have been producing like
mad both this year and last year.  :-)

OH, and try this:  on biscuits, especially biscuits with a chicken patty or chicken fried steak patty, don't add anything
except either tabasco jelly or habanero jelly.  The chicken or chicken fried steak patties and either of those two
jellies compliment each other perfectly.  Just, ummm, remember to wash your hands BEFORE going to the bathroom.
If you forget, especially if you've handled the chiles themselves (even with gloves!), you'll find out why very quickly,,,,,,

Later,
   --jim

One of the biggest effects on any meat, regardless of whether it's wild or domesticated, is the manner in which it is cut up. Cutting with the grain will make meat tougher, whereas cutting against the grain helps let the natural enzymes break down the meat and make it more tender.

Jim, the best tasting and most tender piece of meat, regardless of it's origin is the tenderloin. I always remove them whole, and cook them whole. My favorite method is to wrap them in bacon and slow grill them. I can cut them with a fork when prepared this way. Too many people don't even know how to get to the tenderloins, or what they are, but they know which part of a pork chop or t-bone they always eat first. When I break down my deer, I cut the shoulders off first, then remove the tenderloins, then cut out the backstraps. I then saw through the backbone horizontally, at the pelvis, then split the pelvis so that I have two whole hams. I remove the shanks from the hams and shoulders, and discard everything that is just carcass. I cut the backstraps by hand into steaks or stew meat, have the shoulders ground into burger, and the hams are cubed. Sometimes, I'll cut a roast from a ham before cubing the rest, but under no circumstance do I ever throw the tenderloins into any mix....like I stated, leave them whole and cook 'em!!!!!!!!!!!

When we first get a deer fieldressed, out comes the tenderloin's and then kinda slice it like french sliced green beans, bout a 1/4 to 3/8 ths thick roll in salted and peppered flour then fry up a big skillet full of spuds, eggs any way you like them, biscuits and you can't beat that no matter what club you use in deer camp. period.