# Gamey taste??



## raven1911 (Jan 5, 2008)

Just wondering what you all do to lower the gamey taste of wild game?  I know a lot of you soak the meat.  Does this need to be done while the meat is fresh or can it be done after the meat has been frozen??  Any other ideas would be appreciated.


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## bustedluckbarbq (Jan 5, 2008)

i dont really soak my deer in anything... if i notice i get one with a little more game flavor.... i usually cook it with onions and apple slices....

when i cook a whole goose or even the breast, i usually use apples and onions also... 

sometimes i marinade in italian dressing to reduce a strong game flavor...


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## bbq enthusiast (Jan 5, 2008)

soak in milk for an hour will help.


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## bustedluckbarbq (Jan 5, 2008)

I have had game soaked in milk and it does seem to work well to reduce the gamey taste...


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## peculiarmike (Jan 5, 2008)

Make sure you remove all fat and "silver skin". The fat turns rancid quickly and gives a bad flavor.
You can soak in buttermilk, milk, etc.


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## zapper (Jan 5, 2008)

Make that a buttermilk soak.


Cook with the old tried and true bacon


Spice it up a bit, but try to stick with one theme, hot spicy, garlic, rosemary, teriaki and so on


Get used to the taste


Wine


Gravey. (store bought and then I add mushrooms)


Cook smaller portions to allow the other components of the dish to mask the gamey taste. Or consider that the meat portion of the meal is not supposed to be the major portion, the veggies and grain are. (Not gonna fly at my house, but that is how it is supposed to be)


Better handeling and care between the kill and the cooking. Quick kill, quick bleed, quick chill. Do not throw into a cooler full of ice and let the meat soak, it will only water log your meat, spread the game taste and maybe ruin the texture. Try to take younger game. 

Some meat does better with longer cooking, some less, cook to proper doneness.


Some meats and cuts do better in the freezer than others and their end use might help determine if they should be frozen as is or cooked as the end product and then frozen. Like ground that is going to mixed into a chili or spaghetti sause can go srtaight into the freezer as is, but chops and steaks I think are better fresher.



I also think that smaller portions for freezing help me decide to use the food sooner. I would be more likely to put off that huge roast because of the cooking time or waiting for a special occasion as opposed to one that would be quicker to do up for a anytime meal.


A friend of mine prefreezes complete cooked and uncooked dishes and meals in advance. (Too organized for me, but a great way to do things)
They cut up all of the veggies and meat for like a stew  or roast and freeze everything together in a batch for later use. They can cook it at home or if they decide to take off camping they just grab a couple of frozen meals out of the freezer, toss them in a cooler and head out. When they cook fresh food they will put the left overs from dinner in the freezer almost before they have cooled.


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## ds7662 (Jan 5, 2008)

Soaking in milk or soaking in salt water is what I have always done.
I have soaked after freezing and have not had a bad taste.


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## raven1911 (Jan 6, 2008)

Thanks guys, I haven't heard of the milk soaking.  Do I use buttermilk or regular milk??  Does it matter what kind of milk it is??

On a separate note I read somewhere to soak my boar meat in ice water, vinegar and lemon juice for 2-3 days, changing the water.  This is supposed to tenderize the meat and help with the gamey flavor.  I will have to try the milk and the ice water, vinegar, lemon juice sometime.


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## bkennedy (Jan 7, 2008)

Well..We never do anything but hang, skin and quarter immediately. Removing all of the glands..two in the shoulder and two inside back thighs. (See in a good wild game encyclopedia) Next we debone and remove silver skin.. keeping it in a cooler and cold at all times. Most of the meat is cut in sizes for grinding, and frying ...hardly ever do roasts except the back strap. The steaks all go through a tenderizer and are packaged for chicken frying. Never had a problem with strong tasting meat. Have killed a few that we ground the whole deer because it was so old and tough...lol 

This is a common country way of processing a deer in the hill country of Texas..Most of our deer don't weigh 100 pounds after quartered or deboned..


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## mcm1013 (Jan 8, 2008)

Ditto Ken
I have soaked Deer and Hogs in water/ice water and I have hung them in the cooler and personally I like them in water.
In addition to this, we drain the water several times for the first couple hours.


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## blackhawk19 (Jan 8, 2008)

If your deer has been hunted right and cleaned right you won't have any problems, if you run it with dogs or drives you will never get the wild taste out of it because there's to much adrenalin in the muscles.


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## pmroadie (Jan 8, 2008)

Soaking in ice water seems to help all fresh killed meat.... I like deer to taste like deer though.wild .   On wild hogs I use a 32oz bottle of real lemon juice and half cup vinigar in the ice water...  works good..


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## mcm1013 (Jan 10, 2008)

Yes sir, it is.  He is 6 months old, going to be a monster, and as Bull Headed as he can be.  He is my 6th Lab and although he is very bull headed, he might be the sharpest also....will see.


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## goat (Jan 10, 2008)

If you have ever been to a high end restaurant that serves venison, you will find that it tastes like venison.

PS.  I agree with Blackhawk.


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