# Newbie with backstrap



## candycoated (Jan 26, 2013)

Hello wild game folks!

I've never butchered, prepared, or cooked deer, I'd appreciate some hand holding instructions. I've eaten it fried only, and liked it just fine. I'm actually not a fan of fried food, not for health reasons or anything, I just really like grilled meats. I have fried (store bought) pork loin and chicken strips; milk soak and flour dredge, tenderize the pork. Fish fillets in corn meal.

So, I pulled out a backstrap to thaw from a whitetail doe about 5 years old. The meat is about 24" long, tapers at the end, and is about 3.5" diameter in the thickest part. It weighs right at 3 pounds, there is some (pretty dark) bloody liquid in the package, and it needs to be trimmed up. The meat was kept on ice water for 3 days, water changed daily, before it was vacuum sealed and stored in a chest freezer.

I'd like to smoke some, and prepare some for frying.

I figure I'll cut it in half. One half (with the thicker taper) seasoned and wrapped in bacon for the smoker. The other half I will cut up for frying, my husband likes it fried.

Questions:
Do I need to use any insta-cure to make the meat safe? I have 5 pounds of #1.

Do I need to leech more blood out of it?

Should I cut it in half? Or cut off the ends for frying and use the center for smoking?

Should I cut up the half for frying into strips, or medallions?

How do folks batter up the meat for frying?

(Any questions I'm not asking, please let me know.)

Thanks for reading!


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## backwoods bbq (Jan 28, 2013)

let the meat soak in salt water to draw out the blood this will get most of the gamey taste out or you can soak in buttermilk. Speaking of buttermillk, flour, salt, pepper, do a double dip of these with buttermilk in between for a "crispy" crunchy batter strips are good medalians make it seem like you are "salvaging parts" Freezer should have killed any bacteria/organisms make sure you fry to a golden brown at 325-350 good luck


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## smokeamotive (Jan 28, 2013)

Candy, STOP!!!! You are about to destroy the best cut on the deer! Not to mention any other animal!

1. Take the Whole backstrap and place on a cutting board. You will notice there is a large tendon running the length of it. Using a filet knife, start at the small end of the backstrap (Tendon facing down) and cut the tendon off, like fileting a fish. You will find there will still be some small sections of the tendon still on the backstrap. You can just trim these off with your knife. There will also be a piece of muscle that comes off with it, I usually just throw this in my grinder meat. Now you will have a whole timmed backstrap. It should look a nice dark red and free of any fat or tendon. At this point I cut them into steaks from 4 to 6 inches in length.

2. At this point they are ready to season and cook. I use a bottled marinade called Alegro's. The original flavor. It can be found in most grocery stores. I marinade the steak(s) for 30 mins. to an hour, No more! This stuff can be pretty salty!

3. Place steak(s) on a Hot gill to sear, once seared move to indirect heat to finish. Not more than medium. Cooking them further will cause them to be dry and tough and very unenjoyable!

4. Serve right off the grill with a baked potato and veggie of choice.I usually have Bushes Bold and Spicy beans, the flavor combinations are fantastic!

Not to mention this will be the best Steak you've ever eaten!!!!!!!

Venison, When properly cleaned and prepped will have no gammy taste. Soaking in salt water or buttermilk is Not needed. The key is to remove all bones, fat, Silverskin and large tendons. This is where venison gets it's gammy taste! I have been doing my venison this way for many years and No One has ever complained of a gammy taste! Most times they can't even tell it's game meat!

BTW I have Never Ever floured, breaded, battered or Fried Venison......It's a perfect waste of good meat!!!


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## candycoated (Jan 28, 2013)

Tonight I cooked my first deer meat ever, and it was good!! My husband raved, I'm happy. :)

I figured I'd let you all know what i did to the meat... just in case there is ever anyone looking for information too.

First I learned as long as you don't pierce the meat before the outside has reached a high temp, and if you are cooking the meat hot and fast, there's no need for curing salts.

So I took the defrosted backstrap out of the vacuum seal package. I decided that maybe smoking wasn't good for it because the meat was soft and very pliable. I don't know if that logic is right, but I'm glad I followed my instinct.

I cleaned the silver skin off, very careful not to take off too much meat. It seemed much more bloody than beef I get from the grocer.

Cut it int o 2-3" medallions, then butterflied. The ends and small pieces I tossed in to buttermilk for frying, no seasoning.

I got 7 steaks, tossed them in with 1/3 cup marinade, vacuum sealed.

3 parts canola oil

1 part soy sauce

1 part Worcestershire sauce

1 part apple cider vinegar

3 tsp powder garlic

2 tsp black pepper













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__ candycoated
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They marinated for about 18 hours.

After the meat marinated I could tell it had toughened up a bit.

I washed them off, dried, and sprinkled garlic & black pepper before grilling for 3 minutes on each side, just like I would a rib-eye.

Here are the pieces after soaking in buttermilk for about 18 hours.













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__ candycoated
__ Jan 28, 2013






Mmmm, bloody buttermilk. ;p

I tossed these pieces in heavily seasoned all-purpose flour with Tony's, onion powder, garlic powder, fresh cracked black pepper.

Fried them in peanut oil in a cast iron pot.

Not sure if I fried them too long or what, 5-6 minutes, but the meat was cooked all the way through and was a bit chewy. I loved the flavor though. Next time I'll tenderize them a bit- I take a sharp knife and slice the surface, careful not to go all the way through meat. Or maybe I'll add some seasoning to the milk.

I also made baked beans from dry beans. They turned out okay, edible. Wasn't excellent because I added some chopped beef I'd made 6 months ago in a crock pot. (It was bad when I cooked it back then, and wasn't very good added to beans. Guess I'll throw the rest of that chopped beef out.)













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__ candycoated
__ Jan 28, 2013






The grilled steaks were awesome!

Excellent flavor and texture!

Take a look!













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__ candycoated
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While we were eating, deputy dog (13.5 yr old rat terrier like mutt) started barking in the kitchen. I hadn't put the cooked meat up yet... found my female cat snacking on a piece of fried venison. I don't allow them on my counters, so she instantly jumped on top of the refrigerator where they are allowed to hang out, she knew she was being bad.

Here's the bad kitty.













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__ candycoated
__ Jan 28, 2013






Welp, that was my adventure today.

Anybody got any thoughts to share? Critique me, or give me some advice!


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## candycoated (Jan 28, 2013)

Thanks for the replies y'all. I was writing my results post when y'all posted. After reading the advice from you both, seems I did pretty good following my instinct.


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## backwoods bbq (Jan 28, 2013)

if you want to get down to it, I like to make jerky out of my backstrap, probably because every day growing up (very poor) we always had 2 things vegetables from the garden and deer meat whether it was shot legally or illegally (hey you cant let your family starve) I had deer steak more than i care to think about but deer jerky was something i never had until i started making it about 5 years ago. If your saying buttermilk does not get the game taste out of wild animal try your method on a 300 pound wild boar and see what happens! Hey it works...all im saying.


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## smokeamotive (Jan 28, 2013)

Candy, your meat was tough because it was overcooked. Venison is a very delicate meat, partly because of the lack of fat. Butterflying or meddalions makes it cook very quickly! Personally I like mine on the rare side. Then it is very tender (like butter) and quite sweet! Next time try my method (listed above). Talk about your husband raving about it!  Oh and please.....There is no need to Ever tenderise backstrap, remember, this is the Filet Mingon of Deer and every bit as tasty if not more so than Beef.  Marinade this piece of meat for some flavoring only. Try marinading it for only an hour or two at most. Then cook quickly to medium at Most.


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## smokeamotive (Jan 28, 2013)

Backwoods BBQ said:


> If your saying buttermilk does not get the game taste out of wild animal try your method on a 300 pound wild boar and see what happens! Hey it works...all im saying.


Ok, now you done went from apples to oranges. Different game, Different treatment. It's all good. But really, you use backstrap for jerky? Round here thats a Sin!!! But it's your Deer!


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## smokeamotive (Jan 28, 2013)

candycoated said:


> Thanks for the replies y'all. I was writing my results post when y'all posted. After reading the advice from you both, seems I did pretty good following my instinct.


Not bad at all, just need some tweeking. Hey I've ruined plenty of venison in the quest for the best recipes!


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## candycoated (Jan 28, 2013)

Backwoods BBQ, not sure if I misunderstood you but... I never said buttermilk doesn't take the gamey flavor out.

It fact, I believe you're right, I was really surprised how much I liked the fried meat, besides being a bit chewy. I'm keeping buttermilk in my fridge from now on till forever, glad I happened to have some and decided to use it.

Smokeamotive, I will definitely try your suggestions next time.

I'm in to making my own marinades. Would you happen to have any ingredient suggestions?


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## backwoods bbq (Jan 28, 2013)

When you have a BIG Catholic family (100 strong at Thanksgiving every year) all the men hunt deer except me they tag out every year in deer season gun and bow (texas) then they go to kansas on a multi-thousand dollar hunting trip to tag out you end up having 3 freezers full of deer meat... and thats considering i dont deer hunt. So i make sausage and jerky I always cut up my backstrap for jerky but i dont cut it up for sausage :) for steaks i would take beef any day of the week over backstrap just preference (got burnt out as a kid) (squash also). For jerky I would take deer jerky over ANY kind of jerky (as long as i Make it) So, if your ever down in Texas bring me any kind of game bird, or wild hog...I will give you all the backstrap you want. :) Oh...That goes for Catfish also! Hell you can take the catfish free of charge!


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## candycoated (Jan 28, 2013)

You must be giving away those old muddy cats Backwoods? Blue cats are good!


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## backwoods bbq (Jan 28, 2013)

growing up i ate it all blue cat, mud cat, channel cat, OP. you name it even saltwater catfish cant remember the actual name.


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## smokeamotive (Jan 28, 2013)

candycoated said:


> Backwoods BBQ, not sure if I misunderstood you but... I never said buttermilk doesn't take the gamey flavor out.
> 
> It fact, I believe you're right, I was really surprised how much I liked the fried meat, besides being a bit chewy. I'm keeping buttermilk in my fridge from now on till forever, glad I happened to have some and decided to use it.
> 
> ...


Aside from the Allegro, which is my favorite, I would tend to keep it simple. As stated before ,propery trimed and preped venison does'nt need "cover flavors". I have used soy and whistestetshire (however it's spelled) prehaps some garlic and onion and of course CBP. I don't usually use any oil in my marinade. I find it just causes fires and burns the outside of the meat when grilling. But this would be for Venison. It just depends on what your marinading as to what to put in it.


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## smokeamotive (Jan 28, 2013)

Backwoods BBQ said:


> When you have a BIG Catholic family (100 strong at Thanksgiving every year) all the men hunt deer except me they tag out every year in deer season gun and bow (texas) then they go to kansas on a multi-thousand dollar hunting trip to tag out you end up having 3 freezers full of deer meat... and thats considering i dont deer hunt. So i make sausage and jerky I always cut up my backstrap for jerky but i dont cut it up for sausage :) for steaks i would take beef any day of the week over backstrap just preference (got burnt out as a kid) (squash also). For jerky I would take deer jerky over ANY kind of jerky (as long as i Make it) So, if your ever down in Texas bring me any kind of game bird, or wild hog...I will give you all the backstrap you want. :) Oh...That goes for Catfish also! Hell you can take the catfish free of charge!


Man and I thought I grew up with large Catholic families. Yall must have thanksgiving in a barn! Only place big enough that I can think of. Was last in Texas in "84". Took basic traning at Ft Bliss.

I make my jerky from the top and bottom round roasts (as we call em) off the hams. But ain't nothin wrong with a goood beef steak, kinda got me a hankerin for one now.  Last hog I saw was 2 years ago and just missed him with my bow,(gave him a haircut) since then the pros have moved in and all but wiped em out. And I'll take any game that someone want to give me,catfish ,crappie,walleye, deer, pig, pheasant just no waterfowl, never have developed a taste for it.


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## doug mattison (Jan 28, 2013)

I like to use the Shore Lunch brand of breading when I deep fry venison, has a good flavor, the Cajun seasoned Shore Lunch is good too if you like a little spice.  It's more of a flour based breading (not a fan of the gritty cornmeal).  I fry it just like I fry fish, beat a couple eggs in a bowl, take thinner cut pieces or smaller cubes that way it cook through without burning the breading, put them in the eggs then into a zip lock with the breading.  It's pretty darn good just like that with no prior seasoning or marinade to the backstrap.


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## candycoated (Jan 28, 2013)

I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little scared of not marinating the venison with a heavy flavor. I'm scared I wont like the venison, gotta take it slow, acquired tastes and all.

But, I think the next one will be 2-4" thick steaks, not butterflied, wrapped with one slice of bacon, garlic pepper, sear.

That's how it was with beef rib-eyes. First started marinating over night, and cooking till well done.

Now I take it out of the package, slap a little garlic and pepper, sear it for 3-5 mins on each side (depending on thickness), DONE!

The end pieces and odd chunks, I'm gonna try that egg batter Doug Mattison suggested. Sounds good.

Thanks!


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## smokeamotive (Jan 29, 2013)

I Think you will be suprised by the flavor of a properly cooked backstrap! Try it just like you said with just some garlic and black pepper. This cut will stand by itself if not over cooked. And don't worry about the blood..........Look at it this way, would you soak a T-bone or Ribeye in water before cooking?


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## trevcunn (Jan 29, 2013)

Smokeamotive said:


> Candy, STOP!!!! You are about to destroy the best cut on the deer! Not to mention any other animal!
> 
> 1. Take the Whole backstrap and place on a cutting board. You will notice there is a large tendon running the length of it. Using a filet knife, start at the small end of the backstrap (Tendon facing down) and cut the tendon off, like fileting a fish. You will find there will still be some small sections of the tendon still on the backstrap. You can just trim these off with your knife. There will also be a piece of muscle that comes off with it, I usually just throw this in my grinder meat. Now you will have a whole timmed backstrap. It should look a nice dark red and free of any fat or tendon. At this point I cut them into steaks from 4 to 6 inches in length.
> 
> ...


This is how we cook our backstraps exactly. The alegro marinade is excellent. This has become one of my favorite pieces of meat to eat.


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## woodcutter (Jan 29, 2013)

Doug Mattison said:


> I like to use the Shore Lunch brand of breading when I deep fry venison, has a good flavor, the Cajun seasoned Shore Lunch is good too if you like a little spice.  It's more of a flour based breading (not a fan of the gritty cornmeal).  I fry it just like I fry fish, beat a couple eggs in a bowl, take thinner cut pieces or smaller cubes that way it cook through without burning the breading, put them in the eggs then into a zip lock with the breading.  It's pretty darn good just like that with no prior seasoning or marinade to the backstrap.


X2 on the Shore Lunch. I do the same with partridge and pheasants.


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## bob1961 (Jan 29, 2013)

ok venison has gotta a real bad name in which people say stay away it's gamey as all heck....but if billt bob would not drive around town all day with the deer tied to the hood of his car cooking from the motors heat, well ya get the drift, LOL....this is how i have done every single one of my 56 deer to date from 1981....well i started boning out any deer i have gotten since 1996 from the way i did it before 96....
    it gets skinned as soon as i get it hung by the rear legs....every piece of meat comes off the bones, i never cut the bones with a saw as that is where you get the GAMEY taste from, bone dust that doesn't get washed off before cooking, back to my way of deer processing....as every hunk of venison comes off the bone it goes into plastic shopping bags and in my fridge's bottom on a towel to catch any blood drips....one bag has one hind quarter in it so there are 2 with rear quarter meat....one bag has the back straps in it and the last bag has all neck meat and remaining small stuff off deer....
    those bags stay in there wrapped closed but not air tight and after 5 days i start on the bag with the small stuff first, then i do a bag a day working each muscle into it's own hunk of meat removing any silver skin "sinew" thay call in....everything gets cut into steaks and stew/stir fry, then wrapped tight in glad wrap and then butcher paper to eliminate any freezer burn from air contact on the meats surface....major cause of freezer burn is that air contact on any meat no matter how good it is sealed, get that air contact of anything you freeze and you will never worry bout freezer burn....
     i have my process down to 3.5 hours from kill to in my fridge in bags to age, that 3.5 is from kill shot to getting my deer home and in fridge to eating fresh tender loins fried to perfection....only time i use insta cure is making venison jerkey, but the way i make it it needs it due to the clod air drying i use....any questions please post up or PM me....


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## themule69 (Jan 29, 2013)

looks like i am a day late and a dollar short on getting in on this. but here is my .02 what makes a deer gammy is not handling it right after the kill. if you ride it around showing your buddies. all the other things that are done after the kill. that don't include getting it field dressed then into the cooler. if beef was handled the way most deer are, you wouldn't like beef. keep it clean wash with clean water. then cool as fast as possable. remember under 4 hours the grill or smoker in the danger zone. that also applies to deer in the back of a truck or hanging from a tree..you can fry it if you must. but cooked by it's self over grill  or skillet is pretty tasty. jerky and sausage is also good. same thing applies to all wild game.

happy smokin.

david


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## backwoods bbq (Jan 29, 2013)

themule69 said:


> looks like i am a day late and a dollar short on getting in on this. but here is my .02 what makes a deer gammy is not handling it right after the kill. if you ride it around showing your buddies. all the other things that are done after the kill. that don't include getting it field dressed then into the cooler. if beef was handled the way most deer are, you wouldn't like beef. keep it clean wash with clean water. then cool as fast as possable. remember under 4 hours the grill or smoker in the danger zone. that also applies to deer in the back of a truck or hanging from a tree..you can fry it if you must. but cooked by it's self over grill  or skillet is pretty tasty. jerky and sausage is also good. same thing applies to all wild game.
> 
> happy smokin.
> 
> david


mule, you are ABSOLUTELY right! One thing that people always forget or seem to is that after you kill a deer you need to CUT OFF THE TESTICLES. This is very important and in Wild Hog is CRUCIAL!!!!!


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## candycoated (Jan 29, 2013)

Welp, I'm still alive, not sick or anything, so I guess I cooked the deer right, AND I was looking forward to eating the deer when I got hungry today.

My husband skinned and quartered the deer asap after he shot it, so it shouldn't be tainted. All his kills this year were Does, so no testies either. ;p We were told by his friends and family to soak the meat for a few days before deboning. They said it was how you "age" the meat if you don't have a dry hang cooler. After it soaked, we deboned, vacuum sealed, wrapped in freezer paper, then froze.

Today I got 4 lbs of beef fat trimmings from the butcher, for free. Some of it looks kinda skanky, and other fat parts look really pretty and white with a little red marbling. I'm gonna make ground venison with non-backstrap parts for hot and fast cooking... dirty rice, maybe some spaghetti sauce, mixed with flour and cheese for a kind of sausage ball... Y'all think that sound like a good plan?

Please share any comments!


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## smokeamotive (Jan 29, 2013)

I have never heard of "Water Aging" before. If I can help it at all, I never let the meat come in contact with water. Water will incite bacteria growth. As long as it was a clean kill, not gut shot, and field dressed quickly, skined and quartered and placed in some kind of refigeration there is no need to wash the deer. I do agree with removing the testies asap. Also If it's a buck in full rut I will also remove the tarsel glands. These can add a nasty taste to the hams.

Also make sure to save some stew meat. I make a deer stew thats awesome. Make your regular stew recipe but instead of browning the meat (makes it tough and chewy) place all the ingredients in an oven safe dish or roaster and cook @ 200 all day. You'll love it.


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## smoke happens (Jan 29, 2013)

I have never aged deer. Shoot it, dress it out completely down to the bone, and take the trimmed meat in plastic bags to a cooler and put on ice. When I get it home, I trim any silver skin or fat, portion out any steaks or roasts, rinse, dry, vac seal then into the freezer. Always worked well for me.


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## smokeamotive (Jan 29, 2013)

Sounds about word for word what I do. Nothin else needed!


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## themule69 (Jan 30, 2013)

candycoated said:


> Welp, I'm still alive, not sick or anything, so I guess I cooked the deer right, AND I was looking forward to eating the deer when I got hungry today.
> 
> My husband skinned and quartered the deer asap after he shot it, so it shouldn't be tainted. All his kills this year were Does, so no testies either. ;p We were told by his friends and family to soak the meat for a few days before deboning. They said it was how you "age" the meat if you don't have a dry hang cooler. After it soaked, we deboned, vacuum sealed, wrapped in freezer paper, then froze.
> 
> ...


i make a lot of Italian sausage out of deer and hog. goes great spaghetti, lasagna and on pizza.

happy smoken.

david


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## candycoated (Jan 30, 2013)

I wouldn't be surprised if the fam didn't know what they were talking about. They pay to have their meat processed, they were absolutely no help when I had questions about how to prepare my meats. ;p. And they showed my hubs how to butcher a deer, a quick and easy way where you don't have to skin it, but the down side is you miss the tenderloin... something like that. Anyways, I expressed my dissatisfaction with not getting the tenderloin, so the hubs has watched a bunch of youtube vids, we should have the tenderloins next season. ;p

I'll prolly not soak em next time too, see if there is any difference. Thanks y'all!


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## smoking b (Jan 30, 2013)

candycoated said:


> I wouldn't be surprised if the fam didn't know what they were talking about. They pay to have their meat processed, they were absolutely no help when I had questions about how to prepare my meats. ;p. And they showed my hubs how to butcher a deer, a quick and easy way where you don't have to skin it, but the down side is you miss the tenderloin... something like that. Anyways, I expressed my dissatisfaction with not getting the tenderloin, so the hubs has watched a bunch of youtube vids, we should have the tenderloins next season. ;p
> 
> I'll prolly not soak em next time too, see if there is any difference. Thanks y'all!










          I've never heard of such a method - around here that would get a person shunned!        
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





       
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





Good deal!  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





      
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





         

Did you make the sausage balls?


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## candycoated (Jan 30, 2013)

Don't shun us, just call it a learning curve!!

Should have seen us trying to get the meat off a 200lb wild sow he shot while I was with him. It was LOL.

No sausage balls yet, wanted to grind last night but we had bad weather and every time a little rain comes in the electricity goes out. This time it was off for 10 hours!

I'll be grinding tonight, and just because you asked I'll make sausage balls first to see how it turns out, and let y'all know... good or bad.


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## smokeamotive (Jan 30, 2013)

The tenderloins are the first thing I take out of the deer. They can be removed before the deer is skinned. I would not be taking butchering advice from someone who pays to have it done. Where is there experience. There are some good vids out there on deer buthchering, Just keep checking out youtube. The internet is a wonderful thing when you learn how to explore it!


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## smoke happens (Jan 30, 2013)

My guess is they showed him a method on how to bone out a deer without having to gut it, you get everything but the tenderlions pretty much. Ok for small deer where the tenderlions are so small they may not be worth the effort of gutting, but generally a frowned upon practice since the tenderlion is the best part of the deer followed by the backstrap (IMO anyways).


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## smokeamotive (Jan 30, 2013)

Smoke Happens said:


> Ok for small deer where the tenderlions are so small they may not be worth the effort of gutting, but generally a frowned upon practice since the tenderlion is the best part of the deer followed by the backstrap (IMO anyways).


X2


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## themule69 (Jan 30, 2013)

it's all worth the effort to me. i use the ribs. trim the neck if i can get a piece the size of a marble. it is going to be got and ground or something. if you will clean a squirrel then the tender loin is a no brain er. just my .02

happy smoken.

David


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## bhawkins (Jan 30, 2013)

First I have to agree with the ones that said no soaking required. I like the flavor of deer meat and if it is handled quickly after the kill it is fine. This is the first time I have heard that cutting the bone creates gamey taste. I can't say that it don't just never heard it before. I always did cut the bones and never knew it to give a bad taste. My two favorite ways to cook deer is either on the grill, or a cast  iron skillet, hot and fast. As far as marinades for flavor I would treat it a lot like beef seeing that they are both red meats.


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## themule69 (Jan 30, 2013)

BHawkins said:


> First I have to agree with the ones that said no soaking required. I like the flavor of deer meat and if it is handled quickly after the kill it is fine. This is the first time I have heard that cutting the bone creates gamey taste. I can't say that it don't just never heard it before. I always did cut the bones and never knew it to give a bad taste. My two favorite ways to cook deer is either on the grill, or a cast iron skillet, hot and fast. As far as marinades for flavor I would treat it a lot like beef seeing that they are both red meats.


the bone cutting is new to me also. i have cut a lot of bones.

happy smoken.

david


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## candycoated (Jan 31, 2013)

Smoke Happens, you are right. Talked to the hubs a bit more in detail after I read your post.

Yep, seems I'm gonna have'ta supervisor his butchering, like a Boss.


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## smoking b (Jan 31, 2013)

candycoated said:


> Smoke Happens, you are right. Talked to the hubs a bit more in detail after I read your post.
> 
> Yep, seems I'm gonna have'ta supervisor his butchering, like a Boss.


Teamwork!  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





    Did you get to make the sausage balls?  I'm anxious to see how how they turn out


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## candycoated (Jan 31, 2013)

cubing meat for the grinder is not as easy and fast as I had dreamed.

I am so tired, I'll have to grind it tomorrow.

Question.

One of the bags I defrosted was what I guess you'd call the calf or forearm. Little bitty tiny pieces of muscle (1-2" diameter) encased in sinew. Well, that wasn't the smartest choice, I've read several times that stuff wont grind well, and trying to cut it off would have left me with more waste than cubed meat... so what do you do with it? Stew?


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## smokinhusker (Jan 31, 2013)

Good job on the venison Candy!

I shot a cow elk and a mule deer buck a year ago with just the BF and I hunting - like the guys have all said "how you handle it after the kill determines for the most part whether it will be gamey tasting" Sorry never heard of the "water aging" as I've always heard to NOT let it soak in water.

The sausage balls sound interesting, can't wait to hear about those! I made smoked meat balls from ground elk and beef fat and oh my were they delicious!

The elk and venison were some of the best that we have had - no gamey taste and 95% of it was fork tender. 

I'll send you a PM in a bit with some other info to help you with the butchering/processing for future use.


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## themule69 (Jan 31, 2013)

candycoated said:


> cubing meat for the grinder is not as easy and fast as I had dreamed.
> 
> I am so tired, I'll have to grind it tomorrow.
> 
> ...


cut it out and grind it. no waste.


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## candycoated (Jan 31, 2013)

Thanks SmokinHusker, I'd appreciate any information!

Sure you don't wanna post it here tho? There may be other newbies lurking. :)


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## candycoated (Jan 31, 2013)

Ok I ground some sausage! It took maybe 5 minutes to grind this up with my cabela's #8. So easy!

I think I'll try grinding up those small pieces that I mentioned earlier whole, minimal trimming, to see what happens. My grinder chewed through this trimmed up stuff like it was nothing.

Deer meat cubed up 4.4lbs













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__ candycoated
__ Jan 31, 2013






I could only get my hands on 0.6lbs of pork fat, so added 1lbs of beef fat for a total of 1.6lbs of fat added.













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__ candycoated
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Seasoned with 1TBS + 1tsp of kosher salt

1tsp ground sage

1/2tsp ground celery (I love celery flavor, but it's a strong seasoning. however, next time I will use more)

1tsp cayenne pepper

1tsp black pepper

1tsp granulated red bell pepper

1tsp onion powder

1tsp of pumpkin spice (nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger mix. leaving this out next time)

I portioned out 5lbs in 1lbs bags to freeze, and then I cooked what was left for dinner.

Sorry Smoking B, I'll have sausage balls soon!

Sorry for no more pics but my hands were nasty.

Here was our breakfast for dinner. Deer sausage patties and deer sausage drippings made in to gravy- a little lumpy but tasted great!













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__ candycoated
__ Jan 31, 2013


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## backwoods bbq (Jan 31, 2013)

haha pumpkin spice. never tried that, sounds like im not missing anything huh?


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## candycoated (Jan 31, 2013)

I decided my ratio of added fat and seasonings from reading a few different recipes I got from Scarbelly's (still teaching newbs :)) #4 post in this thread:

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/102292/great-sausage-website#post_580953

Well, I noticed a bunch of of recipes that were named "old timey"  had clove or other seasonings in that flavor family i.e. pumpkin spices, so I thought I'd try it. I appreciate it, just not my favorite.


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## smoking b (Jan 31, 2013)

> Originally Posted by *candycoated*
> 
> Sorry Smoking B, I'll have sausage balls soon!
> 
> ...


Ok I can wait - I've developed a lot more patience as I get old   
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






The meal looks good.  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





   I would need a bigger helping though


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## bhawkins (Feb 1, 2013)

candycoated said:


> I wouldn't be surprised if the fam didn't know what they were talking about. They pay to have their meat processed, they were absolutely no help when I had questions about how to prepare my meats. ;p. And they showed my hubs how to butcher a deer, a quick and easy way where you don't have to skin it, but the down side is you miss the tenderloin... something like that. Anyways, I expressed my dissatisfaction with not getting the tenderloin, so the hubs has watched a bunch of youtube vids, we should have the tenderloins next season. ;p
> 
> I'll prolly not soak em next time too, see if there is any difference. Thanks y'all!


This post may be a bit late in this thread, I just couldn't get to my computer much this week and a post like this is difficult at best from my phone.

Ok here goes, and I am sure even more experienced people will correct my mistakes, however I have never been able to dress a deer without skinning it. That is the first thing you do is take it clothes off to get to the meat.I was told of a method where you did not dump the guts out until you cut the rib cage free, and that only works if you are only wanting the 'prime cuts'. If you save everything but the grunt, you will have to open up the body cavity and remove guts as well. After peeling the hide down and cutting off the head(was how I did it to be able to lower the deer a bit and get to it better) the next step was to take off the front legs. There is no bone connecting the shoulder to the body so it is a matter of swinging the arm out a bit and finding the gap with your knife, just like a chicken wing. I always used a small paring knife to remove the backstraps. With the small fine blade I could feel every bone of the spine or rib cage and pull them out. I never kept the rib cage, here in Alabama deer I killed didn't have enough meat on them to fool with. After making sure you got the tenderloins out, again deer here are smaller than a lot of other places and may not have any or they may be small, cut the spine at the point where it joins the hips and you are left with two hind quarters hanging up and still joined in the middle. The bladder(pee bag or whatever folks there call it) is actually cradled in the pelvic bone and difficult to remove without puncturing it unless you do cut the bone. I keep a folding pack saw made by Gerber that has a fine tooth blade on it for cutting the bones. After splitting the pelvic bone and separating the hind quarters you can cut the legs to length, wrapping everything in plastic bags and placing on ice as you go until you can get it to a fridge. One thing is true though if you have a cold place to hang the meat for a little while and let the blood drain from it that will help to ensure that the "game" taste is not there. The two main places that the bad taste comes from is the blood and the fat. If you don't believe me on the fat just butcher a wild fed cow straight off the grass. It will not taste the same as one that has been grain fed for even six weeks before killing.

Now I will ask this: I was once told that the belly flap off a deer was no good. Is that true or have I been skipping some great meat??


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## themule69 (Feb 1, 2013)

BHawkins said:


> This post may be a bit late in this thread, I just couldn't get to my computer much this week and a post like this is difficult at best from my phone.
> 
> Ok here goes, and I am sure even more experienced people will correct my mistakes, however I have never been able to dress a deer without skinning it. That is the first thing you do is take it clothes off to get to the meat.I was told of a method where you did not dump the guts out until you cut the rib cage free, and that only works if you are only wanting the 'prime cuts'. If you save everything but the grunt, you will have to open up the body cavity and remove guts as well. After peeling the hide down and cutting off the head(was how I did it to be able to lower the deer a bit and get to it better) the next step was to take off the front legs. There is no bone connecting the shoulder to the body so it is a matter of swinging the arm out a bit and finding the gap with your knife, just like a chicken wing. I always used a small paring knife to remove the backstraps. With the small fine blade I could feel every bone of the spine or rib cage and pull them out. I never kept the rib cage, here in Alabama deer I killed didn't have enough meat on them to fool with. After making sure you got the tenderloins out, again deer here are smaller than a lot of other places and may not have any or they may be small, cut the spine at the point where it joins the hips and you are left with two hind quarters hanging up and still joined in the middle. The bladder(pee bag or whatever folks there call it) is actually cradled in the pelvic bone and difficult to remove without puncturing it unless you do cut the bone. I keep a folding pack saw made by Gerber that has a fine tooth blade on it for cutting the bones. After splitting the pelvic bone and separating the hind quarters you can cut the legs to length, wrapping everything in plastic bags and placing on ice as you go until you can get it to a fridge. One thing is true though if you have a cold place to hang the meat for a little while and let the blood drain from it that will help to ensure that the "game" taste is not there. The two main places that the bad taste comes from is the blood and the fat. If you don't believe me on the fat just butcher a wild fed cow straight off the grass. It will not taste the same as one that has been grain fed for even six weeks before killing.
> 
> Now I will ask this: I was once told that the belly flap off a deer was no good. Is that true or have I been skipping some great meat??


i grind the belly flap. i don't let much go to waste. for a long time i kept the kidneys, heart, liver. some people save the lungs and deep fry.


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## themule69 (Feb 1, 2013)

candycoated said:


> Ok I ground some sausage! It took maybe 5 minutes to grind this up with my cabela's #8. So easy!
> 
> I think I'll try grinding up those small pieces that I mentioned earlier whole, minimal trimming, to see what happens. My grinder chewed through this trimmed up stuff like it was nothing.
> 
> ...


about the fat. a   lot of times i add 1 part 73% ground beef to 1 part deer. i have also used bacon ends and pieces.

happy smoken.

david


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## bhawkins (Feb 1, 2013)

Like I said "everything but the grunt!". I had an older cousin that had a hog farm at one time. When it was hog killing time my grandmother would scramble the brains with eggs.Then again she was depression era and wasted nothing either. For me adding fat would depend on what I would be using it for. If I was making sausage I liked pork fat, hamburgers I wanted beef fat. Not sure how much difference it really makes, just you use pork for sausage so it only seemed right.


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## candycoated (Feb 1, 2013)

BHawkins, thanks for sharing your thoughts! :)

I certainly can't answer your question, good thing themule69 is here.

However, you lead me to another question. Is deer belly like pig belly? Fatty tissue, like bacon?


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## bhawkins (Feb 2, 2013)

In all the ones I cleaned the belly was lean. One thing you also have to remember is that farm raised animals are kept in pens of some fashion,and don't have to move very much. That is why the fat gets marbled into the lean muscle tissue, deer and other wild animals are constantly on the move and don't get that. Their fat is layered on top of the muscle tissue.


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## stilllearning (Feb 2, 2013)

Wow.. all great ideas, I might have to try some of them!  I tend to not like my venison "over flavored" though, much like my beef.  Plain and simple works for me.  The one thing I have lots of experience with is venison, just not "smoking it". I hope to learn more about that here though!  :-)

In fact, we just ground (hamburger/sausage) about 100lbs (at home) about 2 weeks ago.   We have been processing our own venison for about 35 years, and we love it.   One thing we learned a few years ago that takes out a LOT of the wild gamey taste is when the deer is first cleaned and cut up i.e. hams, shoulders, backstrap etc. is layer it in an ice chest with ice for about 5-6 days before processing/freezing.  Layer as in ice, meat, ice, meat, ice, meat.  BE SURE to drain it every day (lots of bloody water) and add more ice each day.  I suppose if you live in cold climates, you would have to put it somewhere that it might more easily melt?? Not sure about that.  Then we cut it up to freeze. 

I also am a FIRM believer in the buttermilk soak, and until this year have done it mostly with only buttermilk, then seasoned to taste for cooking.  I did however find a GREAT brine a couple months ago that is absolutely *awesome*, and makes the meat better than anything I've had in my 50ish years of enjoying venison. I will post it below, in the event you/anyone is interested in trying it.  I wish I could remember "where" I found the recipe, so I could offer the link and say thanks!  Combine this with the ice cooler method, and unless you "enjoy the gamey taste", I believe you will love it.

I did of course change the spices to my liking, and go light on adding salt when cooking until you learn what you like.. Here it is, and hope it helps.. :-) 

I used this on tenderloin/back strap (which we also enjoy fried :-) but it also made EXCELLENT medallions for quick grilling/cooking and it also makes a good "hash" as we call it.  I also, for the first time ever, tried a "neck" and used this brine, I just added more of the ingredients to cover the whole neck.  Someone told us to try a neck in the crock pot.  I did add other spices while it was in the crock, but I have to say it was pretty darn good, and all the meat fell right off the bone!

*Brine for Venison*

The critical part – buttermilk brine
 
2 cups              Buttermilk
2 cups              Water
¼ cup              Kosher salt
2 tbs                Sugar

    >>        Mix the salt and sugar in the water and heat till dissolved.  (I didn't do this, I just used warm water and stirred well)
    >>        Cool the mixture then add the buttermilk.
 
The tasty part – spice mix (vary as desired)  Just use what you like here.. Garlic, onion, chipotle whatever. It doesn't overwhelm, just adds a "hint" of the flavors.
 
2 tbs                Thyme (fresh if available, or dried)
2 tbs                Oregano (fresh if available, or dried)
2 tbs                Rosemary (fresh if available, or dried)
2 tbs                Balsamic vinegar   (can't remember if I added this or not, lol)
1 tbs                Coarse ground black pepper (I used lots of fresh ground black pepper because we like peppery)

           >>        Add to the liquid mixture.


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## candycoated (Feb 3, 2013)

Cool StillLearning!

Thanks for sharing, that's some good info.


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## stilllearning (Feb 3, 2013)

Wow, I am seeing lots more post on this thread than I saw last night.  I must have missed some pages.  I might have to try some of the recipes for sausage, they look/sound great.   We just got our new BIG grinder (LEM BigBite, I think it is)  year before last, and I had been using mixes then adding some extra spices.  I still don't have just the taste we like.  I may have to "skip" the mixes and just start experimenting with some of these recipes as I like using fresh ground herbs best.

What we do with our meat when grinding is go ahead and cut it into chunks before we freeze it. Ours takes pieces as long as you like, and about 2-3" around to fit in the feed.  Anyways, we cut it, I lay it out on any and all available pans and freeze it individually. Then I store it in 2 Gallon Ziplocks until we have as much as we want to grind at one time (last time was 60lbs.) Then, when we start to grind *be sure and leave it half frozen* and it works like a charm.  We use about 15% fat, we've played with it for years, and we like the tenderness/juicy of about 15-16%. 

If I am repeating anything someone else already posted, sorry.  I have to come back later and read all the post.

I have to run, DH is calling me out to discuss our "make shift smoker" for all that bacon we have curing.  :-)


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## candycoated (Feb 4, 2013)

StillLearning, have you seen Smoking B's thread?

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/...sticks-sun-dried-tomato-apple-chicken-sausage

If you are able to cure and smoke bacon, I bet you can make that sausage. Talk about fresh!  Fresh onions, apples, sun dried tomatoes, potatoes! After reading that, I want to throw an onion in the next batch of breakfast sausage I make.

Don't worry about repeating, it helps filter through... because if a lot of people say it's good, I'd be more likely to try it!


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## stillsmokin (Feb 4, 2013)

I use the belly meat (flap) for some delicious fajitas.


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## themule69 (Feb 4, 2013)

stillsmokin said:


> I use the belly meat (flap) for some delicious fajitas.


fajitas are always good. had them tonight. used yard bird tho.

happy smoken.

david


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## candycoated (Feb 6, 2013)

Hey guys, I wanted to post a pic of the deer dirty rice I made, since I mentioned it earlier in this thread I'm gonna post it here. Hijacking my own thread! ;p













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__ candycoated
__ Feb 6, 2013






Caramelized the onion, bellpepper, garlic in bacon drippins. Tossed in the ground meat plus celery powder, and cajun seasoning. After the meat was browned I tossed it with louisiana jasmine rice. My husband complained about the heat, I liked it but thought it was too salty, he liked the salt. doh! Anyway, I'm gonna toss some cheese in there next time I serve it. I'm giving cajun gold tips out here! Cheese will cut the heat a bit, also sugar, but sugar isn't appropriate in this instance IMO.


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## smoking b (Feb 6, 2013)

candycoated said:


> Hey guys, I wanted to post a pic of the deer dirty rice I made, since I mentioned it earlier in this thread I'm gonna post it here. Hijacking my own thread! ;p
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Do you like that jasmine rice? I have wondered about it but never got to try it yet. If you say it's worth it I will probably see about acquiring some. Also I hate to have to tell you this but that dish looks mighty good from up here!  
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






    It made me hungry - I might go see if I can eat some real food now


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## candycoated (Feb 6, 2013)

I got a 20lb bag of LA jasmine rice for Christmas!  It has kind of a slight herbal flavor and it's a sticky rice. But to tell you the truth, once you mix the rice with other food stuff, red beans, dirty rice, etc. I can't tell the difference.

Glad you are feeling better, and glad I could help stir your appetite!

However, it was nice to see that you are human after watching you make all that sausage like some kind of super being from outer space. ;p


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## smoking b (Feb 6, 2013)

candycoated said:


> Glad you are feeling better, and glad I could help stir your appetite!
> 
> However, it was nice to see that you are human after watching you make all that sausage like some kind of super being from outer space. ;p


Thanks  
	

	
	
		
		



		
		
	


	





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