Congratulations on the buck! My husband got a doe on the first day of hunting season and just got another tag yesterday. He plans to go out and try for another one this evening. We have A LOT of deer here. They even come up into the yard (despite our large dog, a lab, in the yard outside) and rub on our trees, eat my strawberries, etc. This is the first year that I will be responsible for cooking venison. Do you have any recipes or suggestions as to how to process the meat? I'm told that the deer out here have a pretty strong flavor, thanks to the amount of sage that they eat... The one time in the past that I've tried deer meat, I didn't like it. I was thinking of making jerky and sausage with it, but my DH really wants to keep some of the roasts and stuff. So, we're gonna stick a roast in the crock pot as soon as it is done soaking to see if I'll like the meat...
I've heard that bucks don't taste as good as does because of all of the testosterone. Have you noticed a difference? I told my DH NOT to go for a buck this year because of the rumor I heard about them not tasting as good.
Lizzy, the only time I have ever noticed strong flavor, was on deer that did not have much to eat. But, you can correct that. Im not sure where you are out west, but you need to let the meat age for several days. That helps the natural process of tenderizing take place. All beef is aged. You said something about soaking the meat? I have never done that, in fact heard of it before!
Before you cook your roast go to
wal-mart, or a larger store, and ask if they have any "BEEF BASE". I know
wal-mart has it. Place your roast in your crock pot, that is what I use or roaster, at water, onion, salt, pepper, and mix like 2 tablespoons of base in the water, cover and cook, "SLOW" but not to long, the longer you cook the dryer and tougher the meat will be come.
The base will help tame the "Wild" taste. But everybody has different taste. You may require more base or less. Write down what you did, and if it is not what you like, you can look back and try again, with more or less. It is the only way to really remember what you did for sure. I did that when I was learning to cook. Saved meat for me back then cause I could look, and then try again differently.
We like to make sausage sticks from the ground meat. We use a sausage seasoning, mix and stuff in casing, man they are good for a quick snack.
Oh, the back strap, we slice that meat in to 3/4 inch pieces, and we cook that like you do a chicken fried steak. Oh, man really good, You have questions, just ask, plenty of us girls here to help out all we can.
