statjunk

Hey guys,

I'm heading out of town so I won't get this answer for a while but please post if you know.

I was muzzleloader hunting in VA this past week. Shot a small button buck and two large does. What I noticed is that the meat was real tough and real red. Even the button buck was chewy. It had good flavor but real tough.

A theory that we had come up with was the deer are mountain deer and they work their muscles more than the deer in Michigan who are always on flat ground.

Any ideas why these deer were so tough? Even the loins were chewy!

Tom

stalkingbear

The only possible things I've personally experienced in the past is did they run and have a chance to get flooded with adrenlin or was the temp quite a bit warmer so that they didn't have a chance to cool down properly? Another thing-was they frozen faster than you normally freeze meat?

crenshaw

The mountain deer in VA tend to be a little bit more gaming then the farm deer. The farm deer in VA can taste like Beef where i hunt, but i have shot mountain deer and there definatly a little bit tougher and gamer. Alot has to do with there diet, they eat primarily acorns and other browse in the woods. High acorn diet can make them bitter too.Also, if you dont let them hang long enough it can be tough too.

Pawildman

Personally, I think a lot of that comes from preparation and how it's cooked. I've killed plenty of "mountain deer" here in Northcentral PA mountains, and you're just not going to tell me they're one bit different than a WVA or VA deer. Territory is almost identical, food also. Proper cooling out is important, along with getting the gutted carcass washed or at least wiped out thoroughly. If you haven't been doing so, leave the hide on until just before you butcher. I know they're easier to skin when warm, but it promotes the meat drying out somewhat if left with the hide off. Except for the loin medallions and your steaks which I like to marinate and cook quickly on a HOT grill, roasts and such should be cooked slowly at a reduced heat to provide good taste and tenderness.
Hey......this is the way I do it, and nobody complains about tough or wild from my techniques........so far..........

Doe Dumper

LOL Deermeat is deermeat. I never noticed any difference and have killed several Va. deer. The magic is made in the care taken between death and butchering. Id say Pawildman nailed it.

Vapodog

Ya got to be careful with that east coast venison....it has a lot of "liberal" in it and is extremely tough.....shoot them several times to tenderize them.....shoot them several more times after they're dead just to make sure....feed it t the dog and pick up some beef on the way home.....great stuff.

DM

HA HA HA

VAhuntr

Most of us from VA would rather not be considered "east coast" but rather southerners! Atleast that's the case for non transplant Virginians.

oldsmellhound

I think meat preparation has the most effect on the taste - well, of course the age & sex of the deer as well. In my experience a young doe is always going to be better eating than a 5 year old grizzled buck. However, I know some people that swear they can tell the difference in the meat's taste based on the diet of the deer. My hunting buddy's wife won't eat the deer he used to get off our land (mountain foothills, no agriculture, deer eat browse & acorns) so he switched hunting spots to an agricultural area where the deer eat beans and corn. Personally, I can't say I could tell the difference, though.

Pawildman

Uhhhhhh.....OK...??.....Ya gotta remember women are a little different breed.
I sure can't understand them most of the time, but they are who they are. A generous amount of tolerance comes in handy along with a good dose of response suppression on our part.........