Rutty Bull flavor? Need help!

[kerrdog]

I'm relatively new to Elk hunting so forgive my lack of knowledge. My first harvest was a Cow elk.  Family liked it.  Wife grew up on game meat, and said it was the best elk she ever tasted. Ate it all.

Got my first Bull last year (Ryderwood) and did not get the same reaction from the family.  I suspected it might have a stronger flavor than the Cow, so I had a lot of it made into burger.  Tried to fry one up for spaghetti and it stunk up the house.  The smell was very distinct; Reminded me of the night I shot it and quartered it.

May have gotten some digestive juices on the tenderloins, but I thought I got the quarters off clean before I went inside.  Very strong smell and taste. 

I've heard it may be "rutty."  If that's the case, you bowhunters must be used to some strong-flavored meat! Got it early Muzzeloader season (Oct 8 I think) 4 by 5 Roosevelt.  I've wondered about the hoof rot thing even though the hooves appeared healthy; would the condition effect meat flavor? 

I've heard things like "cook it with a little vinegar"  or "mix it with ground beef" etc.  The aftertaste if very distinct, even in taco's, and spaghetti and the kids won't eat it.

Help me out!

Thanks.

[JPhelps]

In my opinion all of the bulls we have killed in September have eaten better than the November bulls.  Which surprised me since deer seem to be the opposite.

Were you able to get the meat cooled down quick?

[dewandgin]

Let it thaw out slow and then unwrap it and put it in a colander with a plate/bowl under the colander and let it drain at least 24 hrs and get all the blood you can out of it. Get the blood out will help alot.

[kerrdog]

Hey Jason,

Thanks for the reply.

Got him just before dark (warm night) and quartered him in the dark.  Left the quarters on the ground and packed out the backstraps and and stuff. (miles in the dark on bikes) Went back in the morning for the quarters and went home around 1.  Warm day.

[kerrdog]

Thanks Dewangin,

That makes a lot of sense.

[Alan K]

I assume you had taken the hide off all of the quarters? Sounds like a weird question, but I know some people who leave the hide on if they intend to pack their animals out in consecutive trips to help keep it clean.  Even if you had taken the hide off though, it sounds to me like it didn't cool on the underside since they were left on the ground.   

[Jolten]

Try brining it for awhile before you cook it.

[northwesthunter84]

My guess is a contributing factor was also the clean up of the meat.  I have found especially with batches of burger, the more sinew and silver skin that I run through the grinder the stronger the meat is.  My bull tasted great but there was a difference between the batch that I ran the shanks through and the batch that i took more time separating everything out on.

[grundy53]

I assume you had taken the hide off all of the quarters? Sounds like a weird question, but I know some people who leave the hide on if they intend to pack their animals out in consecutive trips to help keep it clean.  Even if you had taken the hide off though, it sounds to me like it didn't cool on the underside since they were left on the ground.   

definitely need to get the quarters hung up off the ground if it's warm. I'm thinking the portion of meat that was touching the ground probably started to turn. Which would taint the while batch of hamburger.

sent from my typewriter

[WCTaxidermy]

Kerrdog, before you cook your next steaks, take them out and let them thaw.  Once they are thawed, soak them for 4 hours in buttermilk in the refrigerator.  Take them out, rinse them off and your ready to go.  Will take the game taste out of your meat every time. 

[kerrdog]

Thanks everyone,


I'm not sure why it didn't occur to me to hang the quarters; I had para-cord.  I guess I've seen quarters laying on the ground a couple times, and just subconsciously copied it.  They were in game bags.

I'm still reluctant to believe that the meat turned...it's what I must believe!  And the aftertaste is exactly like what the bull smelled like when I opened him up.  But I'm going to try all of the above. 

[MtnMuley]

The taste definitely had nothing to with killing a bull in the rut. It's all about what happened until you got it in the freezer. Only thing that might be noticible is tenderness. Even then, I've eaten plenty of tender rutty bull steaks. As others have mentioned, get that hide off ASAP and into the shade or creek. If they're going to be left for an extended time, get some fly protection over them if necessary and absolutely get the elevated if not in a creek.

[NOCK NOCK]

 

[DBHAWTHORNE]

I assume you had taken the hide off all of the quarters? Sounds like a weird question, but I know some people who leave the hide on if they intend to pack their animals out in consecutive trips to help keep it clean.  Even if you had taken the hide off though, it sounds to me like it didn't cool on the underside since they were left on the ground.   

definitely need to get the quarters hung up off the ground if it's warm. I'm thinking the portion of meat that was touching the ground probably started to turn. Which would taint the while batch of hamburger.

sent from my typewriter

 

Yep.. That would be my guess.. Some of the meat turned...I have had it happen once.. That is the one and only time I had meat that was basically inedible.

[jackelope]

I suspect what got you was leaving the meat lay on the ground. Hang it up in the shade next time.

[Goldeneye]

One thing I haven't seen suggested yet but would definitely help is trim as much of the fat off your steaks as possible before cooking.  The flavor your running into will be stronger in the fat on the animal. 


Was this an older bull?  The one time I ran into this in my life was on an old regressed bull.  The darn meat on the old boy I had was more purple than red.  It was a challenge on him to get steaks that did not require a 1:1 ratio with ketchup to be able to eat him.  I ended up with a lot of Italian sausage off of that bull because of the taste.   

[kerrdog]

Had it butchered at Mayers.  My buddy took a bull there once that he didn't find until morning.  Even though it was a very cold night, they said it had "bone sour."  He didn't get much meat back.

I use the same butcher and they didn't didn't mention that anything was wrong with my meat.  Does that change anyone's opinion?


How can I make sure that it's safe to eat?

[grundy53]

Had it butchered at Mayers.  My buddy took a bull there once that he didn't find until morning.  Even though it was a very cold night, they said it had "bone sour."  He didn't get much meat back.

I use the same butcher and they didn't didn't mention that anything was wrong with my meat.  Does that change anyone's opinion?


How can I make sure that it's safe to eat?

No. I still think the same. Cook it thoroughly and you should be safe.

sent from my typewriter

[Hunterman]

kerrdog,  I hate to say this but you have soured elk meat from leaving it on the ground on a WARM night, and not getting the meat out and cooled. Elk are big animals that need to get cooled as quick as possible. It doesn't take long for elk meat to turn. I found this out the hard way. The best thing to do with the meat is to take it into the meat market and have pepperoni, or beef sticks out of it.

Hunterman(Tony)