Meat color question

[JLS]

Do you really think not properly bleeding and animal will turn ALL the meat dark?

Absolutely not.  "Bleeding" an animal is irrelevant.  It bled out when it died if you shot it in the heart or lungs.  There is absolutely no way that cutting the throat, as many of us have seen done, will empty all of the capillary beds throughout the muscles.

The best favor a hunter can do for his or herself is learn to process your own game.  It's so easy, and does not take much time.  I did my daughter's buck the other day in 2.5 hours, from hanging on the gambrel to in the freezer.

[Smokepole]

If you shoot an animal in the heart or lungs, it will bleed out completely.  If you shoot one between the eyes, you should stick the animal in several major arteries in the neck.  Blood in the meat supports bacteria growth.  On the farm, we shoot 'em and stick 'em.   

[jagermiester]

If they are already dead when you do it how are they going to bleed?

[huntnfmly]

H&f
If it makes you feel better I just cooked and ate a steak from a deer we got on the modern opener very dark meat and it tasted great

[Westside88]

I don't believe in the need to bleed them out by cutting the neck.  By the time you remove the heart and lungs and hang them up it seems like they are gonna be bled out plenty. I've shot many deer in the head and never had any issue with too much blood in the meat  and I've done all the cutting for every deer I've ever shot, in this case I would guess it's a diet thing that's leading to the darker color

[JakeLand]

Here's a thought. Would elevation have anything to do with different pigment meat or when a animal runs a lot ??

[luckyman]

It can get dark if it has been wraped up where air can't get to it.

[PA BEN]

If you shoot an animal in the heart or lungs, it will bleed out completely.  If you shoot one between the eyes, you should stick the animal in several major arteries in the neck.  Blood in the meat supports bacteria growth.  On the farm, we shoot 'em and stick 'em.   

How's it going to bleed out when the heart is stopped? Myself and family have shot a ton of deer in the head not one deer was blead out and all were good.

[Smokepole]

If you shoot an animal in the heart or lungs, it will bleed out completely.  If you shoot one between the eyes, you should stick the animal in several major arteries in the neck.  Blood in the meat supports bacteria growth.  On the farm, we shoot 'em and stick 'em.   

How's it going to bleed out when the heart is stopped? Myself and family have shot a ton of deer in the head not one deer was blead out and all were good.

The topic was meat color, so I was just adding to the conversation.  I was suggesting that bleeding or not could affect the color.  Not saying your venison isn't good.

[dreamunelk]

1. What factors affect the color of meat
and poultry?
Myoglobin
, a protein, is responsible for the majority
of the red color. Myoglobin doesn’t circulate in the
blood but is fixed in the tissue cells and is purplish
in color. When it is mixed with oxygen, it becomes
oxymyoglobin and produces a bright red color. The
remaining color comes from the hemoglobin which
occurs mainly in the circulating blood, but a small
amount can be found in the tissues after slaughter.
Color is also influenced by the age of the animal,
the species, sex, diet, and even the exercise it gets.
The meat from older animals will be darker in color
because the myoglobin level increases with age.
Exercised muscles are always darker in color, which
means the same animal can have variations of color
in its muscles.
In addition, the color of meat and poultry can change
as it is being stored at retail and in the home (see
explanation in question 5). When safely stored in the
refrigerator or freezer, color changes are normal for
fresh meat and poultry.

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/connect/e8dad81f-f7fc-4574-893e-bae20cf8b215/Color_of_Meat_and_Poultry.pdf?MOD=AJPERES

[LDennis24]

EAT IT!!! Meat is always different color's from different diet's and different genetic's just like skin color. The German Browns in Rock lake are as pink as salmon right now, the carp are too. It's their diet right now. I have an iron stomach so it wouldn't bother me but I have always gone by the "You're nose knows" method. Even when meat is brown and discolored from sitting too long, if it still smell's ok and doesnt feel slimy, I eat it. As for bleeding it out by slitting it's throat, that's up to you if you do it or not but it will make the meat appear darker in my experience. My last 3 elk I didn't bleed out and butchered them just fine and they tasted great. Sometime's I do it sometimes I don't. Depend's on if it ran a long way's or fell over. Always go to a trusted butcher if your not gonna do it yourself too. Eggar's on the South Hill in Spokane is Incredible...    :dunno:EAT IT!!!

[HuntandFish]

Just thought I would update here. Meat tastes great, didn't think I had anything to worry about, and you all were right!

Thanks everyone for your responses.
H&F