Preferred Deer for Table Fare

[steen]

A grain fed whitetail is good but I don't have any problem with any of the others.  Even the old bucks taste good ( We've eaten an 8-9 year old blacktail and couldn't tell from the younger bucks).  Just take good care of the meat before it hits the table age the older ones a little longer.  Usually aging meat depends on time for us if we have the luxury and a cooler to use we can age them beyond a week but very seldom.

[go4itlab]

It's a toss up for me between  WT & BT, have only had mule deer a couple times and it was not that good but I would say it could of been because it was a high country old buck and I don't think it was cared for right, had a bit of tallow on it(not my deer). I would love to give the muley another shot tho

[chester]

I also quit "aging meat" the last 3 deer i have shot have been cut up and wrapped within 36hrs of death. I did it the first time because it was warm out. and it came out better then the ones that had been hanging for 5days so i think it has alot more to deal with getting ALL the fat and silver skin off them. then the length you hang them. twice ive sent buddies in the house for getting hair on the meet while skinning. its a pain to clean but worth it. if they start doing more harm then good trying to "help" they go on time out. 

I might just be overly protective of my meat tho. 

[high country]

chester, when temps are warm......36 hrs may be the perfect time. aging does not affect flavor as much as texture/toughness

shooting an adrenaline filled critter that you have been chasing nd pumping lactic acid into will have more effects on flavor. fat/tallow goes rancid pretty quick, so keep it out of your meat.

[elkboy]

I think the biggest factor is their diet.  The blacktail I hunt eat a lot of conifer foliage (50% of their diet), and the taste definitely appears in the meat.  The whitetail I hunt are Palouse deer, and fatten all summer on wheat sprouts and garbanzo beans.  I am not sure they would taste too different were they to be given equal diets.  But aging the deer and cooking creatively go a long way to making the odds even!  And at the end of the day, any venison is a gift. 

[saylean]

Ive had lots of black tail and muley, but only one whitey and i would take a whitey any day of the week. They taste excellent!

However, I am thankful and enjoy blackies and muley's just the same.

[singleshot12]

For deer in this state I prefer BT, that being said, the Sitka blacktail I've taken in S.E. Ak. put them all to shame! 

For years I thought a corn fed barren whitetail doe could not be beat but would have to say Sitka blacktail(buck's or doe's) take the lead for taste.

[chester]

For deer in this state I prefer BT, that being said, the Sitka blacktail I've taken in S.E. Ak. put them all to shame! 

For years I thought a corn fed barren whitetail doe could not be beat but would have to say Sitka blacktail(buck's or doe's) take the lead for taste.

I think my dad would agree with you guys. all he ever hunted was wt in wisconsin, and sitkas on montague island. he prefers the bt

[AKBowman]

For deer in this state I prefer BT, that being said, the Sitka blacktail I've taken in S.E. Ak. put them all to shame! 

I grew up on Sitka BT. NOTHING in the deer world compares to it. Ive heard the Roosies out on Afognak and Etolin are amazing too!

Nothing like Sitka BT I totally agree!!

[raekmike]

Any deer you harvest yourself is the best deer available imho...
That being said...
I prefer large bodied BT spikes.
Good quantity of meat along with tenderness of veal and mild flavor...