How long before gutting?

[dpfarrar84]

Hi all,

Heading out this fall for the first time. My wife has had venison that she really liked and venison that was "too gamey". From everything I have read so far it seems that the quicker you can fit the deer and cool the meat, the less gamey it will taste. First, is this accurate information? And second, assuming I bring a deer down, how long after it drops do I need to wait before gutting?

Thank you in advance! Sorry if this has already been covered, I am at the in-laws and therefore trying to navigate the forums with my phone instead of my computer...


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[andrew_in_idaho]

As soon as you can recover the animal and validate your tag, you wanna do it right away. If it is warm you also want to get it hanging and skinned right away


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[ICEMAN]

Best is to gut ASAP. Prop cavity open to assist cooling. Skinning soon is smart IMHO.

In my opinion, the "gamey-ness" she may be tasting is often the result of running the game through a band saw, IE: having the game processed at a butcher shop. A band saw drags fat, bone chips and marrow over each side of every steak.

I have great results from boning out the meat, and cutting steaks after all fat, sinew are first trimmed from the meat sections.

Your questions are always welcome. That is what this whole site is about.... And; Welcome!

[DaveMonti]

Gut it as soon as you can. 
I'm not sure of the effect on gaminess, but the sooner you get the innards out, the faster it will cool.  Most of the venison I've had has had a gaminess to it.  The best way to combat that is in the prep of the venison.  I tend to marinate it with something simple like Italian dressing (without any cheese) before I grill it.  Ground meat will be best if you mix it with some ground pork or something with some fat in it.  Otherwise it will be dry and it's more likely to have a gamey flavor. 

I'm sure others will have plenty of recipes.  I think there's a recipe section on the forum and there are some good game cook books out there.

Best of luck!

[h20hunter]

Right away. 2nd the bone saw comments. Also, trim trim trim. Clean meat is best..no sinew, fat, or gristle.

[dpfarrar84]

Thank you all, I really appreciate the info and your patience with a newbie. I will be hunting in 117 on some private party, so it should be pretty cold. Should I debone in the field or quarter? Or does it even matter?

Also, assuming I make a good shot about how long should I wait before approaching the deer?


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[kisfish]

x3 on the bone saw. I cut all our game boneless and there is no comparison to game run through a saw. Trim it super clean just like everyone said.

[bobcat]

In my opinion there is no such thing as "gamey" meat. It's a myth. I've had tough meat from old animals but never "gamey." Just the word gamey is a word that should never be used, because it implies that the meat of wild game animals tastes bad.

Get your meat cooled ASAP. But I'm not sure you'll notice any difference between getting it done in 5 minutes versus one hour. I don't even gut animals very often anymore. I really like the gutless method. You have to do all that when you get home or back to camp anyway, so IMO you might as well do it before moving the animal and save yourself a lot of work.

[Emptyhanded]

You can debone, quarter or drag it out whole. Depends on distance to the truck and personal preference. As far as how long to wait, with a rifle shot, if the animal doesn't drop but I am confident in my shot placement I will try to wait 15 min or so before I go look for blood. If the animal drops I will wait a few minutes then approach the deer making sure it's not breathing, ready for a follow up shot just in case.


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[kentrek]

Gamienes could be the result of lots of things...do your best to keep it clean and cold asap and that's all you can do...cut out everything that isn't red and give it a go with a garlic, Jonnysalt, Cooked medium rare...it's amazing stuff !

Deboning in the field is also up to you, it's a personal preference of mine to get the animal back to civilization in as big as peice as possible to reduce serf ace area exposed to dirt...obviously there's a point to where I can't physically get the animal back whole, in halfs,or in quarters, so then I debone in the field

There's no cut and dry answers to the waiting game....with a rifle I'm pretty confident that the animal is dead after I make a good shot...so usually just simply reload and walk up there

With a musket or a bow tho there can be times when you know there dead and others where you don't k own anything...so then it's more applicable to maybe wait 15-60 minutes depending on the situation

Allot of this game is personal preference, there's alot of ways to skin a cat...good luck 

[coachcw]

There is absolutely  gammie meat .......getting  meat cooled quick helps for sure , bone sawing meat , and leaving fat and seniw can affect taste. What the deer or elk feed on makes a difference  , alfalfa  fed are much better than sage deer imo. Sometimes  I will drag a animal aways before gutting to keep it clean but typically  once dead and photos are shot guts out or deboned.

[ICEMAN]

In my opinion there is no such thing as "gamey" meat. It's a myth.
 

 

Every hunter I have ever talked with about wild game has mentioned that some game can have a "gamey" flavor if not processed properly.

[bobcat]

In my opinion there is no such thing as "gamey" meat. It's a myth.
 

 

Every hunter I have ever talked with about wild game has mentioned that some game can have a "gamey" flavor if not processed properly.

If not processed properly, sure. What does beef taste like if it's not taken care of properly?

[ICEMAN]

what I meant is fat left on the meat, glands left in, sinew, silver skin, bone marrow.

Ever chew in a nice chunk of deer fat?

My taste buds do not mind beef or pork fat or marrow. Deer and Elk fat or  marrow are a different story.

[Stein]

In my opinion there is no such thing as "gamey" meat. It's a myth. I've had tough meat from old animals but never "gamey." Just the word gamey is a word that should never be used, because it implies that the meat of wild game animals tastes bad.

Get your meat cooled ASAP. But I'm not sure you'll notice any difference between getting it done in 5 minutes versus one hour. I don't even guy animals very often anymore. I really like the gutless method. You have to do all that when you get home or back to camp anyway, so IMO you might as well do it before moving the animal and save yourself a lot of work.

 

"Gamey" comes from two sources:

1.  A taste other than beef.  People don't expect pork to taste like beef, but all wild game should.  Funny thing is if you don't eat beef for a year and then try it, it will be gamey.
2.  Poor meat handling skills.  I gut and skin immediately unless I can drag it to a hanging spot quickly and then I just gut.  Even if it is 80 below and dark, guts come out and skin comes off.