[ARperson]

My husband got his first deer (our first!) last season. When we had it processed, we got jerky (yummy!), steaks, tenderloins, and ground.

I loved the jerky. And the steaks and tenderloins are tasty, somewhat tough, but tasty. But the ground venison just makes me want to vomit. Every now and then I get a bite that just tastes as nasty as anything I've ever tasted. I can't even begin to describe it. Except that I would expect rotting flesh to taste like this. The irony is that it's not every bite, but sort of like something got mixed in. We did have the extra fat added to help it stick together.

My husband says he never tastes it. And to add to the confusion, I was pregnant and going through morning sickness when we first ate it. However, I still taste it and my son is now 4 months old. And since I don't have any problems with the other stuff (except my mental fear of getting a bite of the nasty in them), I think it's limited to the ground stuff.

Could it have been the fat added? Anybody else have this happen? What to do because I really like hunting and having a freezer full of meat for the winter, but it won't be ground if this is what it tastes like.

[rbernie]

I've been taught that the fat is what goes rancid first and contributes most to 'gamey' taste. Given that, I'd suspect that your processor mixed in some less-than-quality fat into the ground mix.

[Biker]

It sounds like some of the deer fat or marrow might have got mixed in with the meat while processing. Nasty stuff.

Biker

[fordman650]

Haven't run in to that problem but we add ground beef to ours to make up for the fat seem to work good.just a thought,that won't help you with this batch
Larry

[ARperson]

Thanks bunches. I wasn't overly thrilled with this processor so we're going to try a different one this year (one day, we'll have the time and place to learn to do it ourselves). It's good to know that I can try the ground again and hopefully this guy won't put it yucky stuff.

And I'll just had some ground beef to it for sticky purposes. Never thought of that. Good idea.

[Lennyjoe]

I ground my own burger. I try and get as much soot off it as possible. Even ground in a bit of beef soot from the grocery store to add a bit of grease when frying. Not a lot, but just enough. Check out the local market, they have beef soot (fat) for sale there.

[NRA4LIFE]

My guess is they either added some nasty fat or most likely someone elses meat got mixed in with yours. Most processors mix large batches when grinding and then dole out to you what they think. I know from my experiences in Missouri that a lot of people do not take care of the animal after it's dead, especially in warm weather. I butcher all my own and grind my own burger (I also mix in beef hamburger after grinding or suet when grinding). I only have had one deer processed in my whole life and about half the meat was unedible, mostly the burger and sausage.

[Chawbaccer]

If you gut shoot a deer it can be pretty vile tasting especially if the mess isn't cleaned out right away, also if you get the contents from the gall in the meat, it can ruin it, gives it kind of a pukey taste, just be careful getting the lungs out and if the gall was hit, cut meat away where it might of gotten on.

[Kingcreek]

Lockers typically cut and wrap your meat and all the trim goes into large batches for grinding. You then get roughly pound-for-pound. but not just your meat as all grinder meat (likely from that day) goes in together.
That's why I have done all my own skinning, butchering, grinding, smoking, etc for the last 20 years. No one to blame but me.

[Larry Ashcraft]

We use pork butts instead of suet to make our venison burger or sausage. 1/3 to 1/2 pork to the lean venison or antelope. Make sure all the fat is trimmed off the venison.

We invested (as a family) in a large Hobart meat grinder several years ago and it has paid for itself many times over. Also, we've never taken a game animal to a processor.

It helps though, that my dad was a butcher in his late teens. ;)

[Lennyjoe]

I thought that was how you spell it (suet);)

[mete]

Deer [ and others ] should be dressed out IMMEDIATELY .Iget mine home and skin it and let it cool .As soon as it's cooled it's cut up and frozen . My deer is never [to the surprize of many ] gamey. This is the proceedure established by the USDA from scientific tests. ....You had some body elses venison mixed with yours and that venison was spoiled .Ground meat keeps a lot shorter time in the freezer .I freeze the scraps and when I want to make sausage I grind it up .Don't trust anyone else to grind it [ as you already found out]. My tastes for sausage are to use 1/3 to 1/2 pork shoulder and the rest venison. I like salt +pepper+nutmeg, or salt +pepper+paprika. There are many grinders on the market from small hand grinders to commercial. I have the grinder attachment for my Kitchen-Aid mixer that works well.

[swampdog]

I agree, grind your own. I usually mix suet with it, but I'll grind it alone for stuff like chili and spaghetti, which are both excellent, btw.

Don't let one bad batch put you off of ground. Once you try deer chili, beef chili just isn't as good.

I like the pork butt suggestion. I'll have to try it, this year.

[ChefJeff1]

What a grreat thread. I'll be a first time deer hunter on Oct. 10. I plan to grind my own too because I don't trust big grinders, anynoe read fastfood nation? I'm going to borrow a grinder from a local restaurant.

[EatBugs]

A note on Cronic Wasteing Disease(CWD) and taking deer to the processor in Indiana. While taking your deer to the check station you may encounter a DNR employee who wants to record info on your harvest and check for CWD.(they are mostly around during opening firearm weekend and collect till quota is met) As far as I know there is no CWD in Indiana yet but don't take my word on that. The DNR checks by asking permission to cut the throat and remove some glands located just under the jaw. Many deer proccessing places will refuse any deer with a cut throat. They think what they don't know won't hurt them. And they may be right, if your deer tests positive and word gets out that they proccessed the deer, it may be bad for buisness.

So, many if not most deer proccessing plants will refuse any deer that was sampled for CWD in Indiana. This may be true for other states, but I'm not sure.

I do the proccessing myself but I know of a few butchers who will proccess your deer for money. And they do each deer individually so what you get is yours and they aren't afraid of cut throat deer. They are just a bit harder to find and a bit out of the way but worth the effort. You should support your local small buisness anyway.

[Harve Curry]

My family and I proccess our own meat. We learned long ago not to scrape bones or include any deer fat in the meat:barf: For fat we add pork sausage to the ground meat. For jerky use good cuts of meat and we slice them across the grain for easier chewin:D I think it's safer not to eat any meat from organs.

[Polishrifleman]

I grind my own and use pork butt too. It works well. I use our Kitchen Aid stand mixer with the grinding attachment, you can stuff cases too for sausage.http://kitchenaid.com/catalog/product.jsp?src=Stand+Mixer+Accessories&cat=158&prod=364

Good luck this year with the ground and the hunt.

[NRA4LIFE]

Another Kitchen Aid user. I use beef in mine so I can cook the burgers a little on the medium rare side. I mix 50% or a little more of Pork Butts though, for any/all sausages. I noshed on a homemade salami last night. YUM! The dehydrator will be going all weekend for jerky making.

[scout26]

Since your husband took the deer last year, the meat is probably about 9-12 old. I've found that ground venision is good for 6-9 months in the freezer, the steaks, roasts, tenderloins can go to about 9-12 months.

Just 'cause it's frozen doesn't mean that it's not decomposing/breaking down. It's just doing it at much slower rate.

But I also would guess that it was probably bad beef or pork or maybe even venision fat/suet that was add to the ground when it was processed.

If it's just a gamey taste, then use lots of Worchestershire sauce when you brown it or cook it, if it's rancid then it's not safe to eat and toss it.

[Kingcreek]

I use a FoodSaver vacuume sealer. I've had delicious ground deer and antelope over 2 years old.
Bad meat doesn't get any better the longer you keep it.

[robctwo]

Another idea from my original hunting guru is to wash the animal down after skinning with a solution of one part apple cider vinegar to three parts water. I wash it down with an old dish towel. I am a believer in hanging the meat for a few days if you have a cool spot. That gets tricky if the weather is warm, and I'll forego the tenderizing to avoid the spoiling.

My first deer we were boning it out and there was a huge pile of "scrap". I'd worked in a butcher shop and thought that we were throwing away a lot of good food. He explained that the fat goes rancid real fast, even in a freezer, and that cooking the meat in the rancid fat was a waste of the whole animal.

We don't grind much, but I might give the pork shoulder a try this year with some of the more marginal pieces. Braising, slow cooking in liquid like a pot roast for a long time at moderate temp will tenderize most cuts. I brown everything first, then cook in beef broth. Add veggies and thickening later.

First day of the season here in Oregon tomorrow. I'm needing some fresh venison.

[gezzer]

Bad butchering, bloodshot and who knows what or whose meat in the burger.

My family butchers our own deer moose, pigs etc.

[Mornard]

ARperson - my best guess would be bad meat scraps from another deer. Your idea to use a different processor is best - try to find one that guarantees you get your own deer back, until you can do it yourself... (they's a reason I process all my own game...:p )

[NRA4LIFE]

There's a temperature I think around -40 F where meat can be stored indefinitely, even unwrapped, without any freezer burn. The large commercial meat storage places hang skinned beef halves for years sometimes. I keep my deep freeze (NON FROST FREE) at -10, the lowest setting, and I have no problem keeping meat for 2-3 years, plastic wrapped and freezer paper wrapped or vacuum sealed. I keep my triimings in large chunks, frozen, and then grind it when I need it. What will ruin meat very quickly is to put it in a frost-free refridgerator freezer. The temperature cycles up and down to keep it frost free, mucho bad for meat.

[Smoke Rizen]

I usually have to hang mine in a tree for a few days before I take it out, and have never had a problem if it's kept in the shade. Daytime temps can be 70-80 degrees in the sun, and only 40-50 in the trees. As stated before, remove all the fat and any bloody meat. I like to smell the meat when it's hanging to cool, If I find a spot that's not drying, or "skinnin over", or a spot that smells a little funny, I'll trim it out. Every square inch should smell good, if not trim it off or it will transfer the smell to the tissue around it.

[Dr.Rob]

We use slab bacon for the grind instead of beef suet. Never had a problem.

[BIGR]

Thats why I kill, skin and butcher my own deer. After I cut it up I vaccum seal it and freeze it. I have heard of people getting their deer meat mixed up with something else at the meat processor.

[HSMITH]

ONE strand of hair will wreck 5 pounds of meat. One little bit of marrow or a bit of fat will taint 5 pounds of meat. It needs to hang for a week, two weeks is better.

Having it processed where these things are done right is going to cost as much as buying beef out of the store around here. Doesn't bother me, I process my own. I suggest you buy a book, some knives, do a little reading and process this next seasons deer yourself. It isn't that hard, it isn't hard at all really, and the quality of the meat will be amazing.