I have never had wild animal steak. Deer. I guess it does not exist?

Options
13»

Replies

  • abuck_13
    abuck_13 Posts: 382 Member
    Options
    If you don't hunt or don't have hunting friends, look for a local butcher. Sometimes they will carry it.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,959 Member
    Options
    I like venison. I've not had it just as a steak, but I've eaten it carved from a whole roasted haunch and it was great.

    It actually tastes very similar to kangaroo, which we eat reasonably often.
  • ValBFP4H
    ValBFP4H Posts: 18 Member
    Options
    You can find it in Ohio but you really have to look for it. Try the Farmers Markets or search online.
  • mjwarbeck
    mjwarbeck Posts: 699 Member
    Options
    Wwe can get at any higher end butcher or many farmers markets: venison, elk, boar, emu....etc
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    Options
    I live off of venison year round. Other than going out to a restaurant on occasion the only red meat I eat is deer meat. The key to deer steak is do NOT overcook it. Anything over medium (preferably med rare) can get tough and dried out easily.
  • mpat81
    mpat81 Posts: 351 Member
    Options
    We don't hunt but have many friends who do. They have given us deer, elk and moose steaks and roasts many times. They are delicious! It does tend to be lean but if you cook it right it's so tasty and good for you!
  • Cynsonya
    Cynsonya Posts: 668 Member
    Options
    As others have said, it's around. But way too gamey for me. Definitely not a fan.
  • Need2Exerc1se
    Need2Exerc1se Posts: 13,576 Member
    Options
    Cynsonya wrote: »
    As others have said, it's around. But way too gamey for me. Definitely not a fan.

    Not all venison is gamey. It depends mostly on the cooking method and the deer. Bucks tend to be gamier than does, but diet and age of the deer also are a factor. Soaking it overnight in milk will tenderize it and remove much of the gamey taste.
  • markrgeary1
    markrgeary1 Posts: 853 Member
    Options
    Need2Exerc1se wrote: »
    Cynsonya wrote: »
    As others have said, it's around. But way too gamey for me. Definitely not a fan.

    Not all venison is gamey. It depends mostly on the cooking method and the deer. Bucks tend to be gamier than does, but diet and age of the deer also are a factor. Soaking it overnight in milk will tenderize it and remove much of the gamey taste.

    Thank you. We ate mostly venison for about 5 years and you're spot on. Bucks in the rut (hunting season) are full of testosterone and taste gamey. Age and diet matter too. An old buck living in the heavy timber eating acorns tastes terrible to me. A young Doe eating grain is yummy. Also how it's taken and processed matters, an animal shot in the gut gets an intestinal marinade. Many shops you don't get your own animal back so you need to understand your clean kill may get mixed in with gunshot animals. Find a shop that returns your clean kill.

    Lastly marinade can tenderize and remove tastes, milk is excellent! I also like garlic, rosemary, olive oil and apple cider vinegar.

    Thank you for posting this. As an old timer told me when I brought in a small doe, "son you can't eat antler, shoot a little doe and enjoy".
  • debrakgoogins
    debrakgoogins Posts: 2,034 Member
    Options
    Venison is a thing but I don't know if it is sold commercially very often. When I lived in Montana, I hunted and kept my freezer stocked with venison, antelope, elk and moose. We kept very few steaks though. The reason for me, was that it tastes very gamey and it is so lean that it tends to be tough. We used it to make sausage and ground meat.
  • shadowfax_c11
    shadowfax_c11 Posts: 1,942 Member
    Options
    Steak, roasts, chops, tenderloin, sausage, jerky... you can get venison or most any game meats in the same cuts as you would get beef or pork. When you take your deer to the processor around here you can tell them how you want it cut and whether or not to mix in pork or beef with the ground meat.

    Personally for venison I love the chops and tenderloin the best.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Options
    We have Elk and Deer farms here in Alberta.

    http://www.deerfarms.com/ab.shtml
  • SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage
    SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage Posts: 2,671 Member
    Options
    At first I read the title of this thread as "I have never had wild animal sex"
    .....I think I need more coffee.....
  • The_Enginerd
    The_Enginerd Posts: 3,982 Member
    Options
    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    Grew up on venison steaks. Ate it about 5 nights a week cuz we were poor and Dad was a good hunter. I hope I never again have to eat venison steaks...
    Same here, except usually it was made into roasts or stews. When we did have steaks, they were always well done. And they were those gangly, scrappy deer you get in the desert. Not those fat, grain eating deer from the Midwest. Between that and being overcooked, it wasn't until later in life as an adult when I had beef cooked medium that I could appreciate a good steak.
  • lucascoburn690
    lucascoburn690 Posts: 1 Member
    Options
    A venison steak with usually come from the backstrap of the deer which is just the two slabs of meat from both sides of the spine. That's at least how I've had them made my whole life as a hunter usually they will just take that straps and cut them long ways in half and then cut them in half again making them very thin. So be careful cooking not to burn them.
  • scolaris
    scolaris Posts: 2,145 Member
    Options
    Venison is tasty. So are elk & caribou. My dad brings me venison & elk. Caribou is harder to come by. I love all game meats. We get a lot of boar here in northern ca.
  • cosmo_momo
    cosmo_momo Posts: 173 Member
    Options
    Got a deer steak in the freezer right now. My boyfriend is a hunter. I've gone through over 8lbs of deer burger, a tenderloin, and a roast since November. I love make tacos and chili with the burger because it is so lean it crumbles better than beef. I made the roast in the crock pot and it was supposed to be a sort of vegetable soup, but it came apart so easily that we made pulled bbq out of it. Ugh, so good.

    On another note, if you are from the US you can't find it because it is illegal to sell. That's not to say people don't, but you have to look a lot harder to find it.
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
    Options
    cosmo_momo wrote: »
    Got a deer steak in the freezer right now. My boyfriend is a hunter. I've gone through over 8lbs of deer burger, a tenderloin, and a roast since November. I love make tacos and chili with the burger because it is so lean it crumbles better than beef. I made the roast in the crock pot and it was supposed to be a sort of vegetable soup, but it came apart so easily that we made pulled bbq out of it. Ugh, so good.

    On another note, if you are from the US you can't find it because it is illegal to sell. That's not to say people don't, but you have to look a lot harder to find it.

    It's not illegal to sell in the US, or I wouldn't be able to find it in the grocery store and at the local butcher's.
  • ElizabethOakes2
    ElizabethOakes2 Posts: 1,038 Member
    Options
    Lessee... I pay for a hunting license and deer tag, get up at 4 am, dress in stylish bright orange gear, tromp around the rainy wet woods, lugging a rifle, and freezing my behind off, and maybe get a deer, but probably not and have to do it all the next day.
    Or I can go to the store and buy a pound of hamburger for 5.99.
    I like venison, but not enough to go get it. :D
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    Options
    stealthq wrote: »
    cosmo_momo wrote: »
    Got a deer steak in the freezer right now. My boyfriend is a hunter. I've gone through over 8lbs of deer burger, a tenderloin, and a roast since November. I love make tacos and chili with the burger because it is so lean it crumbles better than beef. I made the roast in the crock pot and it was supposed to be a sort of vegetable soup, but it came apart so easily that we made pulled bbq out of it. Ugh, so good.

    On another note, if you are from the US you can't find it because it is illegal to sell. That's not to say people don't, but you have to look a lot harder to find it.

    It's not illegal to sell in the US, or I wouldn't be able to find it in the grocery store and at the local butcher's.

    Correct, but to add, in most, if not all states, it is illegal to sell the meat you've obtained through hunting. Farm raised deer for commercial purposes is what you can buy from the stores. Not actual game that has been hunted.

    Also with regard to the "gamey" taste, 95% of that is from improper care from field to table. You need to let it age a little bit and try to remove as much blood from the meat as possible. I've had deer from many different habitats, from young does to old bucks and barring a very young deer (SUPER tender) there is little variation in meat quality & taste.

Categories