Posted: 12/22/2008 12:24:14 PM EDT
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ive got one ziplock bag with venison chops in it with Italian salad dressing. plenty of dressing. i sealed it up at 315pm today. ive got another container with chops in it, this time with salt water. the chops are basically floating. what i need to know, is did i put too much water in the container? are they suppose to be floating or is there just suppose to be enough for them to soak up the salt water? i took these ideas from another thread here. i will be grilling them up tomorrow. im just worried maybe too much water can cause an issue? ETA how long do i soak the venison in water ?? |
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Why are you soaking the venison in salt water? I've never heard of this practice and see no need in doing it.
I do however use the ziploc bag/Italian dressing trick often with venison and with chicken, adds great flavor!! Several companys make good 'off the shef' marinade mixes. I have used Durkee Grill Creations, we like the black peppercorn marinade with venison. McCormick also makes several flavors that enhance almost any meat marinated in them. I sometimes use a red wine as a marinade. I also add lemon and/or lime juice marinades. Hell, if you like the taste of it you can use almost anything as a marinade and add almost anything to a marinade! Don't be shy jump in and use your creativity, that's the way new taste are created. As a general rule the longer the meat stays in the marinade the stronger the flavor. At the deer camp we usually do the ziploc bag marinade trick a lunch and cook the meat after we return from the afternoon hunt. That way the meat has all afternoon to soak in the marinade and get VERY happy and ready for the grill!! Good luck with your marinade creations!! Hal |
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Builttough,
I have been hunting all my life, I'm 59, and have only had venison taste 'gamey' twice. The first time was on a 'dog hunt', the deer was killed in the morning and stayed in the back of a pickup ALL day. The second was a buck I shot bow hunting and tracked until it was too dark to continue. Came back the next morning and recovered the deer. I ALWAYS field dress my deer ASAP after the kill. The sooner the meat can cool the better it is going to be. I've never felt the need to soak venison in salt water, coke cola, milk or anything else to 'get the blood out'. My processed venison is no more bloody than a steak you might buy at the store. My processor always hangs deer for 7-9 days, depending upon how busy he is, in a cooler, this allows the meat to naturally age. When people talk of 'bloody meat' or 'gamey' tasting meat I usually wonder HOW they have cared for their kill? I learned a long time ago, from reading Elmer Keith and talking to my processor, that what you do soon after the kill has a LOT to do with the quality of the meat you will put on your table later. The next deer you take try field dressing it right after you take it. If I can I'll field dress it where it falls or at least close by. I'll bet that deer will be the best tasting venison you have ever had!! Good luck with your hunting and don't forget to marinate with the Italian dressing!! Hal |
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Quoted:
Builttough, I have been hunting all my life, I'm 59, and have only had venison taste 'gamey' twice. The first time was on a 'dog hunt', the deer was killed in the morning and stayed in the back of a pickup ALL day. The second was a buck I shot bow hunting and tracked until it was too dark to continue. Came back the next morning and recovered the deer. I ALWAYS field dress my deer ASAP after the kill. The sooner the meat can cool the better it is going to be. I've never felt the need to soak venison in salt water, coke cola, milk or anything else to 'get the blood out'. My processed venison is no more bloody than a steak you might buy at the store. My processor always hangs deer for 7-9 days, depending upon how busy he is, in a cooler, this allows the meat to naturally age. When people talk of 'bloody meat' or 'gamey' tasting meat I usually wonder HOW they have cared for their kill? I learned a long time ago, from reading Elmer Keith and talking to my processor, that what you do soon after the kill has a LOT to do with the quality of the meat you will put on your table later. The next deer you take try field dressing it right after you take it. If I can I'll field dress it where it falls or at least close by. I'll bet that deer will be the best tasting venison you have ever had!! Good luck with your hunting and don't forget to marinate with the Italian dressing!! Hal i gutted the buck right where it fell, about 10-15 minutes after the kill. pulled him to camp with the 4 wheeler and ended up just putting him in the back of the truck knowing i was now going to be heading home soon. had him at the butcher the next night. temps were below freezing this entire time. this area of mine doesnt provide much farm crop type food so maybe its daily diet or age had something to do with him tasting "gamey" |
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I think diet has a lot to do with the taste. I've had one deer that was really strong and I didn't care for it any different than the others.
I wonder if the processors sometimes mix up the meat, either by accident or on purpose. ETA that a lot of times the meat smells strong when you first start cooking it but that doesn't mean that it will taste strong. Like the poster above I think how you care for the meat also makes a big difference and I've never had a problem with bloody meat. The processor I go to now also hangs my deer for at least 5 days or until the rigor breaks. One thing my wife will tell people that complain about the taste of venison - "It's not beef and it's not going to taste like beef." My favorite way to fix venison is in a crock pot with vegetables. The leftovers make a wonderful stew. |