Gamey taste.

[StartMyHunt]

In your opinion, what contributes the most to an elk that has a gamey taste. Personally, I do not mind if it tastes gamey. However, the rest of my family has some opinions on the matter. I have a few ideas in no particular order...

1. High levels of hormones during the rut.

2. Lactic acid build up after being wounded or chased hard around the hills for a few days.

3. Diet (sagebrush vs. high quality grasses and forbs)

4. Proper care of the meat after the kill.

5. Other?

Let me know.
Mike

 

[OldMan]

All of that plus leaving the fat on while cooking it.

 

[cnelk]

IMO
#2 is the greatest factor. We once trailed a bad hit on a yearling elk. It took all day. That was the worse tasting elk EVER.

#3 is a close second. Deer or elk eating sage isnt the greatest tasting meat.

#4 In-proper care ranks up there for bad tasting meat. I like to get the hide off my meat, then cool it down and then age it.

#1 has not much impact on taste. I have shot rutting bulls and cows at the same time and had no difference.

 

[OldMan]

IMO
#2 is the greatest factor. We once trailed a bad hit on a yearling elk. It took all day. That was the worse tasting elk EVER.

#3 is a close second. Deer or elk eating sage isnt the greatest tasting meat.

#4 In-proper care ranks up there for bad tasting meat. I like to get the hide off my meat, then cool it down and then age it.

#1 has not much impact on taste. I have shot rutting bulls and cows at the same time and had no difference.

How about a rutting mule deer Brad? I tried that once. Never again.

 

[cnelk]

I dont like mule deer regardless of rut or not.
I think its the sage they eat.

 

[iccyman001]

Mike,

you hit the nail on the head with a lot of the reasons I usually chalk up for gamey meat.


I just have my few ways of combating it.

1) butter milk or milk drudge.
2) salt water drudge
3) make it into jerky or summer sausage
4) LOTS OF BACON

 

[OldMan]

True Brad. I wish they didn\'t like it so much.

We need more apple orchards for them to feed on.

 

[Swede]

The biggest factor I believe is improper care or the dead animal. Keep your meat clean and get the guts out and hide off ASAP. Another factor may be gastric juices on the meat from being gut shot and taking a long time to die. Those juices all over the chest cavity can\'t be good. Sage gives some taste.

 

[OldMan]

A lot of people love antelope. They taste like a mouthful of sage to me.

You know this got me to thinking. I don\'t really like the taste of mule deer either. I say that all the time. I don\'t know why i\'m worried about giving up my buck tag for the OTC bull tag. Even though my chances of getting a bull aren\'t that good. If I do at least i\'ll love the meat. Good! That decision is made. Give up the buck tag, and hunt the whole 2nd season for a bull. I\'ll use the first weekend for scouting, and dodging all the ATV\'s.

 

[Jaquomo]

I\'ve killed a bunch of big rutting muley bucks, have recovered elk the next morning after a warm night, found gut shot elk the next day, killed huge rutting bulls, pronghorn in warm weather, bears shot at night and recovered the next morning. All have been great. I take great care with the meat during field dressing and trimming and age everything for 7-10 days.

The only gamey thing I\'ve eaten was a doe pronghorn my buddy\'s wife killed with a clean rifle shot, which they skinned and cooled immediately. It stunk up the house when cooking and was inedible. No explanation for that. We both love pronghorn and have killed a number of great rutting bucks from that same spot that were wonderful eaters. One caribou from Quebec was iffy but it wasn\'t aged and I\'m not sure I got my own meat. The others I\'ve cared for from camp to home, processed myself, and they were fine.

The last seven muleys I\'ve killed were big mature bucks (170 - 218\") in peak rut in mid-November and after ageing and processing they were all among the best wild game I\'ve ever eaten. Had round steaks tonight and you could cut them with a fork.

 

[OldMan]

We have different tastes Lou. The fact that you like bear meat tells me that. You\'re lucky. It sounds like you like everything.

I guess i\'m kind of picky. Although i\'ve never had elk that I didn\'t like.

 

[Jaquomo]

I think it has more to do with where the bears are taken and what they eat. Our fall bears in the CO mountains are very lean from spending the summer eating berries, grass, and grubs. Bears from elsewhere, especially fish eaters, are awful from my experience.

Whenever I get a bear we invite non hunters (some who claim to not like game meat) over for a barbecue. We don\'t tell them what they\'re eating. Everyone raves about how wonderful it is until we tell them it\'s bear. We\'ve had some actually argue with us, that it can\'t be bear or any a sort of game meat because they don\'t like the \"gamely taste\" of wild game.

We do the same with rutting mule deer, always with the same result. My mother in law still thinks we\'re lying to her about it.

Many by times I think taste is more in the mind than the mouth.

 

[timberland]

I like that last statement. People always compare game to beef. If it doesn\'t taste like they\'re used to it seems \"off\".
Kind of like when people complain their fish tastes fishy. Makes me laugh, fish is supposed to taste fishy, its fish. But there is a difference with game that is not taken care of properly.
I like elk the best because it tastes like elk. Bear tastes like bear.

 

[Pop-r]

I feel care has as little to do with it as anything. Reason being I\'ve taken wonderful care of some that were very strong & almost unedible. I\'m not gonna say what has the biggest factors in it but you can take care out of the equation becuz that ain\'t it. Sure it can & will ruin tho.

 

[atfrith]

Lou can you elaborate a little bit on how you age your game. Large walk in fridge? Meat on the bone? etc

 

[Swede]

Bears from elsewhere, especially fish eaters, are awful from my experience.

Bears love to hang out around a garbage dump. Have nothing to do with them. They are the worst tasting. I have never shot a bear, but was given some bear meat several times. The bear meat was not spoiled. Some bear is fine. Garbage dump bear will turn your stomach. It was similar to Lou\'s bear. It was just awful.

 

[OldMan]

I don\'t expect game meat to taste like beef, but that doesn\'t mean i\'ll like the natural taste of all game meat.

Some people love liver. You can\'t pay me to eat it.

 

[Jaquomo]

In early season I hang elk in a friend\'s meat locker for a minimum of 7 days, on the bone if I haven\'t boned it in the field. 10-14 days if possible. Prime beef is aged up to 30 days. There\'s a reason on for that. The enzymes break down the connective tissue and make it more tender. Chefs who specialize in wild game will tell you that the worst thing you can do is cut one up soon after killing it, while rigor mortis is in effect. That guarantees tough meat. A friend did that with a yearling cow moose a couple years ago and he needed a chain saw to cut through the steaks. Even the burger was chewy.

I bowhunt mature muleys during the rut. They hang whole with the hide on in the garage for at least a week before I butcher them. Leaving the hide on keeps the meat from getting a thick rind and drying out.

BTW, freezing and thawing a carcass before cutting it up, like in a cold weather camp, essentially has the same tenderizing effect as ageing for 7 days, according to the expert meat guys.

 

[cnelk]

Lou
Do you think there is a difference in MD taste from one taken east of I25 and one up in the mountains?
I have only eaten mountain MD.

 

[Jaquomo]

Brad, I can\'t say for sure. I\'ve hunted the plains for 30 years. Before that I killed 8 or 9 North Park and Front Range deer and don\'t remember them being anything but good. But we didn\'t have much money then and hunted/fished for food so we\'d have eaten them no matter what.