tough meat solution

HIcountryman · Dec 15, 2019

The MZ buck i shot this year is a bit tough and while not gamey tasting, it is a weird bland taste. I have found that thawing steak in fridge for about 4 days and cooking a bit more rare than i normally like it, it is more tender and tasty.

I shot him at around 8:40 a.m. at 11K feet in elevation, deboned and hung all meat in the shade and got him in cooler next a.m. Rested in cooler while i went back out for elk hunt for 4 days. Had wife add ice bags, coolers had drain valves open into bucket.... So it was "aged" a bit.

HIs teeth were quite worn down and i believe he is pretty old. I saw him two years ago and he was a bit bigger in the antlers than this year, so he is probably pushing 7 years of age or so...?

Any other techniques for dealing with tough meat? (Ha Ha, don't say pound it...)

tailchasers · Dec 15, 2019

Tendering hammer and pound the toughness out. Make a lots of chicken fried steak. Turn into burger, sausage, or ground jerky. Crockpot it but it'll be drier than a popcorn fart unless it's front shoulder meat and or add a sauce of some sort. Fajitas, stroganoff,chili just to name a few dishes as well.

"Courage is being scared to death but
saddling up anyway."

hntbambi · Dec 16, 2019

Try a sous vide (SV) cooker. You can set the temp do your desired doneness (125? for MR, 140? for M) and cook the steaks for 4 hours. It will not be overcooked as it is held at the perfect temperature but the tissue slowly breaks down. I have cooked beef short ribs for up to 72 hours. season your meat to your liking and seal in a vacuum seal bag. Place the bag in the pot of water with the SV running. After SV cooking, remove the vacuum bag from the sous vide and pat the meat dry. Sear the exterior on a super hot cast iron or on the grill for a minute on each side to get some maillard reaction (crust). I prefer 500? or hotter for this. The meat will be perfect medium rare or medium (whatever you like) edge to edge.

Here is a good youtube to explain the process:

littlebull209338 · Dec 17, 2019

I like to use a beef broth, McCormic beef stew and brown gravy (package of each) , crock pot at just around boiling for 8-9 hours add veggies for a half hour. Serve over mashed potatoes or rice. I just cooked an elk round steak and it is mmmm-good.

BigChiefJ · Feb 17, 2020

Have you tried a pressure cooker? I enjoy everything I make in it. Canning venison is great if you have the equipment.

I even rescued a 5 year old wild turkey breast from the bottom of the freezer.

Homer · Feb 27, 2020

do you have a dog?

VERNON · Feb 28, 2020

HIcountryman said:
The MZ buck i shot this year is a bit tough and while not gamey tasting, it is a weird bland taste. I have found that thawing steak in fridge for about 4 days and cooking a bit more rare than i normally like it, it is more tender and tasty.

I shot him at around 8:40 a.m. at 11K feet in elevation, deboned and hung all meat in the shade and got him in cooler next a.m. Rested in cooler while i went back out for elk hunt for 4 days. Had wife add ice bags, coolers had drain valves open into bucket.... So it was "aged" a bit.

HIs teeth were quite worn down and i believe he is pretty old. I saw him two years ago and he was a bit bigger in the antlers than this year, so he is probably pushing 7 years of age or so...?

Any other techniques for dealing with tough meat? (Ha Ha, don't say pound it...)

Pics please we want to see this 7 year old

HIcountryman · Feb 28, 2020

Vern: see oct 22, 2019 post "fuzzy muzzy buck" in mule deer thread. Can't load pic here... sometimes pics will load sometimes they wont.... from same format and size...
Like i said, i saw him in 2017 and he was mature 4 point + brows. He was a little bit smaller in main beams when i shot him in 2019. I am guessing he was 4 or 5 yrs old in 2017, 6 or 7 in 2019. Tougher than the two bigger bucks i have shot in '17 and '18. Meat was cared for in about exactly the same way.

3TOE · Mar 2, 2020

Try wet aging. Vacuum seal the meat and let it sit in your refrigerator for a week or two.

HIcountryman · Mar 10, 2020

Homer said:
do you have a dog?

come on now... i give the dogs grind that has more tendon, etc than i want to eat. but i only got this one deer last year and i'm damn sure going to eat it!

BigChiefJ · Mar 10, 2020

Venison cost way too much to feed to a dog.

tailchasers · Mar 24, 2020

I recently learned of another tenderizing method that I tried out now 3 times with great results. Mix 1/4 cup of EVOO and 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar to a Ziploc. Place meat inside Ziploc, remove as much air as possible, and mix well. Mix well again every hour for 4 hours. 1 hour before cooking add 1 more tbsp of apple cider vinegar and a good application of kosher salt to the Ziploc bag mixing well again. Remove and grill to desire doneness. Tender as I've not experienced before. Makes that old buck taste like a tenderized old buck.

DW · Mar 26, 2020

Death In A Bottle:Pics/Tutorial | After the Shot - Game Care -n- Cookin'

Here's a response to the past few canned/bottled meat threads. Our family has been doing this for generations and while I recognize it may be thought of as old school...I just don't care. This is one of our favorite ways to use game meat! I shared a bottle with a friend a few years back and his...

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