Once you have harvested and recovered the animal, field dress the animal and make sure that all organs and blood are cleaned from the inner cavity (a hose or gallon water jug come in handy here).
Hang the animal up by the back legs, face toward the ground but not touching.
**This is the most critical part of having great tasting meat**
The animal needs to be hung in a cool place (preferably around 34-35 degrees but not freezing). This is best done in a walk in cooler, but can be done in a garage or outdoors as long as these temperatures are steady!
Allow the animal to hang(hide on) for a minimum of 1 week to 10 days (some hang deer for 30 days like this- not myself I want to get it on the grill sooner)
This aging process(just like beef) allows bacteria to break down and tenderize the meat making for a much more desireable taste with very little gaminess.
**Always cook deer meat(except for roasts) on high heat and make sure not to overcook. Deer has very little fat in it and will dry out quickly.***
So when someone tells you that soaking it in everything under the sun (coke, milk, vinegar, Dr Pepper, Water etc) eliminates the gaminess- don't beleive the HYPE!
I do soak(marinate) most all of my venison in Allegro products before cooking, but that's after it has been hung and processed.
Trust Chef Jeff on this one...
*Clean it good
*Hang it!!!!!
*Process it
*Serve the the best tasting venison you have ever had (especially if you have been using Dr. Pepper-LOL..)
*Heart disease and cancer are sometimes linked to overconsumption of some red meats because their relatively high fat and cholesterol content. Yet we all need protein in our diets, and meat is a good source. Wild venison is high in protein and contains less saturated fat than ham, salmon or lean roast beef. Only salmon compares favorably to venison in caloric content and cholesterol, and only chicken breast has less fat (but more cholesterol).
If you are looking for a an expert butcher with a walk in freezer at a good price call:
Brian Kinsey @ 540-580-8165...tell him Jeff from Star City Whitetails sent ya. He will treat you right!!