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I have to try out venison to see if I even like it. If I find out I do like it, then it will be only meat does for me. No bucks, no trophies for me, none of that jazz.

So, any day now, my ground axis venison will be coming from a wild game ranch in Texas to my doorstep packed in dry ice. A big money boondoggle:
$13/pound for the meat, 5 pounds, damn near $30 for the shipping alone plus the tax.

It's less than 5% fat so I bought some spendy beef tallow to add to it.

Fatworks Premium 100% Grass Fed, Pasture Raised Beef Tallow, Artisanally Rendered, WHOLE30 Approved, KETO, PALEO, 14 oz.

$18.00 a 14 oz jar. The rendered tallow is mild tasting and smells not bad at all.

I don't yet have a meat grinder so I will add an ounce of tallow to the skillet to brown the meat. Then the meat will used for tacos, pasta sauce and stroganoff.
I might also stir in an ounce of melted tallow then grill some deer patties. :rolleyes:
 
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It sounds like you've already overcome the first hurdle to quality game meat, which is proper care after the harvest. I'd be curious if the game ranch also aged the meat for you, which would be an additional plus.

When I grind venison, I often blend it 50/50 with ground beef for burgers, but do not add any additional fat (other than the higher fat content of the beef). I also make 100% ground venison burgers without ground beef, and no added fat. The trick is to cook it gently and avoid any overcooking. I've found the sous vide method (finished briefly on a hot grill) to be ideal for game meat, allowing you to cook it rare/medium-rare reliably.

Good luck.
 
It sounds like you've already overcome the first hurdle to quality game meat, which is proper care after the harvest. I'd be curious if the game ranch also aged the meat for you, which would be an additional plus.

When I grind venison, I often blend it 50/50 with ground beef for burgers, but do not add any additional fat (other than the higher fat content of the beef). I also make 100% ground venison burgers without ground beef, and no added fat. The trick is to cook it gently and avoid any overcooking. I've found the sous vide method (finished briefly on a hot grill) to be ideal for game meat, allowing you to cook it rare/medium-rare reliably.

Good luck.

A hunter has to always have a game processor lined up. A processor worth his salt should be able to add beef fat to a game grind upon request. I once bought some ground buffalo at a store. It was super lean. It was made into patties and grilled over flame and tasted lousy. :mad:

My ground wild axis venison is from Broken Arrow Ranch in Ingram, Tx.

Broken Arrow Ranch's Wild Game Process
  1. We field-harvest animals with a mobile unit from overpopulated ranches, process them onsite under government inspection, pay the rancher for every pound and bring the meat back to our butchers.
  2. The meat rests during a special double-aging process that helps tenderize it and enhance flavors.
  3. Orders are filled and shipped overnight to you, anywhere in the USA.
  4. Everything is delivered in an insulated shipping cooler right to your door. It can be used immediately or kept frozen for up to 1 year.
  5. Enjoy your wild game meat using one of our many recipes or with one of your own.
That's purely wild meat to your table.
 
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A hunter has to always have a game processor lined up.

Most game processors I have run across do indeed offer the option of adding fat to ground game meat upon request. At least I think it's a common service. However, many hunters (me included) process their own game meat. In either case, you can end up destroying it if you overcook it because it is so lean. Rare/medium-rare should be the target, in my view. Because many would like their ground meat heated to 160-165 degrees (well done) for safety, that's why the sous vide method is so useful. You can safely cook your meat to 130 degrees (safe by FDA standards, given cook time), then simply give it a quick sear on the grill (~60 seconds per side on a grill ~450 degrees). If grilling from raw, watch it like a hawk.
 
Properly cared for and cooked deer meat is delicious. Curious to see how you end up liking it. If it doesn't float your boat don't give up to quickly. I have noticed regional differences in the taste of venison. A Blacktail from northern CA doesn't taste the same as one from So OR or the coast. Same sub species but different diets I suppose. And then, If you go from a Blacktail to Whitetail or Muley the taste changes yet again. I spent a lot of time in Minnesota eating Whitetail there and it is much different than say a Sitka Blacktail in Alaska. Which in my opinion were the tastiest of them all.
 
I've been harvesting eastern Oregon mule deer from the same general area for the last 20 years. I find that it is very similar to the best lamb cuts available. Since there is no doe harvest in my area I have harvested only bucks. The meat has been uniformly mild, sweet, and tender.

The area is comprised of some BLM land, mostly steep canyons, and high desert flat lands populated by cattle ranches, wheat and alfalfa fields, lava flows, and scrub juniper. The deer feed mostly on wheat and alfalfa, along with some native forage.

I don't see why you would be negative about harvesting bucks.
 
Farmed axis deer and wild deer will not be the same thing. Not only are you talking about a different species of animal, its wild game eating wild browse vs farmed meat eating ????
 
I don't see why you would be negative about harvesting bucks.

Bucks are bigger. Bigger deer = more meat. I never understand why people say they shoot does and spikes because theyre "meat hunters." If youre really a meat hunter you would hunt mature bucks, since they have a lot more meat on them.
 
When i was a young man i use to call Michigan my home. To this day I know of no deer that tastes better than a spike or a forked horn that was raised on farm land. Where we used to hunt exists only in my minds eye today. It is now suburbia.
 
I do agree with the idea that "farmed raised" deer will taste different than deer from the "wild".
As for bucks..."trophy" or otherwise....why not...?
Deer tastes excellent to my mind...be it a doe or a buck.

Hunting can take on a outlook particular to each hunter....Which means that each hunter can have a vastly different view of why they do things.
For me...
Hunting is a way of connecting with life as a actual participant and not just a observer....
Hunting needs to be done respectfully , in regards to the land , the animal hunted and your skill as a a hunter and shooter...

There are many things I enjoy about hunting...the eating of a good meal , as a result , is a part of that enjoyment for sure but , it is not the best or most important part of a hunt , for me at least.
Andy
 
Do your thing or your own reasons, but I'm personally sick of the "I don't hunt antlers" preaching that comes from some fellow more "enlightened" hunters.

The fact is, there are scientific reasons males are the primary culling target in game mangement and it's not because of their antlers.

Yes, there are some people in it for the headgear, passing up some for bigger, but even those feed their families with their quarry, or donate it. Wanton waste is illegal in every state I've hunted in, not to mention highly unethical.

As far as taste, I've hunted in several different states and regions. A mulie from Oklahoma tastes much different than one from Arizona and both different from one Washington. What their feeding on matters. Farm raised deer is nothing like wild game. Don't get the two confused, no matter the species.

Also, at least for elk, I have noticed a difference between bulls and cows - at least the ones I took in Arizona. Cow meat is much more supple and has a better texture to it I prefer cow to bull - but won't pass up either.
 
I've been harvesting eastern Oregon mule deer from the same general area for the last 20 years. I find that it is very similar to the best lamb cuts available. Since there is no doe harvest in my area I have harvested only bucks. The meat has been uniformly mild, sweet, and tender.

The area is comprised of some BLM land, mostly steep canyons, and high desert flat lands populated by cattle ranches, wheat and alfalfa fields, lava flows, and scrub juniper. The deer feed mostly on wheat and alfalfa, along with some native forage.

I don't see why you would be negative about harvesting bucks.

Many people think the female of a species tastes better than the uncastrated male of a species. The male is often deemed to be tough and taste strong and wild bucks are always uncastrated. This is why male beef calves are castrated. I do believe the game's diet will affect its quality on the dinner table. I've heard deer venison has a flavor more akin to lamb than beef and I love good tender lamb.
 
Farmed axis deer and wild deer will not be the same thing. Not only are you talking about a different species of animal, its wild game eating wild browse vs farmed meat eating ????
The axis deer they are selling me has this claim from their site:

"This venison comes from truly wild and free-roaming South Texas Antelope, Axis Deer, and Fallow Deer. All animals are field harvested using a mobile processing unit. These species produce venison that is extremely lean and of the highest quality."


I ordered the wild axis venison they had listed. I think wild axis is supposed to have similar likeness to whitetail.
 
Many people think the female of a species tastes better than the uncastrated male of a species. The male is often deemed to be tough and taste strong and wild bucks are always uncastrated. This is why male beef calves are castrated. I do believe the game's diet will affect its quality on the dinner table. I've heard deer venison has a flavor more akin to lamb than beef and I love good tender lamb.
I also happen to raise meat sheep, and it depends greatly on the breed. My sheep taste like lamb (not mutton) even after they reach the age of 3 years old. This is true of the intact rams as well. You're entitled to your opinion, but I think you are mostly repeating things you've heard. Personal expeience is a great teacher.
 
I was raised to take bucks, my dad wasn't a doe hunter. His reasoning was does make deer, 1 buck can breed a lot of does. We like to watch them around the property also, I know when I have a good population we're going to get some decent bucks coming in to breed them.

I have access to a commercial grinder and fresh, clean beef tallow. We like to run 15% fat for burgers, 7% for everything else (deer and elk). I grew up eating thinly pounded out, floured, overcooked game. I think that was just the way my dad's family always did it and I actually enjoyed it. We always processed the meat into steaks and roasts. Years ago I stopped cutting steaks, I started searing the heck out of a chunk, roast it to 130ish, make a sauce out of the juices while it rests, slice the meat and serve w/a berry, cream, or wine sauce. My daughter got us a sous vide cooker about a year ago and I can't get enough of that thing! I don't think I've cooked a piece of meat (any meat) any other way since I got it. It's a game changer. I have a 23K btu burner on my gas stove, 20-30 seconds in a cast iron skillet and bam, done. Or hit it on the grill as hot as it can get. Some mighty fine eatin'! It's all about the sear/char at that point.
 

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