SC - Game (y) meats

[Sue Wensel]

I wrote:

> >In my experience growing up in a hunting household, what generally told how
> >gamey the meat was was the competence of the person who gutted it.  If they
> >were poor, the meat was so bad as to be almost uneatable (but never waste
> >meat!).  If they were average, the meat was "gamey."  If they were good,
then
> >the meat tasted wonderful, and even avowed non-game eaters loved it.  The
> >difference was in how the entrails were handled.  
> >
> >Difference 1:  Good field-dressing ties off the urethra *before* doing
> >anything else.  This means getting a little messy, but it makes for better
> >meat if it has not been in contact with urine.  The meat directly in
contact
> >is really unfit for human consumption, and the remaining meat around the
> >cavity tastes gamey.
> >
> >Difference 2:  The entrails are handled quite carefully.  Slitting the skin
> >is
> >done carefully -- to make sure that the peritoneum (or whatever lines the
> >abdomen) is the only thing slit/there are no nicks in the entrails.
> >
> >Difference 3:  Field dressing is done immediately after killing, not a half
> >hour to an hour after the kill when the animal is home.
> >
> >Another factor in the taste of game meat is how it is cooked.  Remember,
most
> >game meat is significantly leaner than domestic animals.  Therefore they
need
> >to be cooked *slowly* in a moist environment (roast in covered pan with
> >water,
> >simmer in a stew, etc.).  Birds tend to do better skinned.  This will give
> >you
> >quite good tasting, moist, non-gamey meat.
> >

To which Christi asked:

> I have a question on this.  I agree with the dressing out theory.  But
> doesn't it also depend on what the animal ate?  I have had venison that
> survived on mostly sage, and venison that was ranch raised and there was
> a definite difference in flavor.  I was told that meat that was wild was
> more "gamey" due to their diet.  Both of these animals were killed,
> gutted and prepared by the same individuals.

In all honesty, the only time I have had "gamey" meat was when my brother and
one of my father's friends had dressed the animal (this stands for venison,
rabbit, squirrel, fowl -- i.e. most legally hunted game in PA).  My dad
insisted that the difference was in how the entrails were handled.

In addition, we also raised domestic rabbits.  If the entrails were not
handled carefully (like the bladder leaked), the result was "gamey" meat.  

Now the difference in flavor (I set this aside from gamey-ness, which is
texture and flavor) is linked to how the animal ate while alive.  I adore beef
raised on corn and tolerate beef raised on food supplements.  Likewise
chicken.  I suspect the time of year the animal was killed may affect the
flavor of the meat because the available diet and fat reserves change during
the year.

Finally, with a given of the different flavors imparted by breed of cattle
(Angus vs. anything else -- I am at a loss for other beef cattle breeds),
different types of deer may affect flavor. 

I have a story about a college friend who declared one day that he hated deer
meat because it was so gamey. I told him I could fix deer meat that he would
love; he doubted it. A week or so later, I invited him over to my place to
have venison (he said he never tried it).  After eating, he raved about how
that was the best meat he had ever had and wanted to know where I bought it. 
I told him, truthfully, that my parents sent it to me.  The following Monday,
he was telling mutual friends about how great venison was and didn't
understand why they were rolling on the floor.  He asked me, and I explained
that venison was another name for deer meat, but I wanted him to try it with
no preconceived notions of how it should taste.  He wanted to know when I was
cooking it again so he could invite himself to dinner.

My mother tells a story about one of her sister-in-laws who came to dinner,
not knowing what was on the menu.  After dinner, she raved about the meal.  My
mother said, "I thought you didn't like deer meat."  She replied, "Oh, I
thought the meat tasted a little off."


Derdriu
swensel at brandegee.lm.com

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