Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom Flanigan
The meat of very young animals is tough for some reason.
It is my opinion that a year and a half old buck is no more tender than a five and a half year old deer.
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Well Tom, that has not been my experience...
I've had older bear that was aged properly and at the right temperature and the meat, although tender and tasty, had that stringy consistency of a pot roast... while the meat I have had from younger bears was also tender but wasn't stringy at all.
Deer meat - I'll call it venison - I much prefer from 1 1/2 year old deer but the venison from older deer isn't necessarily tougher but the meat, even though aged the same way as younger venison, has a more 'dense' consistency than that of a younger deer. The age of the animal when it is killed certainly must have an effect on the fibers of the muscle - they have been used longer and harder and that must make a difference - I can usually tell a young deer's venison from that of an older deer.
I love deer liver and certainly prefer it from a 1 1/2 year old deer. Today I won't even consider eating the liver from an older deer because of an experience I had a few years ago...
A friend shot a buck that was determined by a biologist to be 6 1/2 years old and my friend gave me the liver within two hours of having killed the buck.
It was tough on the outside (not dried at all - it had been in a zip-lok bag since the deer was gutted) and mush on the inside. Never again will I even consider the liver from an older deer.
I know, everyone has different experiences and opinions on this topic and the folks that will shoot an animal but won't eat it stems from the fact that the meat/carcass was not handled properly from the moment it was killed.
You can't drive around with your buck in the back of your truck for several days showing it off to all your buddies and expect the meat to be fit for consumption - those are the folks who don't really care for venison 'cause "it tastes too gamey."
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