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Mule deer meat

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Mule deer meat

Postby Lefty » 01 02, 2021 •  [Post 1]

Never ben a big fan of mule deer. However the buck from this year was great.
Room temperature unlabeled piece of meat ( was going for jerky, but it looked like a tender front shoulder?) )
A hot pan and avocado oil . A coating of Alpine Onion powder/salt on both sides
Seared one side,.. pulled the meat off the heat.
set for one minute while the pan got hot.
Placed the meat back in the hot pan, once seared a tablespoon of butter in the pan, flip the meat to butter.
Just barely past blue, 115 degrees .. so good
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Re: Mule deer meat

Postby 7mmfan » 01 03, 2021 •  [Post 2]

I've had great mule deer and subpar mule deer. I've learned that initial handling after the kill and letting it age for a little bit in the right conditions makes an enormous difference in flavor and tenderness. I haven't had a bad deer in several years since I started really paying attention to all the details.
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Re: Mule deer meat

Postby Swede » 01 03, 2021 •  [Post 3]

I used to see deer in the back of pickups, coming over to the west side from eastern Oregon. They had hung for several days in camp, and when they got to the hunter's home, they hung a few more days all with the hide on. I can only imagine what they tasted like, but I heard people talk about venison being too gamey. My venison was never gamey, but the deer were gutted and skinned within an hour or two of being shot. How long they could hang was often weather dependent.
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Re: Mule deer meat

Postby SoCo Mark » 01 24, 2021 •  [Post 4]

Most of our mule deer any more are taken on population control hunts in our rural/residential area. First, we have the opportunity to be picky on shot placement. We only put a bullet right behind the ear or back of head. The result is the deer never knows what hit them. then, they are quartered and in the cooler in about a hour's time. We do the gutless method. First we put a layer of ice in the bottom of a 120 cooler (I think that is the size). Then we put the pieces (bone in) in game bags and place on the cooler. We put plastic over the ice layer, to insure the meat does not soak in melted ice water. Once the deer is in the cooler, we place bagged ice over the top. The meat cools down incredibly fast and we usually cut it up first chance we get, which is within a few days. Our burger is cut 50/50 with ground pork. We not only have no complaints, but many rave reviews.
We buy chicken, pork and beef only when we want a change of pace.

This Christmas, dinner was osso-buco, which is braised and slow cooked shanks. Sadly many shanks never make it to the dinner table but our osso-buco meals are some of the best I've ever had- out of any meal. And that is not hyperbole.
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Re: Mule deer meat

Postby wawhitey » 01 24, 2021 •  [Post 5]

Our burger is cut 50/50 with ground pork. We not only have no complaints, but many rave reviews.



Thats not saying much. I bet you could cut coyote 50/50 with pork, add some seasoning, and it will be edible.


A 50/50 mix, youre literally saying people like to eat pork, just as much as youre saying people like to eat mule deer.

Mixing wild game with domestic meat is silly. Defeats the purpose imo.
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Re: Mule deer meat

Postby SoCo Mark » 01 26, 2021 •  [Post 6]

I would imagine if one was hungry enough, coyote cut with nothing would be edible. I have never given a moment's thought to cutting "coyote 50/50, add some seasoning" just to see if it was edible- that is until you posted about it.

I have had 100% ground pork burgers. They are certainly edible, and actually not bad at all, just different. However. cut with MD 50/50, they are so much better. Same goes with tacos, chili, meatballs- many traditional ground beef items. I also have eaten my sure of 100% wild game ground meat. It certainly is edible, actually quite tasty, though a tad dry.
It may be I am totally changing the taste of the mule deer. It may be that I am totally changing the taste of the pork. Either way, I am not sure what it matters.
In the end, I would gladly eat 100% ground mule deer. I would gladly eat 100% pork. I will also gladly eat ground MD cut 50/50 with pork. When given the choice, I choose the MD cut 50/50 with pork. We have plenty of deer on our property. And, we have plenty of pork. To us, it really is a no-brainer, no matter how silly it seems.

But, unless my current situation changes- and I mean change DRASTICALLY, I won't be eating coyote- no matter what it is cut and seasoned with. For now, I draw the line far before 'yote.
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Re: Mule deer meat

Postby 7mmfan » 01 26, 2021 •  [Post 7]

I've moved through many phases of game meat preparation. When I was a little kid, every part of a deer was a steak to my dad. Backstraps made obvious steaks, but to him so did shanks, and neck. When I started processing my own animals later in life, I quickly realized there was a better way and that specific cuts had their place. Just the act of using the right cut for the right meal made an enormous difference in how much it was enjoyed.

I've made the same progression with ground meat. We didn't grind any game meat as a kid. Dad didn't want to pay anyone to do it, and we didn't have a grinder to do it ourselves. When I started grinding my own I started with a 50/50 pork/game mix, just like SoCo. It was fine. I then went through a phase where I felt I was doing the game an injustice by mixing it with pork, so went straight game meat, no mixer, like wawhitey. I found that in the right meals, that was great, even preferable, but overall it was less enjoyable. If it's not enjoyable to eat, my wife won't eat it. If she won't eat it, then I have no reason to keep hunting. I've settled on a blend of 90/10 game meat/bacon ends and pieces. It's great for all meals and just enough fat for great burgers.

In the end, everyone has a taste pallet that needs to be satisfied and everyone's pallet is a little different. As long as you utilize the meat and none of it goes to waste, mix it 90% pork for all I care. It has no bearing on me. I know a lot guys scoff at the use of bacon ends and pieces in game meat used in chili/tacos/etc... but I love it so screw them! :lol:
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Re: Mule deer meat

Postby saddlesore » 12 06, 2021 •  [Post 8]

I tried very hard to not shoot any muleys that fed on sage or oak brush or bucks in rut. High country bucks or does were always good eating,but the muleys and whitetails coming our of eastern Colorado that fed on corn,winter wheat, milo, or sorghum hay, were always the best.
I have never added any thing to elk,deer or pronghorn burger.I eat it for the leanness. Although I have buffalo coming this month that is 10% fat

Adding anything to good burger meat is about like mixing a good bourbon with coke. :lol:
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Re: Mule deer meat

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 12 06, 2021 •  [Post 9]

As with any deer, how you process it is paramount. That said, over the years I have had a few (MD, WT, or BT) that were a bit tough on the pallet.
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