What does deer meat taste like?

[BluePitbull]

Would it taste like beef?

[ultrafilter]

Chicken.

[Colibri]

It tastes a lot like elk.

[BMax]

A lot like mutton. A lot of venison's flavor comes from what the animal eats. If your'e close to a ranch or a farm they will eat as much alfalfa as they can. In the wilds they browse like a goat. I like the liver if the animal lives off pine, but not so much if it eats sagebrush/juniper.
It seems that the larger a deer species is the milder and less gamey it tastes. On the average, Elk is less gamey than deer. Moose tastes very mild, almost like beef but with much less fat. If you've eaten Yak then you know what moose tastes like.

[Zabali_Clawbane]

If someone is offering you a venison dish, take a bit and try it for yourself. It has it's own flavor. I don't think it tastes like chicken, or beef, or pork. It's got a stronger "gamier" flavor, but prepared well (http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_18432,00.html), it's good stuff (http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_22137,00.html). (It's very good as a stew (http://celery.ndk.biz/cgi-bin/recipe.cgi?r=5525) or sausage (http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_23757,00.html), and cooked with carrots and parsley) I'll put it another way. Deer meat tastes as much like beef as wild duck tastes like chicken, or catfish like canned Chicken-of-the-Sea tuna.

[Jman]

I was about to say a similar thing...it's gamier than beef, but that's probably the closest meat to it, at least prepared the way I had it. It's got kind of a pungent aftertaste that's surprisingly tasty, if that makes any sense. Hard to describe...gotta try it!

[An Arky]

It's like a cross between beef and lamb, IMHO. It tends to be tougher than either, but if you're lucky enough to get your hands on some tenderloin, it's, well, pretty tender. Other cuts lend themselves well to things like stew or chili. It's also pretty good if you pound it flat and chicken-fry it.

[Zabali_Clawbane]

Lemon juice is good with venison, if you use just a little. (You don't need a lot of lemon flavor, just a light taste, not like with fish or chicken.) It helps tenderize the meat. If you cube it before cooking it will come out more tender too.

[GingerOfTheNorth]

The stuff my dad hunts (from his friend's ranch/grain farm) is very mild and tastes almost exactly like beef.

[engineer_comp_geek]

I can tell you from experience that deer chilli tastes like beef chilli. Sloppy joes made out of deer meat taste like sloppy joes made with beef. I couldn't taste the difference between deer and cow with all that other stuff mixed in. Deer steak tastes a lot like cow steak, but is a bit gamier so you are at least aware that it's something different.

[MaddyStrut]

It tastes more like grass-fed beef than corn-fed beef to me, but it's still different. More different than chicken/turkey. I guess the chicken/duck comparison is the best.

I agree that it doesn't taste much different from beef in chili or sloppy joes.

[ltfire]

If you shot one, and hung it from a tree branch to field dress it.

If you started your cut up by the throat and planned on ending somewhere around the anus.

If you didn’t listen to your Dad when he said don’t cut too deep.

When the contents of the stomach and intestines come rushing out with a vile smell, because you cut too deep.

Don’t worry about the taste of venison, ‘cause you’ll never eat it again.

[Fear Itself]

The best liver I ever ate was venison liver, freshly killed. Soaked it in milk for an hour, then dredged it in seasoned flour, and fried it with bacon and onion. It was the mildest, most succulent liver I have ever had, not gamy at all.

[butler1850]

I like to say it tastes like beef, only faster. (Ok, I stole it from Debaser).

Once you've tried it, you'll know I'm right! :)

-Butler
*hoping for at least one deer this season*

[Shagnasty]

It tends to be tougher than beef. I don't think it tastes that much like beef except fried venison does taste like chicken fried steak.

[Crafter_Man]

Deer hunter here.

I'm not too crazy about a plain venison steak; I much prefer a regular cow/beef steak. But IMO venison is great when you cook it in a stew with potatoes, carrots, onions, etc. There's nothing better! :)

[BiblioCat]

A lot of venison's flavor comes from what the animal eats.
One of the deer that my husband got last year lived near an apple orchard and the taste was very much like beef (which is what it normally tastes like, IMO), but it was very sweet, too. We had some ribeye steaks that were just incredible - they definitely had an apple-y flavor.
Weird when you think about it, but good eatin'.

[awldune]

Beef, but slightly sweet is my experience too, although I have only tasted venison from one deer (many meals, though!)

[SnakesCatLady]

I can't really compare it to anything, but you haven't lived until you've had venison sausage.

[Crafter_Man]

I can't really compare it to anything, but you haven't lived until you've had venison sausage.Yes, it's good. But keep in mind that, when you request "venison sausage" from the processor, it is usually "summer sausage," which means they mix pork fat in with the venison. So do you know if what you had was pure venison sausage, or was it "summer sausage"?

[caveman]

If I'm out to humorously antagonize a dining partner who might be squeamish about eating game, I'm always sure to inform them that my venison tastes simply adorable...

[Scott Plaid]

I don't know about deer, but I ate Raindeer, and I found it to be far, far gamier then anything I have ever eaten. It was delish!

[rainy]

Yes, it's good. But keep in mind that, when you request "venison sausage" from the processor, it is usually "summer sausage," which means they mix pork fat in with the venison. So do you know if what you had was pure venison sausage, or was it "summer sausage"?

My experience around here is exactly opposite. If you request 'sausage' you get a venison pork mixture that you'd fry for breakfast. But if you request summer sausage you get a pure venison sausage stuffed into a skin that is like something you'd get from Swiss Colony (but way-mo better) that's apporpriate as a snack with crackers, cheese and beer. There are far fewer processing places around here that offer the summer sausage because of the additional equipment; smokers, etc. that just a standard butcher shop might not have. I have driven 2 hours to get a deer tyrned into summer sausage. Reminds me, I've got to get the tree stand out of the basement, there's a couple of this year's bucks (read tender) been awfully familiar here at the farm.

-rainy

[El Zagna]

My grandmother had an odd phrase to describe deer meat. She said, "It goes to sleep in you mouth." By that she meant that it leaves a greasy feeling in your mouth.

[Valgard]

I've had venison a few times although not recently (both college roomies were bow-hunters).

If "gamier" doesn't help, I'd say it tastes much like beef only sweeter. I don't really care for it myself.

[Telperien]

I've had venison sausage with beans and rice. It's delicious. It doesn't taste like beef or pork sausage, but I can't really describe the taste beyond "different."

Grossed my mom right out when I told her though. She has a weird aversion to deer meat.

[YaWanna]

I don't know about deer, but I ate Raindeer, and I found it to be far, far gamier then anything I have ever eaten. It was delish!
Reindeer is actually domestic caribou. Just sayin'.

I've eaten and enjoyed venison, buffalo, and musk ox. None tastes quite like beef to me.

[ltfire]

I don't know about deer, but I ate Raindeer, and I found it to be far, far gamier then anything I have ever eaten. It was delish!

So, that's why Santa was late last year..
:( :D

[BiblioCat]

My experience around here is exactly opposite. If you request 'sausage' you get a venison pork mixture that you'd fry for breakfast. But if you request summer sausage you get a pure venison sausage stuffed into a skin that is like something you'd get from Swiss Colony (but way-mo better) that's apporpriate as a snack with crackers, cheese and beer. Oh, yeah, I love that stuff. We get the summer sausage (all venison) from the butcher, and it's like rainy described; kinda like what you get from Swiss Colony (or Hickory Farms - yuck), but waaaaaaay better. Much, much better. We eat it cold, as a snack, with crackers and cheese and beer, while watching TV.

We can also get regular sausage (again, I'm pretty sure it's all venison), in both regular and hot. We cook that on the grill with onions and peppers, and I serve it with garlic mashed potatoes and a salad. Nothing like it.
One word: Yum-my.

[HMS Irruncible]

In my opinion, venison carries a lot of its gamey flavor in the fat. So if you roast it where the fat can drip off of it, it's pretty good. But if you grill it on a flat griddle where it simmers in its own drippings, it's kind of nauseating.

One of the best meals I ever had was a cut of roast venison in a cream champignon sauce. It was in Germany and I will never find the restaurant again, but the dish was called "Jägerschnitzel".

[amarinth]

I can tell you from experience that deer chilli tastes like beef chilli. Sloppy joes made out of deer meat taste like sloppy joes made with beef. I couldn't taste the difference between deer and cow with all that other stuff mixed in. Deer steak tastes a lot like cow steak, but is a bit gamier so you are at least aware that it's something different.No, it really doesn't.

When, I was younger, quite frequently people in my area (place where hunting happens) would try that switch. I'd be invited over to eat, and think "wow, this chili does not taste good." or "how on earth can you mess up spaghetti sauce?" Of course, as I was raised to be polite, when they asked how I liked the food, I'd answer "It's wonderful, thank you."

Upon which they'd pounce and say "see! you can't tell! It's really deer, not beef!" At which point, they'd be overly pleased at their "cleverness," and I'd be caught and merely have to smile wanly.

[samclem]

Opinions are better solicited in IMHO.

Moved from GQ.

samclem GQ moderator

[Scott Plaid]

Reindeer is actually domestic caribou. Just sayin'.I did not know that. Thank you for telling me.So, that's why Santa was late last year..
:( :D :D

But really, I could not tell you the origin of the deer, or what altitude it was found at. I got it back in the 80s from a cafeteria in an Ikea.

[meara]

Sorry to be the downer in the party, but I've had both venison and wild boar at a fairly upscale local restaurant, and I hated both. People told me they would taste gamey, which wasn't helpful since I didn't know what that meant. Turns out that in this case, gamey = wet, moldy, decaying grass. The worst part was that I was working in NJ at the time and it was deer explosion season. Shortly after my venison meal, I realized that the sickly foul smell I often encountered on my drive was actually the smell of rotting deer carcasses on the side of the road.

<shudder>

[Who_me?]

I totally enjoy venison. I've had it as steaks, roasts, chili, stew that I can remember off hand. I used to trade the Shake n Bake chicken my mother sent to school with me for venison sandwiches, way back in the 60's. My mother found out and was not pleased... it didn't stop me though.

[HMS Irruncible]

No, it really doesn't.

When, I was younger, quite frequently people in my area (place where hunting happens) would try that switch. I'd be invited over to eat, and think "wow, this chili does not taste good." or "how on earth can you mess up spaghetti sauce?" Of course, as I was raised to be polite, when they asked how I liked the food, I'd answer "It's wonderful, thank you."
Yeah, I was going to say something about that... venison is for venison dishes. It isn't a beef substitute. It tastes gnarly and unpleasant if you use it for a beef substitute. It tastes great when it is prepared in ways that game should be prepared.

Upon which they'd pounce and say "see! you can't tell! It's really deer, not beef!" At which point, they'd be overly pleased at their "cleverness," and I'd be caught and merely have to smile wanly.
There's a special place in hell for secret ingredient-swappers. I simply hate it when people do this. Maybe you need to fool a toddler if you need to get nutrients in him, but it's the height of rudeness to do this to an adult. (At least with foods that might cause objection or medical reactions).

[Shirley Ujest]

It tastes a lot like elk.



At what elevation? :dubious:

[Chanteuse]

Mmmm, venison!! I like to take the backstrap, slice it thinly, season with all -purpose seasoned salt, and pan-fry. No added fat, just cooked on low heat in it's own juices.
(I soak the slices in cold water for a few hours before seasoning and cooking. Seems to tone down excessive gamey flavor.)

DH grinds up a good portion of the deer meat he brings in--add sausage seasoning and you have the most wonderful, low(er)-fat sausage! (I don't add any fat or pork to mine.) Bambi Breakfast Patties--deee-licious!!

[Sierra Indigo]

Venison tastes a lot like Kangaroo...

Wait, that doesn't help, does it? :D

[butler1850]

Venison tastes a lot like Kangaroo...

Wait, that doesn't help, does it? :D

Actually, since this is available in many supermarkets, it's not a bad description...

Pretty close anyway.

[E. Thorp]

It's like a cross between beef and lamb, IMHO.This was my impression the one time I ate venison (in 1984. For 20 minutes), at my aunt's house in Germany. My uncle had killed the deer recently, and it was incredibly tender. My aunt made spaetzle to go with.

I've been a vegetarian for almost 15 years, but this memory makes my mouth water.

[Large Marge]

Yes, it's good. But keep in mind that, when you request "venison sausage" from the processor, it is usually "summer sausage," which means they mix pork fat in with the venison. So do you know if what you had was pure venison sausage, or was it "summer sausage"?

I heard that deer and elk have so little fat on them that the only way to make sausage with them is if you mix in other meats. Is that not true?

[kaiwik]

Well, we live on deer as an alternative to fish. My husband does the hunting, and a couple of tricks to getting good venison is to avoid the bucks in general, and in particular when they are in rut. A nice plump doe is my personal favorite, but I also like the bambies.

The field handling of the meat is the first determination on what the final outcome of the quality of the meat. Immediate bleeding and skillful gutting is imperative. Hung and skinned, then aged for a few days to a week before butchering helps with the tenderness. Our deer are small Sitka Blacktail, my husband is allowed 5 per year, and as I am too gimped to hunt anymore I am allowed to get a license and have my husband be my proxy hunter.

I heard that deer and elk have so little fat on them that the only way to make sausage with them is if you mix in other meats. Is that not true?

In my experience, deer can carry a large amount of fat on them, which they depend on to get through the winter. Unlike beef, it isn't marbled throughout the muscle, rather the majority lies like a saddle over the back and onto the sides. It is true that deer fat tastes gamey, strong. If I have a big enough chunk I nail it to a tree and the birds come and feast. When we make burger and sausage we generally add either some beef or pork fat.

Just as with any other meat, cooking method depends on the cut. Backstrap is lightly coated in seasoned flour and quickly panfried in bacon grease, and the first meal of the season is truly a celebration. Steaks and roasts come off the hindquarter, and the frontquarters are so tough I trim them up and pot roast them. I cook any other dish which calls for beef with deer, soup, stews, cassarols, etc.

I love deer liver, but the very best liver I have ever eaten is seal liver. I am married to an Alaska Native, so I get to eat some foods most folks never even dream of!

I find that after eating a lot of deer, beef doesn't taste very good to me at all, I taste a chemical-ish after taste, and I came from a family which raised our own beef, so there ya go!

[Tomcat]

I just got my first little bambi of the season last weekend...tiny thing, about the size of a beagle. Shot it with an elephant gun (7.65) at 75 yards...it dropped 9 feet away, so little if any stress (adrenaline and lactic acid) in the muscles...Mmmmm...

Different cuts have different flavours and different cooking needs. This one is quite young so all of it will be fairly tender and mild tasting. It is also from the forest, shot in August, so it fed on berries and mushrooms and late season grasses (oat-type) from the neighboring farms. Unfortunately I had to leave the next day, so it was not hung to mature, but thrown in the freezer so I could transport it. Definitely not the best, but whaddaya do?

Game meat also needs to be cooked to medium-well at a minimum to be safe from any natural nasties. You can cook it to lightly pink, but the local doctors and forest folk here say to cook it thoroughly. Especially wild pig...don't undercook it at all.

If you get very gamey flavoured meat, my fav recipe is pan friend cutlets cooked with tons of garlic and maple syrup...try it, you'll love it.

The problem with fancy restaurants and game meat is that sometimes you get a bad or old animal...the supply of 'fresh' animals is not always a constant. Sometimes its great, sometimes not. Best to find a friend who hunts, or, dare I suggest, go get yourself a gun.

-Tcat

[kaiwik]

I will have to try the garlic and maple syrup Tomcat, it sounds good! I make a catsup from highbush cranberries, it has a lot of spices in it, and it makes a wonderful accompaniment to game, and it's very good on rice and fish as well. I concur that game should not be served rare, but it is important not to overcook it as well. The older the deer, the heavier on the seasoning, garlic is quite good, as well as dry onion soup mix and water/stock for braising the parts I pot roast, with a bit of bacon grease. Baste often until the meat falls off the bone - divine!

Are your bambies small enough to dress and stuff and cook whole? That's always a fun dinner party food. Most people here live off the land, so there isn't much of an "ick" factor.

[Amazon Floozy Goddess]

Venison is very lean - I prefer it to beef. Whenever I do eat red meat it's almost always game animals. I think my favorite is caribou, although I've only had woodland-fed caribou, which is nowhere near as gamey tasting as the tundra-fed ones. Beaver is good as well (hey, no naughty jokes now). It's actually a lot like duck in taste and texture, although it is very oily and it doesn't taste as good if you don't cook the oil out - the best way is to roast it on a spit so it can drip off. Bison is excellent too, very lean as well, and much more filling than beef.

If you're adventurous you might try these as well, but depending on where you live they might be difficult to get. I have connections both genetically and locally to Indian country, so I have fairly easy access.

[rainy]

I will have to try the garlic and maple syrup Tomcat,

My email notification of this post omitted the bolding, so I was thinking "How did this discussion turn from deer to housecat?!?"

-rainy