Cooking Venison, Chewy ???
Chris Christenson
I shot a young buck on sunday and cut out the tenderloins that are on
the inside of the spine. I don't know what you call it. Not the
backstraps.
We wrapped them in bacon and cooked them on the grill. I have done
this before but this time one of them was chewy (sp?).
Does this mean it was under cooked or overcooked?
Some additional info that may or may not have any effect.
I shot this deer about 4:15 pm. It was a quartering away shot and the
bullet entered a little farther back then I wanted. It hit the
stomach and then the lung on the other side.
I field dressed the deer about 15minutes after it was shot. I had a
little water with me and used it to help was out the deer.
By 6:00pm we had the deer home and I used a hose finish rinsing the
cavity. Oh, the temp was 25 deg F. for the high.
We immediately cut out these pieces, washed them good and fired up the
grill.
I have done this before and they were great. Just wondering what
caused the chewiness of the meat?
Thanks
Chris Christenson
Chris Christenson
CC Systems & Software
cgc...@ix.netcom.com
Sam Gaylord
> We wrapped them in bacon and cooked them on the grill. I have done
> this before but this time one of them was chewy (sp?).
>
> Does this mean it was under cooked or overcooked?
To over simplify it...
If the juices in the meat were red, it was undercoked.
If they were clear it was about right.
If there were no juices it was overcooked.
--
samg
a.k.a Sam Gaylord (sa...@cs.itc.hp.com)
Hewlett Packard/Colorado Springs
Al Trainer
>I shot a young buck on sunday and cut out the tenderloins that are on
>the inside of the spine. I don't know what you call it. Not the
>backstraps.
>
>We wrapped them in bacon and cooked them on the grill. I have done
>this before but this time one of them was chewy (sp?).
>
>Does this mean it was under cooked or overcooked?
>
>Some additional info that may or may not have any effect.
>
>I shot this deer about 4:15 pm. It was a quartering away shot and the
>bullet entered a little farther back then I wanted. It hit the
>stomach and then the lung on the other side.
>
>I field dressed the deer about 15minutes after it was shot. I had a
>little water with me and used it to help was out the deer.
>
>By 6:00pm we had the deer home and I used a hose finish rinsing the
>cavity. Oh, the temp was 25 deg F. for the high.
>
>We immediately cut out these pieces, washed them good and fired up the
>grill.
>
>I have done this before and they were great. Just wondering what
>caused the chewiness of the meat?
>
>Thanks
>
>Chris Christenson
>
>
>
>Chris Christenson
>CC Systems & Software
>cgc...@ix.netcom.com
You are referring to the tenderloin which takes a real short cooking
time to prepare.
Just one suggestion on rinsing out your deer. If possible use a bucket
of water with a small amount of vinegar. This will kill any bacteria
that straight water may promote. Some times on real fresh meat real
cold water will tighten the texture of the piece of meat such as the
tenderloin. This can make it a bit tougher. Use as little water as
necassary. Sometimes very fresh meat is tough because it still
maintains the muscle structure. In many cases freezing will tenderize
meat. If you bang into a tough deer that you know will be tough, you
can add tenderizer to the meat before freezing. I creates molecular
changes and will tenderize as it is freezing.
AL
RAYDIST
If it was chewy it was overcooked. That is the classic result of
overcooking venison. I like mine very rare. The other possibility is that
the meat did not have time to "relax". I have never eaten venison that
soon after shooting a deer but without some time hanging or in the freezer
the meat could contract and tighten while cooking. Of course that does
not explain why only one tenderloin was chewy.... it was probably
overcooked !
Ray DiStase.
"by_way_of_alex_vitek_<alexvit@ix.netcom.com>"
Overcooked,most likely. Venison has so little fat that overcooking it
is very easy. I run into the same problem when grilling steelhead
trout. I have to pay real close attention to keep from overdoing it.
Richard Williams <cro...@earthlink.net>
"john_p._lintz_by_way_of_alex_vitek_<alexvit@ix.netcom.com>"
I cook mule deer venison overnight in the crock pot. The meat falls
away from the bone. This is great for barbecue, tacos & carne seca
burritos. I gave up on steaks un less I get a young whitetail.
Good hunting to you and good cooking too!
AZCAT
"andrew_lynch_by_way_of_alex_vitek_<alexvit@ix.netcom.com>"
>I shot a young buck on sunday and cut out the tenderloins that are on
>the inside of the spine. I don't know what you call it. Not the
>backstraps.
Yes tederloin
>We wrapped them in bacon and cooked them on the grill. I have done
Great way to cook it
>this before but this time one of them was chewy (sp?).
>
>Does this mean it was under cooked or overcooked?
Maybe, These should be cooked quickly
>Some additional info that may or may not have any effect.
>
>I shot this deer about 4:15 pm. It was a quartering away shot and the
>bullet entered a little farther back then I wanted. It hit the
>stomach and then the lung on the other side.
I know of experienced hunters who have made the mistake of not
cleaning a gut shot deer fully and within hours lost the carcass
totally THIS IS REALLY IMMPORTANT!!!!
>I field dressed the deer about 15minutes after it was shot. I had a
>little water with me and used it to help was out the deer.
>
>By 6:00pm we had the deer home and I used a hose finish rinsing the
>cavity. Oh, the temp was 25 deg F. for the high.
>
>We immediately cut out these pieces, washed them good and fired up the
>grill.
>
>I have done this before and they were great. Just wondering what
>caused the chewiness of the meat?
>
>Thanks
>
>Chris Christenson
I would not consider eating a deer that hasn't hung for at least 2
days or even a week in a cool store eg. I shot a deer acouple of weeks
ago temp approx 20 degrre celcius during the day it was 4 days before
I got home and frooze the animal . The venison is beautiful tender
tasty etc etc venison keeps very well
Freshly shot deer tends to be tough and if you eat it straight away
slice it thinly and cook it in a hot pan very quickly dont over cook
Older animals will be tougher than youger animals Let me shoot a
yearling hind over a stag any day Note deer in New Zealand are a pest
to our native bush so any thing goes bar Bambies or hinds in Milk
Hope this of help
STROGA
"bart_cox_(by_way_of_alex_vitek_<alexvit@ix.netcom.com>)"
Sam Gaylord wrote:
>
> > We wrapped them in bacon and cooked them on the grill. I have done
> >
> > Does this mean it was under cooked or overcooked?
>
My family had a trick to keep venison from drying out too quickly. That
was to first freeze the meat and then let it thaw a little. That way,
it retained its juices. Of course, you have to make sure your meat
itself is properly done, but the freezing ahead of time helps to keep
the juices from evaporating too quickly.
I just grilled strips of venison with Teriaki sauce the other day. It
was GREAT!
Whenever I cook venison, I call a friend of mine who's an animator at
Disney (and thinks Bambi is a documentary), and have her listen to the
sizzling grill. She calls me every name in the book. Secretly she
loves it.
--Bart
gre...@ibm.net
(snip
>Does this mean it was under cooked or overcooked?
Try cooking faster on a higher heat. It works for me. Also, a nice treat
is to add a table spoon of maple syrup (real) to the meat as it cooks.
Greig