Stag meat in rut?
- Thread starter deerstalker.308
- Start date
So I see a general consensus here, which is that venison from rutting males is not at its prime.
This in itself is not a reason not to shoot them given the other factors which come into play. I.e. additional income from the sporting revenue, experience of being in the field at such a great time, the pleasure/value given to the trophy, the limited opportunity some estates have to hunt stags to name a few.
I can justify in my mind the shooting of a beast in the rut, so long as the meat is put to use. Which as BT says it is over on the continent. Given our cousins over the ditch are perhaps not going to be buying so much this year I wonder if there is a market within our own shores. We have many people from numerous cultures who have traditionally processed meat into salami, curry, jerk etc with the aim of altering the flavor. Could there be a market there?
This in itself is not a reason not to shoot them given the other factors which come into play. I.e. additional income from the sporting revenue, experience of being in the field at such a great time, the pleasure/value given to the trophy, the limited opportunity some estates have to hunt stags to name a few.
I can justify in my mind the shooting of a beast in the rut, so long as the meat is put to use. Which as BT says it is over on the continent. Given our cousins over the ditch are perhaps not going to be buying so much this year I wonder if there is a market within our own shores. We have many people from numerous cultures who have traditionally processed meat into salami, curry, jerk etc with the aim of altering the flavor. Could there be a market there?
Bigron321
Well-Known Member
Just tucking into some lovely mid Rut burgers, absolutely delicious
And to open a whole new can of worms, I’ve had old hinds ten times worse eating quality than most stags I’ve eaten.....
Ok running away now!!!
Dunwaters
Well-Known Member
Fair point, we’ll made but what do you want me to do with it?Surprised how many respondents to this thread have said that while they wouldn't want to eat "rank" rutting stag, they'd be happy to sell it
If you want to keep your customers then the motto should be: "Sell the best, eat the rest".
I know enough to know that it’s not for me, what you do with it is your business, literally.
And they tend to be big, heavy carcasses, more than worth the work.
There’s been no complaints so far, maybe the continentals like it that way.
It’s just not for me
It’s interesting that you say that. In Germany colleagues and hunting friends of mine all sell their really gamey game to game dealers who claim to also export it. I do wonder where it all winds up ....?
i don’t think that this topic has any easy simple solution, you have to use your eyes and later your nose and experience to decide if it’s a worthwhile thing to do.
ive made 30 kg batches of Salami ( unsmoked) from fallow bucks that had to be taken during the rut , for a few years now , as it solves the rutty funk flavour problem, and they are delicious and there is Never enough to go around. I’ve found the Key is to skin them ASAP and hang them in the chiller ( a proper one) for a good 2 weeks.
Ive had a couple or three that were really smelly so didn’t bother processing them and I just jointed them up for the hound, she didn’t complain- just loved it . I had less work to do and was able to get out hunting again.
kindest regards, Olaf
A nice sweet 2 year old Hind for my preference.
Agree about the rutting fallow.
I shot one a couple of years back and did a stew with some of it within a week of shooting it - Talk about "farmyard" taste! It was strong as anything.
I've found if you hang fallow carcasses for 2-3 weeks in the chiller or leave it in the freezer for 2-3 months then that gamey taste goes away and after that its back to normal.
Is this the same with red stags?
Aye, I saw something I would never have believed could have happened - a pack of hounds were reluctant to eat meat from a Sika stag taken during the rut
It had been turned down for human consumption because it was so rank and it had been badly shot too
But to see a number of fox hounds turn away from their food? I never thought I'd see that happen
I was always advised to avoid eating the venison from stags during the rut and to hang rutting fallow bucks a lot longer than normal before trying to eat them - but even that doesn't get rid of the taste completely, and the feckin smell of the things is awful, I had a jacket that still carried the musk about a year after I had handled a particularly smelly bare buck
As others have said previously, I think venison from rutting reds getting into the food chain is what leads many people to think that all venison is rank & gamey and puts a lot of people off eating it
Ive never had a problem. The majority of roe I shoot are lowland deer, feeding on arable land.
simple way to lower the testosterone is Hang it for a couple of 3 weeks.
im a real advocate for hanging meat, all my venison is hung 21-28 days in the chiller.
mereside
Well-Known Member
I have eaten quite a lot of red here and in Germany and like it, for most part the reds are hung as lee says but the stags in the rut are shot and processed straight away and has made a huge difference in quality in not having that rutting smell or taste, cooked on an open fire with apple or cherry wood, it is true my German friends do smoke a lot of meat and make into sausage but handling and butchering process has a lot to do with quality meat. Eating a large mature boar on the other hand is only good for goulash or the dogs Regards Wayne
deerstalker.308
Well-Known Member
So many differing views then, some to hang, others not to, I think one recurring theme here is care and attention taken during skinning, which I think would be key, and I guess also possibly being a bit more ruthless with trimming close to exposed areas surrounding the belly for example. One would assume that cuts such as sirloins and haunches would not risk being tainted by external factors so would be a good test to establish if the meat was tainted by testosterone etc or actual contamination.
There are a lot of variables here clearly; a young stag rutting for the first time maybe a better prospect possibly than some salty old sea dog which could be tough as old boots as well....
Only one way to find out, will see when the opportunity presents this season I guess!
There are a lot of variables here clearly; a young stag rutting for the first time maybe a better prospect possibly than some salty old sea dog which could be tough as old boots as well....
Only one way to find out, will see when the opportunity presents this season I guess!
mereside
Well-Known Member
I would think an older stag would tougher for sure, what I did learn in NZ with an old heffa around 9 years old was to put in a ziplock bag with sliced kiwi fruits and we cooked on a skillet it was the most tender meat I have ever had, I can only think it broke down the fibres of the meat, I did try this when I got home and found it didn’t work with roe deer the grain of the meats to fine it turned the top layer to mush, it works well with red and beef though, regards Wayne
rms364
Well-Known Member
Jacket on or off??
StephenToast
Well-Known Member
Interesting thread. Did you shoot a stag in the rut? If so what was it like to eat?
deerstalker.308
Well-Known Member
I took one early on in the rut, young 2-3year old animal. It was some of the best venison I’ve had to date. A friend of mine took a stag right in the middle of the rut and had no issues apart from one dodgy tasting meal which I think if memory serves his wife didn’t have issue with but he felt he could taste it @Acm might be able to add more to it, as it was he who butchered and ate it.....
StephenToast
Well-Known Member
Thanks for that. Good result then.
deerstalker.308
Well-Known Member
And his was most definitely a dominant stag, just been measured as a CIC silver, so he was made up too, but it certainly wasn’t a young whipper snapper with no testosterone!
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