Venison tasting "Livery"

[NewForester]

Sometimes the venison I cull has a very, very pronounced livery taste. Any idea what causes that?

(Not only my venison, I remember the same livery taste with the venison casserole served up when I was on a DSC1 course.)

I always gralloch in the field, finish off and skin at home and then take the carcass to my village butcher to hang in his fridge. Normally, totally butchered within 5 days.

 

[novice]

Normally related to bleeding, or lack of, in my understanding.

Novice

 

[stubear]

I've had that - Its almost a really gamey "farm yard" type taste?

I've only really noticed it with fallow bucks during the rut and they seem to really get this taste on them if you dont hang them for a week or two before butchery, or if you butcher immediately and freeze then leave them in the freezer for a good couple of months. That seems to get rid of it.

 

[75]

I tend to find muntjac a bit like that, regardless of how they are bled etc - my least favourite of all the species but I know plenty who rave about them.

 

[Freeforester]

Much depends on the time of year, and the sex of the animal from where the venison derived; venison from a summer red deer stag is divine, but two months later I wouldn't give it to my dogs. Most gets tainted, be it from testosterone or simply rolling in "wee-filled wallows", that's the stuff that puts folk off venison for life - best sent to the salami maker in a far away land, imo!

 

[levigsp]

I have always said that animals not bled properly do not taste nice, also don't hang as well as well bled.
I also tell people that I cannot for the life of me eat the meat from an adult male. Most people seem to taste the taint when the rut is on, I taste it in all at anytime of the year and I am not alone.
I have a book here on Pigs, good old fashioned pigs of Europe and it talks about boar taint and the fact that regardless of what some say, and regardless of what you do, some people cannot get past the taste. Apparently this susceptibility to taste is genetic and runs in land races of people, eg northern Slavic people from Poland, Lithuania etc are more susceptible than Germanic races.
I hope this all makes sense.

 

[HDShark]

Proper bleeding seems to help, but the livery taste is guaranteed if it's overcooked

 

[BRYAN]

I read somewhere that pigeon gets livery taste if overcooked. The next lot that we had was pigeon burgers that tasted like minced liver. And I think they were overcooked.

 

[BearStalker]

I have found that to remove the 'Gamey' taste, the meat should be marinated i Butter Milk the night before cooking it. I, personally, prefer the taste and enhance it by doing the same, only in a fruity red wine with assorted herbs and spices mixed in. I have, never, been one to leave the harvested animal hang for more tan two days before skinning and butchering. Meat was, always, tender and very tasty. To each his/her own. Like beauty, taste is in the beholder.

 

[ChesterP]

Best meat I've had was from a Munty adult male, well bled and butchered very quickly after shooting. Roasted haunches were very like lamb in taste and texture. I think how an animal is shot and how much adrenaline in the bloodstream after shooting can (and does) affect taste. An animal that is well shot and flops down instantly, then is well bled and quickly skinned and butchered always tastes best to me. Older males can be more livery tasting. Young ones definitely taste better imho.

Some older adult Fallow I just can't eat any more, if they're some of the large locally shot Fallow which tends to be marbled with lots of rancid tasting fat that taints the meat...not just the outer layer of fat but last one we had had bands of it through the meat...never had fatty venison like that before and never will eat any again. It's put me off eating Fallow for life. I find all venison slightly livery by texture and think that's probably quite normal. Tender and lean meat tends to be a bit like that, including pigeon which does taste a bit livery too, irrespective of how it is cooked. Pigeon breast I shallow fry in olive oil or butter for no more than 2 minutes per side on a medium heat. It can be very pink and rare and still taste like that.

Marinating does help gamey meat. One of the best game dishes I ever had was a large hare I shot a few years back (the last one I will ever shoot as I have had a complete change of heart about shooting hare now), marinaded overnight in bitters (herbs) and white wine, then slow cooked with part of the marinade for 2 1/2 hours. It fell apart and there was no hint of "gaminess".

 

[paul o']

Best imo is the munty loin cut in 2" lumps rolled in mustard coated in brown sugar BBQ just around pink served with grass and a bun oh and cold beer sorted

 

[Mungo]

Aside from older males, my theory is that it’s mostly to do with stress. Several times i’ve shot 2-3 roe in rapid succession (doe and fawns). All shot within a minute or two of each other, same conditions, same post mortem treatment, same time to freezer etc etc. When one of them tastes livery, it’s either the last to be shot from the group, or the one that ran furthest (usually the same animal).

Also seems to be more likely with with chest shots that take a minute or two to die, rather than head shots.