Very tough Roe buck venison (?)

[Erik Hamburger]

I shot a Roe buck on 14 April 2022, lower neck shot. It dropped on the spot and I was at the carcass within a few minutes. Very dead.
A mature Roe buck, maybe 'going back' a little, as some would say. Gralloch/Carcass inspection showed no issues.
I took it home (20 min. journey) and hung it for 10 days in my Game Larder at 3C. butchered it and Grilled the Fillets (not the Loins or Straps, I mean the Fillets!) that same evening. Quite stringy and tough - for Venison fillets. The Haunches I processed into Haunch Steaks which I BBQ'd for some friends - these steaks were as tough as old boots. Now, I like to think I know my cookery and venison and how to BBQ .... so I am pretty sure the meat was treated as it should be.
Processing some 50 carcasses p.a. I have dealt with lots and lots, and never before have I had the experience of this tough, stringy meat.
What could possible be the issue here? Thank you.

 

[Henns]

I'd suggest down to the age of the animal, I've found old Muntjac to be particularly tough, even when hung correctly and better used for mince.

 

[sh1kar]

The fillets do have a sinew running through them. Did you strip that out?

S

 

[baguio]

Any photos of the head straight on and the teeth?

 

[Erik Hamburger]

 

[Woodsmoke]

Even older bucks should be fine I've butchered within a couple of days of shooting and they've been almost indistinguishable from younger bucks or does. How quickly did you chill the carcass down? I leave them at ambient (unless it's a really hot day, in which case I try a cooler draughty place to hang) for at least 24 hours to let the carcass set and pass through rigor mortis. If they're cooled too quickly it can result in 'cold-shortening'. The glycogen in the tissues doesn't have time to convert to lactic acid, which irreversibly contracts the muscle fibres. Hence, tough meat . . . . .

 

[sh1kar]

Even older bucks should be fine I've butchered within a couple of days of shooting and they've been almost indistinguishable from younger bucks or does. How quickly did you chill the carcass down? I leave them at ambient (unless it's a really hot day, in which case I try a cooler draughty place to hang) for at least 24 hours to let the carcass set and pass through rigor mortis. If they're cooled too quickly it can result in 'cold-shortening'. The glycogen in the tissues doesn't have time to convert to lactic acid, which irreversibly contracts the muscle fibres. Hence, tough meat . . . . .

Hmm. Didn’t know that. I just bung mine in the chiller when get home and processed. By which time rigor has usually set in

 

[Woodsmoke]

Hmm. Didn’t know that. I just bung mine in the chiller when get home and processed. By which time rigor has usually set in

A lot of big abattoirs don't have time to let beasts hang for this process, so they electrically-stimulate the muscles to disperse the glycogen and relax the muscle fibres, or inject a calcium chloride solution into the meat. I let mine hang at least overnight. Even 16C isn't too warm an ambient temperature for this process as long as your carcass is clean. If there's any contamination it's a different story as you need to prevent the bloom of bacteria, but for a clean carcass that's the way to go I've found

 

[Erik Hamburger]

Even older bucks should be fine I've butchered within a couple of days of shooting and they've been almost indistinguishable from younger bucks or does. How quickly did you chill the carcass down? I leave them at ambient (unless it's a really hot day, in which case I try a cooler draughty place to hang) for at least 24 hours to let the carcass set and pass through rigor mortis. If they're cooled too quickly it can result in 'cold-shortening'. The glycogen in the tissues doesn't have time to convert to lactic acid, which irreversibly contracts the muscle fibres. Hence, tough meat . . . . .

Interesting. I process some 50 carcasses p.a., 50/50 Muntjac and Roe, so old, young, male, female...and I have never noticed much difference in taste or texture. Most of my Stalking is close to home, they end up in the Larder within an hour or so from being shot, I typically hang them for 7-10 days. We'll never know what made this one different... Thank you

 

[VSS]

As @Woodsmoke says, you maybe cooled it down too rapidly.

 

[baguio]

It's an odd one. It's clearly not an old deer. 3-5 I would say. Best practice says cool down to 7 degrees c within a reasonable time frame which is what I do and I've never found them to be tough. Maybe you were just unlucky?
Temperature controls - FBOs are responsible for the safety of the food they supply. Freshly shot carcasses should cool to no more than 7°C within “a reasonable time after killing”. This period is not defined but, for example, overnight storage is almost certain to require active chilling unless the temperature of the storage facility can be relied on to be below 7°C because the ambient (outside) temperature is low enough.

 

[Game1]

Did you cook the meat straight out the fridge or not let it rest for a period after cooking?

 

[ashray]

the answer would be you used a non lead bullet

 

[Tim.243]

I shot a Roe buck on 14 April 2022, lower neck shot. It dropped on the spot and I was at the carcass within a few minutes. Very dead.
A mature Roe buck, maybe 'going back' a little, as some would say. Gralloch/Carcass inspection showed no issues.
I took it home (20 min. journey) and hung it for 10 days in my Game Larder at 3C. butchered it and Grilled the Fillets (not the Loins or Straps, I mean the Fillets!) that same evening. Quite stringy and tough - for Venison fillets. The Haunches I processed into Haunch Steaks which I BBQ'd for some friends - these steaks were as tough as old boots. Now, I like to think I know my cookery and venison and how to BBQ .... so I am pretty sure the meat was treated as it should be.
Processing some 50 carcasses p.a. I have dealt with lots and lots, and never before have I had the experience of this tough, stringy meat.
What could possible be the issue here? Thank you.

All my muntjac are in the chiller no more than 3 days all eat very well, with the bigger stuff Fallow a few more days which is only because lining up a day to deal with them also the waste.
Given people rabbit saddles over the years one a buck the other a doe, he said they were both tough and dry...
Over cooked it...
Others said they were very nice same combination just cooked correctly.

I don't bbq but would say it is the least type of cooking to control.

 

[Dunwaters]

View attachment 255315

Neck shot???

 

[Heym SR20]

I would suggest neck shot might be the issue.

A good shoulder / chest shot and the bullet blows up all main arteries and all the blood bleeds into the chest cavity immediately. You get all the blood out of the meat as the animal runs or kicks on instinct / reflex.

With a neck or head shot you don’t nearly as good a bleed unless you can immediately slit the throat, or bleed the chest. And by immediately I mean within seconds so the heart is still beating to pump the blood out.

Getting to it within a few minutes the heart has stopped beating so plenty of blood remains within the carcass.

And then getting the body temp down asap is also important. Unless the chiller is near by, it’s worth hanging a beast in a tree to cool for even 20 minutes before transporting home.

And old animals are full of sinew. Why do you think we all get stiff and achy as we get older. Best is to slow cook / curry / stew and here the sinew melts down into jelly which makes it really tender and juicy.

A braii is really too hot for old meat. If you are going to cook an old animal over fire then keep coals to one side and cook at a heat where you can hold hand over it. I did a leg of mutton for easter taking 4 hours to cook - it was sublime. Alternatively stick a haunch in a Dutch oven with some oil and onions, carrots, garlic and herbs. Even better cover with a piece of belly pork - skin still on. Put it on the coals and cover it with futher coals and leave for a few hours until its all falling apart. You might need to add coals from time to time. By the time its ready all the guests will have thankfully left, and you can skoff to your hearts content.

 

[baguio]

And old animals are full of sinew. Why do you think we all get stiff and achy as we get older.

Arthritis in our joints I would imagine. By the time we get to 50 our joints will be showing signs of it. Additionally we have less fluid in our joints which is what lubricates them. The cartilage is also thinner so probably some bone on bone contact? Not sure that we have more sinews at 50 than we did at 20 though?

 

[deerstalker.308]

Personally never found any discernible difference in eating quality with age of deer, the only noticeable variance being very young deer being more veal-like than normal venison. I would say this will either have been a result of how the animal was processed/chilled as mentioned or how it was cooked as Tim said, BBQ’s can be unpredictable beasts more so than bambi from my experience!

 

[Heym SR20]

Just read this interesting article. It is talking about white tail deer, but it does talk about all the different muscles in the haunch and how some much more tender than others.

Key point is that the tender cuts should be dry cooked and must not be overcooked or they get tough and chewy.

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