buck meat vs. doe meat?
Whitetail Deer
Is there really a difference?
I get sick of people shooting 2 & 3 year old bucks and saying "yeah, but I'm gonna give the meat away cuz it's and ol buck and it will taste horrible"
Now if it's a 2 or 3 year old doe they say "yeah, I've been wantin' to shoot me a big ol doe to fill the freezer"
to me, age to age should pretty much taste the same. But I really don't know, that's why I'm asking.
Yes, there is a difference. That's why we casterate male hogs and cattle that will not be breading stock.
It still tastes okay to me. But It is indeed "different". Having sadi that however, I'll take a two year old buck over a 6 year old doe, taste wise.
I have not been able to tell any difference in "taste" between does and bucks. The main reason they castrate hogs and bulls is because they fight and breed. In some feedlots, they actually spay heifers to keep them from coming into heat.
Ironically, as I type this I am eating a hog meat sandwich from an uncastrated feral hog I killed a week ago. Mmmmmmmm!
I have never eaten a buck that I killed of any age that tasted "bad". I have tasted "bad" deer meat (buck and doe) that was improperly cared for after the kill (by others). That is what people refer to as "gamey" My deer never taste gamey.
Basic guideline is an old deer is going to be tougher than a young deer. The toughest of all is a mature buck in rut!
I am a firm believer that aging meat helps tenderize. 2-3 days minimum at refrigeration temps. Never kill, cut, wrap, freeze a deer in the same day, no matter the age.
if it goes into burger, then chili it doesn't matter. if it goes into sausage which is then mixed with pork and beef it don't matter. if you cook the steak, but marinate it first then wrap in bacon it don't matter. it really doesn't matter and in a true blind taste test i would bet everybody would fail to guess which came from which on a consistent basis.
No difference in my opinion, not a noticeable one anyways
Fat and bone is what cause the strong taste in deer venison that is why I do my own butchering. If you want it to taste like beef use beef fat to mix in with the red meat in deer meat and throw the deer fat away.
After 45 years of killing and eating bucks and does I can't tell the difference between genders. My taste buds are pretty unsophisticated though...catsup makes me sweat.
For the midwestern grain-fed whitetails that I eat, they all taste the same to me. The younger ones are sometimes more tender, both buck & doe.
I would agree with the "Its what they eat" comments
Compare a corn and soybean fed whitetail to a sage brush eating mountain mulie- no contest. Had a Nevada mulie in the freezer that made the icecubes taste like sagebrush...
No difference in my opinion
don't all men like the taste of a good doe???
I would challenge anyone to tell the difference between the two given they were killed in the same area.
How the meat is treated from death to dish can sure change the taste of either buck or doe. I sure do think a deer is what a deer eats, that being said I can't tell the difference between the two.
I've never noticed a difference in any deer I have killed and processed. MO
My experience is this: It depends more on age and condition of the animal, in particular, if they are gaining or loosing weight. WHere I hunt, the early season buck taste great. They have been relaxing and getting fatter all summer. Late season bucks don't taste as good, and I thinhk it is because they are losing weight fighting and chasing females. The opposite is true with does: An early season doe isn't as good as a later season doe. Does are still milking heavily in the early season around here, so they are losing weight and sometimes in pretty poor condition. After they have weaned their fawns, they start to gain weight fast to get ready for winter, and a late season doe is usually pretty good eating.
That's just my observations. It probably differs greatly in different areas of the country and on different years.
No difference, neither tastes good in my opinion. I just don't like the taste of venison unless it's burger mixed with serious spices.
I shoot them and give them away. It all gets used and eaten, but not a whole lot of it by me.
Pass the KC strip steak please...
The only time I have ever noticed a difference is on a big mature buck. Even corn feed I donate those to HUSH. Everything else taste the same.
A BUCK IN THE RUT IS STRONGER TASTEING,OTHERWISE THEY BOTH TASTE GOOD.
