A buddy harvested one up to camp 2 weeks ago. Was lucky enough to drop it 60 yards off a logging road so it was pretty easy to get loaded in the trailer. I had some of the tenderloin a week ago and and it was excellent. I had a steak and baked tater tonight and couldn't even chew it. I think the rest of the steak he gave me will be going into jerky.
If meat is cut off the bone before rigor has run its course it will be tough. The jerky will be tougher than normal. If its already tough then grind it.
With 3 kids that love tacos and moose, mom and I barely got fed. Those crumb snatchers are vacuums at times, not sure they took a breath during supper.
The kids are bottomless pits. Glad I have a lot of moose in the freezer and winter season just opened, and I have moms tag.
Upon death rigor sets in. If meat is cut off the bone or start processing before rigor has finished running its course then the meat can’t relax and be nice and tender. Because the fibers have been cut. If you have ever seen a processing plant/butcher shop. They skin, gut and may cut down the spine with a saw. They don’t process until rigor is finished. Normally 72< hours or less. If you have taken any meat like tenderloin or back strap off and did not immediately cook it, but wait some time and wonder why it was tough this time, you know why. If you have hung a deer carcass whole, skined and gutted and let hang/age for say a week and all the meat was exceptionally tender. Anything anyone can add, I would like to learn.
The only thing I can add to this Tom is if you are planning on canning the meat, then it is okay to cut it up even the same day as it has been shot. Especially if using a pressure canner. Actually we've noticed that the quicker it gets done when canning, the better it turns out. The biggest thing for us is to take the time and get all the white stuff off the meat before canning. Same thing if freezing. We remove all fat and anything that is white. All that white stuff is where people get that "gamey" taste.
I am not a canner, and my canning knowledge shows. All I know is that canning will make tough meat tinder. I have never had the time to get into canning. I agree, fat can and usually does leave a bad taste, the more yellow the fat the worse the taste. Blood also contributes to the gamey taste. Has to hang, for both rigor and blood drain. I got my moose on Sept 19th and did not touch the tenderloin and backstrap until Sept 23rd and the rest was started on Sept 29th and finished on Oct 3rd.
The wife got a new kitchen gizmo called a quick cooker, other brands is insta pot. She cooked the meal in right at an hour, from deep freezer to table. Gives a whole new dimension to quick meal. Would have taken the crock pot all day to make the same meal.
