Freezing Muntjac venison

[John_R]

How well does Muntjac venison take to being frozen? I am sure I read somewhere an opinion that suggests it suffers somewhat, but a search here found nothing.

[Beardo]

never had any issues freezing it - just make sure you wrap it well - i tend to seal it tight with clingfilm, then stick it in a ziplock freezer bag and suck as much air out of it as you can when you shut it.

[camokid]

i freeze mine never had any problems got some for tea tonight left overs from sunday lunch yipeeeee

[John_R]

Thanks guys, I'll cook up a couple more dishes this week and freeze the rest. Have to go out and get me another one too, the fillets were gorgeous!

[pyr8]

the new country program on sky were at one of the game fairs a few weeks back and were talking with a game butcher.he was preparing venison.he vacumed packed the meat before freezing,he says it freezes well.as nickbeardo says wrap it in cling film first and you should be ok.

[John_R]

Also, how long do the various cuts last in the fridge anyway? I am right now making a steak & kidney filling with the relevant parts, and might roast one haunch this week, the other I gave to my Mum for them to enjoy.

 

That would only leave the liver which will become pate this week, and the forelegs/shoulder/skirt.

[Beardo]

the meat will last up to a year or so frozen

[John_R]

Sorry Nick, I meant how long it lasts while still in the fridge, not frozen.

[Evil Elvis]

How did you cook the fillet?

[John_R]

I made sure all the silverskin was off them (did it just like skinning a fish) and trimmed them up to look nice. I cut them off just before the pelvis, I think the equivalent of rump is what follows from there but stand to be corrected! EDIT: I think from looking at a drawing it is the sirloin.

 

Then I put olive oil and a little butter in a pan and fried two gloves of garlic in there till they went brown, removed them and then popped the fillets in for two mins on each side, with a few grinds of black pepper.

 

Came out medium rare and very tasty. I also fried a piece of the rump for about half that time, it was also very good. The rest of the rump etc was what went with the kidneys into my pie filling, which I just tasted and I reckon will be great when I get around to making them.

 

The heart came out intact so I cut it up and that is also in the pie filling.

Edited March 15, 2010 by john_r

[Beardo]

offal i tend to keep 3-4 days tops, meat up to two weeks in the fridge

[John_R]

Cheers, I was thinking I might be pushing my luck now. Heart & kidneys were fine, I'll take a look at the liver before I go buying pork shoulder today, as it is now the 5th day.

[Beardo]

if it looks and smells ok i wouldn't be too worried at 5 days

[John_R]

I would agree, but I checked it and it was clearly changed from when it was fresh. Also, I had eaten some on Friday, so I decided that this time there was not enough weight of meat there to be worth the effort of that Pate recipe.

 

So, I chucked it which I hate doing, I really don't like to waste food, especially when I have gone to some effort to acquire it!

 

I still got some pork shoulder, I froze two half-pound lumps so I am ready for next time.

[colin lad]

Hi all iam a butcher have been for 31 years and worked in a few different shops am now working in a small farm shop where we dont even put a knife to our meat until it is well hung,

the beef hangs for 3-5weeks pigs and lambs for just one week we get one large venison carcase a week witch we also hang for 1-2 weeks before putting a knife to it,i realise you cannot

hang your meat in a standard household fridge but if you can leave your venison on the bone and elevate it so the air can get round it try putting it on wire shelf and put container on next

shelf down to catch blood it will keep for at least 2 weeks and the longer you keep it the better the flavour also the proteins will start breaking down the tissue making it more tender,

when i bone our meat out i will often have to trim a layer of mould to get to the meat under it but its well worth it all our customers say its the best meat they have ate

hope this helps

 

colin

[John_R]

I am aware of the advantages of hanging/aging meat, but everyone I have heard or read suggests the Muntjac is better when fresh.

[al4x]

Hi all iam a butcher have been for 31 years and worked in a few different shops am now working in a small farm shop where we dont even put a knife to our meat until it is well hung,

the beef hangs for 3-5weeks pigs and lambs for just one week we get one large venison carcase a week witch we also hang for 1-2 weeks before putting a knife to it,i realise you cannot

hang your meat in a standard household fridge but if you can leave your venison on the bone and elevate it so the air can get round it try putting it on wire shelf and put container on next

shelf down to catch blood it will keep for at least 2 weeks and the longer you keep it the better the flavour also the proteins will start breaking down the tissue making it more tender,

when i bone our meat out i will often have to trim a layer of mould to get to the meat under it but its well worth it all our customers say its the best meat they have ate

hope this helps

 

colin

 

 

where abouts are you Colin as sounds like your meat is worth a trip over

[colin lad]

where abouts are you Colin as sounds like your meat is worth a trip over

iam at Browns of Stagsden about 3 miles out of Bedford on the A422 road to Milton Keynes its a proper farm shop on a working farm we rear our own pigs and short horn beef theres a map on our web site just google Browns of stagsden you would be made very welcome

 

colin

[colin lad]

I am aware of the advantages of hanging/aging meat, but everyone I have heard or read suggests the Muntjac is better when fresh.

Hi John we have had a lot of different dear at ours but no Muntjac so you could be right about that, we get our dear from the woburn estate in beds they recomend hanging it for a week but

as i say we have not had Muntjac will have to get an FAC and go blast a few there is loads on the farms i shoot

 

colin

[John_R]

Woburn is where the Muntjac escaped from in the first place, or so I am told. :yp:

 

Nick mentioned earlier in this thread that he found the fresh meat can keep up to two weeks in the fridge, so that's handy to know. I put the venison steak & kidney filling into a pie and we ate it this evening, very good it was too.

[colin lad]

Woburn is where the Muntjac escaped from in the first place, or so I am told.

 

Nick mentioned earlier in this thread that he found the fresh meat can keep up to two weeks in the fridge, so that's handy to know. I put the venison steak & kidney filling into a pie and we ate it this evening, very good it was too.

we had a chat about this at work today i think the muntjac will not last as long as some other dear meats due to the fact it is very lean and leaner meats generally dont keep for as long as meats with a good layer of covering on, and i do believe that it was woburn where they escaped from..

colin

[Dunkield]

Colin, I have muntjac hanging at the moment, I shot it on wednesday evening and was going to carve it up tomorrow - do you think this will help the flavour or not make any difference at all?

The book I have says butchering deer 24 hours after shooting them is just about the worst time to do it.

[Beardo]

i've always thought - 3 to 5 days hang, up to 2 weeks store for Muntjac. as Colin mentioned it's very lean

[John_R]

I'll try to locate the web page I read that had the opinion to get on with it quicker for a Muntjac.

 

In any case, nothing I have eaten so far was anything less than delicious.

[colin lad]

Colin, I have muntjac hanging at the moment, I shot it on wednesday evening and was going to carve it up tomorrow - do you think this will help the flavour or not make any difference at all?

The book I have says butchering deer 24 hours after shooting them is just about the worst time to do it.

All our venison is hung for a week before we touch it the venison in our counters at the moment is now on its 2nd week and is just hansom all our customers say its fantastic, but as i said earlier

we have not had muntjac in. dont worry if it loses its colour, the important thing is when you have shot it that you bleed it and drop its gut asap, in the slaughter houses they are killed and bled then had guts dropped within minutes, same for your rabbits they want gutting as soon as you shoot them quite the opposite to birds which keep better with the guts in, we rear and produce our own turkeys at christmas and they can keep up to 4 weeks with the guts in.

 

colin