How well done...?
 

I know this has probably been asked a lot, but I couldn't find a thread on it.

How well done do you have to cook game? I've heard it has to be at least med. well, and I've heard med. rare is fine? And does it differ between deer, elk, and moose?

All about cooking venision. A good site.

http://www.livestrong.com/sscat/venison-recipes/

I like beef rare but my body disagrees. When it comes to wild meet I have no problems with rare. The taste is fantastic with moose meat. Most chefs will tell you rare to med rare.

EDIT-if cooking bear or cougar cook well done. I have never tried it but this is what I hav heard due to health safety.


L.S.

I've been eating deer, moose and elk steaks rare for years.
Wild game has a small window between done and over done/dry.
I cook bear longer though.

Ungulates: rare and bloody. Nothing worse then over cooked venison.

Bear/cougar should be heated to..... 170?

I like it rare or mid-rare. I've also eaten it raw. I've never had any problems. Bacteria form on the surface of the meat, and even a rare piece of meat will be more thoroughly cooked on the outside. In terms of food safety it's quite similar to beef, except you rely on a different butcher/processor.

As mentioned bear and cougar need to be cooked to at least 165F because of trichinosis. Deer can also carry it apparently, but everything I've read makes it sound a lot more common in bears. From wikipedia/Trichinosis:
"Between 2002 and 2007, 11 cases were reported to CDC each year on average in the United States; these were mostly the result of eating undercooked game, bear meat, or home-reared pigs."

Blue rare for cloven hoofed, well done for bear

Who eats cougar? What doesast it taste like.?
Sorry to high jack the thread.

Hope to tell you in a few weeks.

I have had it before at game dinners, but it is hard to get an idea of what it is really like when it's covered in sauce.

A little more rare than you like your beef IMO. Because there is no fat in the meat it doesn't respond well to over cooking. IMO moose toughens up worse than deer, definatly want to keep an eye on that.

Cougar
 

I tried cougar jerky at a fish and game dinner and it tasted just like every other jerky! I cook my venison medium rare at most so as not to dry it out!

Tastes just like the "chicken" balls from your local Chinese takeout,haha. :D

cooking wild game
 

This.. for most wild meat rare is good, if in doubt wet cook. I like the low and slow method for roasts. Place in oven at the lowest temp you can, usually 170
use a probe. Comes out very tender and moist.
dont forget the old school pressure cooker....

Pudelpointer is 100% correct! :)

We like moose roast rare done (135 degrees F) on the BBQ roteserie. Injected with Italian dressing and allowed to sit in fridge overnight. Anything more well done tends to be tough.

All of my deer and moose steaks are rare-medium rare on the bbq. Ground is cooked through, burgers lean a little towards pink.

Ducks and geese I do med-rare on the bbq as well.

That sounds TASTEY! I will give it a go. Thanks :oregonian_winesmile

Thanks for all the comments. I like my beef rare to med rare, but was told to cook game more. I'll never eat a med well venison steak again!!

Standard safety warning: 170 f is needed to kill parasites.

That being said, I've eaten deer raw, rare, burnt and everything in between. Prefer medium. seared on high to caramelize the surfaces, pink in the middle. Just remember it continues to cook after you take it off, so factor that in, and let it rest for at least 5 on a plate before serving so it stays juicy.

I eat my beef steak rare and my venison medium. My wife's trick to cook venison is to put water into the pan when cooking it on medium heat so it doesn't turn into shoe leather from over cooking. It's definitely has to be cooked differently than beef due to not having the fat content.

I eat it raw in tartare form quite regularly. Very nice. Duck heart tartare is exceptional.

X2

My ungulates are always, always rare to blue rare. If anyone asks for a medium to well done, I literally put a hockey puck on their plate and tell them I won't do that to venison.

Vic

As above folks have mentioned, it is much better if it is cooked from blue to medium rare. Otherwise it is dry and much too chewy, along without the signature delicious flavor.

Be sure to place your cooked game onto a rack to rest, not a plate or a tray of any kind - use a rack! It will allow the meat to cool slowly, and will not draw out as much of the juices, leaving your meat much more moist and flavorful. Keep in mind, it will continue to cook a little bit even after you remove it from the heat.

I think overcooked duck is worse, but I guess we're talking big game.

Medium rare for me ... ungulates and duck. Pheasant and grouse medium. That is the goal anyways... don't always achieve it.

I brine most of my meat now, it makes the meat moister and gives you some forgiveness if you overcook it.

Jadham, you are absolutely correct; over cooked duck is worse. I also brine, but only birds.

This is totally correct except the temp. Trichinosis is the issue that pork used to have but has been totally removed from inspected pork in the past 20 years. The temp that pork was always cooked to kill it was 155 i know it's only ten degrees but that's the difference between med-well and well done which is particle board. Salmonella will be killed at that temp as well but botulism I think needs over 200 but curing will kill it, someone please correct if its wrong info as we should all know this

From what I heard for steaks and roasts you only need the internal temp to around 145 degrees fahrenheit, for burger you need to go to 165 degrees fahrenheit. This is what we cook ours to, but I bare no responsibility if you try it and get sick. Biggest thing is have a clean space where you can work when your chopping up the deer.

Botulism is not a concern except for "preserved" meats, whether cooked (canned) or dried/salted (sausage, jerky, etc.).

You CAN NOT "kill botulism"; botulism produces a toxin that can not be cooked out of it.

That's where the cured part came in, botulism can be cooked out of it but to a temp where he food is not edible so I guess it's moot point. It can also not be killed by freezing,, nasty stuff.