Hard to eat steaks

[Mike Islander]

I had a similar issue with a tough old buck. Aged in the shrink wrap in the fridge for 5-8 days did the trick; no marinade necessary. Also, cooked very slowly to 135 F. Fast cook and high internal temps turned it back into a chunk of jerky.

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I had no luck with aging in vacuum bags. I put several packages of elk in a cooler in ice and kept them that way for 28 days, trying a package each week. In the end there wasn't enough difference for me to notice. On the other hand, there was no spoilage either.

Maybe try the optimum wet-age period of 21 - 42 days? Works for beef.

 

[Kenai_dtracker]

Lately, I've gotten into canning the tougher cuts of venison in the pressure cooker, and the result have been pretty good. Definitely tender, just need to fine tune the amount of spice/salt that I add to each jar. Makes a pretty quick meal when all you have to do is throw it in the microwave to heat up later on.

 

[Short Track]

Can someone please explain this Sous Vide cooking method. What exactly it does..

To say the least, I am disappointed. My Elk steaks were very tender, with the exception of round steaks... This Moose.. was aged at least 2 days. I was up against the Newfoundland shipping truck deadline. Not that the butcher would have let it hang anyway. There are limitations of guided hunts...

 

[Tod osier]

Can someone please explain this Sous Vide cooking method. What exactly it does..

To say the least, I am disappointed. My Elk steaks were very tender, with the exception of round steaks... This Moose.. was aged at least 2 days. I was up against the Newfoundland shipping truck deadline. Not that the butcher would have let it hang anyway. There are limitations of guided hunts...

sous vide is in a way like bbq... Low and slow. You can cook for an extended time, but not cook beyond the temp you want. So you can cook for a couple hours at a low temp, the meat is still medium or medium rare.

There are 2 ways to get those pieces tender with cooking... stew them as was suggested by many, but they will be well done OR sous vide them and they will be medium or medium rare (or whatever you want).

watch a tutorial On cooler (made in a cooler) sous vide, it is super easy, but time intensive. If you like it there are cookers to buy to make it easier.

 

[ODB]

Learn to braise. I’ve taken elk steak that was chewy tossed it into a cast iron pan with some broth and just let it think about why it was tough.

Also taken those cordy smoked turkey legs from the smoker and tossed them in a crock pot with a teeny bit of water and let them steam about it until their meat fell off and the kid descended on it like vultures swooping in on a gut pile

 

[Marble]

Aging will not do much for tenderizing meat if the meat is previously frozen. It helps, I do it still. But aging should occur prior to freezing and cutting it into streaks.

Meat should be relaxed while cutting it off the bone, not in rigor.

Sous vide works well. I use it. Google search for the best explanation.

 

[12ring]

Sous vide. It would work terrific, you could cook it to your desired doneness, like 135 degrees- the longer you leave it in (up to a point) the more it will help the tenderness. My recommendation is a wet age in the fridge, followed by a dry brine, then sous vide (I did a bull elk loin the other day for 134F/8hrs), then quick pan sear. Doesn't help if you have already had these cut into steaks, but I prefer roasts then I can cut them into portions after cooking them (or into steaks if that is what I want).

 

[SaltySailor]

We always try and hang moose quarters - on the bone- for at least 5 days. A week is pretty solid. Backstraps and loins are pretty much processed right away. If you think game meat steak is going to be like a ribeye from a restaurant, you are going to be pretty bummed.

 

[Short Track]

I'm so disappointed in this Moose, next time I'm shooting a calf. This was a big old fat cow, & even the chop meat is stringy. My Elk meat was always grill-able, grade A steaks. I never even had a deer this bad.
I might adopt a Dog just to do something with the meat....