Tip 1: A Clean Kill
A good killing shot is the first step in making sure the meat is top-quality. The faster the deer expires, with a minimum of disruption and contamination, the better. Avoid damage to the abdomen, and find, properly field dress and then cool the animal as soon as possible. Don’t handle or consume any animal that acted sick or if the carcass appears diseased.

Tip 2: Be Prepared
Have a sharp knife, gloves, rope, twine, plastic bag (if you keep the heart and liver) and anything else you use to field dress already with you when you are in the field. As a safety factor, do NOT use white paper or cloth towels when out in the field.

Tip 3: No Need to Bleed
It’s not necessary to cut the throat to ‘bleed’ your deer. If you are planning to have the animal mounted this will be a big problem for your taxidermist. In addition, after the heart stops little additional blood will actually drain from the deer, and this does not affect the meat in any way.w

Tip 4: Keep it Clean
If necessary, move the deer to an area where it can be easily worked on and be dressed with a minimum of contamination by water, soil, leaves or other trash. If on an incline, turn the deer so the gut pile will roll downhill. Keep the body cavity and any wounds as clean as possible. Avoid contamination from the bladder, intestines and stomach. (Deer do not have a gall bladder, so the liver can be handled without worry of contaminating the meat.)

Tip 5: Gamey is Not Normal
If you have ever eaten game that had a ‘gamey’ flavor, it is likely that the meat was either contaminated or spoiled. If any meat comes in contact with intestinal or bladder contents consider the meat contaminated and discard it. If the air temperature is above 40 degrees get the carcass refrigerated as soon as possible. Prop the ribs open and hang it (if the air is cold enough) or pack the body cavity with bags of ice to cool it as quickly as possible. If it is warm and insects are present, cover the animal with a cloth bag to keep them off the meat, and get it refrigerated immediately.

Tip 6: Keep Away
There is no need to remove the musk glands, which are inside each hind leg below the hock. After death the glands stop working and will not cause a problem unless the gland comes in direct contact with the meat. Do not touch the glands with hands or knife and there will be no problem. Trying to remove them will just get musk on you hands, tools and other areas, increasing the chances of ruining some meat.

Tip 7: The Age Issue
Some hunters like to age the meat, which enables natural enzymes to start breaking down the tissue, resulting in more tender cuts. Aging must be done in a controlled cold storage. The down side to aging is that there will be more waste because of dehydration, and it should not be done if there is any contamination to the carcass. (Contamination can be missed because of the uncontrolled way the deer is killed, dressed and transported before it gets into cold storage.)

Tip 8: Now or Later
Eat tender cuts immediately, before freezing, when they are at peak quality. Use a meat thermometer to make sure it is thoroughly cooked. If you can’t get your grill going within a day or two freeze everything, after tightly sealing trimmed cuts in plastic bags with as little air in the bags as possible (air in the bag causes freezer burn). Make sure you label and date each bag, and use within six months.

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