Why Do Game Animals Taste "Wild"?

Question

What makes stuff like deer meat taste "wild"? What exactly is the taste of "wild" anyways? And, if a wild animal like a deer or something were raised and bred domestically, would the generations after it always taste "wild"?

Answer 1

Partially it is the age of the animal and also what they eat. Geese taste more gamey as they fly further south and eat some of the strong tasting plants in Texas and Mexico. Wild hogs taste stronger after about 50 lbs. Female, lactating hogs taste sweet and old boars over 200 lbs. need to be steamed to get the taste out.

The wild taste varies in flavor but can smell just horrible, like the meat is mixed with sweat and urine. Some people castarate teh males to keep the testosterone from ruining the meat.

Answer 2

It might be the diet of the animal that does it. Domesticated animals are fed a lot more grain than wild animals are able to get and wild animals eat more grasses. If that is right, then it wouldn't take generations to change the taste of the meat. You should be able to take a deer, feed it grain from the time it's weaned and have meat that doesn't have the wild taste.

It might be that it's just not what our taste buds are used to. Not sure about that, because it does seem like there is a definite "wild" taste--present in everything from deer to pheasant. I can imagine it right now, but I can't put the taste into words to describe it.

I think it's probably what the animal eats more than anything.

Answer 3

"Wild" meat should have less chemicals and fake stuff injected into the meat. The taste of "wild" depends on your taste buds - but maybe less fatty because wild game can't depend on a human to give them food. Domestic deer would probably not be considered "wild" anymore, because "domestic" = "raised by humans" and humans tend to do things as fast and as cheap as possible a.k.a. chemicals to speed-up the growth of the animal for meat.

Answer 4

Animals in the wild don't eat the same foods as farm raised animals. It is the food they eat that makes an animal taste as they do or as the say (wild).

Answer 5

the majority taste good, the reason most people who hunt eat their meat. actually, they often taste better then farm raised animals personally, they have a gamey taste that's very natural and interesting and the best part? completely free of chemicals and antibiotics that are often a issue when eating farm raised meats. rabbit and squirrel are very mild, like a boneless chicken breast when cooked with nothing else, you can actually substitute rabbit or squirrel for chicken in many recipes, the reason for the mild flavor is their lack of any serious amount of fat, just a few bits on the kidneys and sometimes on the back. feral hogs taste like pork with a little gaminess, deer, elk and moose have a real beefy taste to them and the majority of birds have a chickeny taste with some other flavors mixed in depending on they're diet.

Answer 6

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say because they are caught in the 'wild'? They are free to roam and eat whatever diet they please, so therefore the meat will taste different than those animals raised to provide us with meat.

Answer 7

its the blood
next time you want to cook some do this first: put it in a bowl with some salt and a bit of white vinegar at least 72 hrs before you cook it. after 8-10 hours, change the water, again, adding the salt and vinegar. each time you do this the water will get clearer, getting rid of the blood, which gives it the gamey taste. when the water is almost clear, its ready

as for the last question,,,really dont know

Answer 8

They taste wild because of their diet. Rabbits, for instance, taste completely different if they are raised by humans for consumption.

Answer 9

It's what they eat-domesticated game is not as"gamey" though it retains a different taste than beef-after all, it's not beef so why would it taste like it?

Answer 10

Maybe it's the taste of something that's free of horomones, antibiotics and modified genes?