Elk meat smells extremely gamey

[Deleted member 25294]

I shot my bull yesterday morning and just butchered it up today, I don't remember it smelling weird yesterday when I de-boned and loaded it out.
Today though I was getting nauseated by the pungent and super gamey smell of the meat..
It was hot yesterday and the boned meat was loaded into a cooler with a small amount of ice, I used game bags and stuck them in a trash bag to keep it dry in the cooler.
The meat was hung in my cool shop overnight, I can't see how the odor could be from the meat spoiling but I'm concerned..
Has anyone ever had a really fragrant elk?

 

[owlman]

A bull elk is a lot of meat to cool down which I'm sure you know. Had the meat cooled down any in the cooler or was it still warm when you were hanging it in your shop? What would you guess the overnight temperature got down to? I always trust my nose on the status of foods meat included. I've never had an elk go bad but have had trouble with mule deer when the weather was hot and just couldn't get the meat packed out quick enough to get it where I could cool it properly. Really fragrant would bother me a little bit.

 

[Plinker147]

How long was the hide on the bull after you killed it and how long were the guts in it? Both of those can be a factor and meat can spoil fast in September.

I have killed and been a round rutting bulls that were rank smelling. Some bulls just stink. Is it a rotten smell or the strong bull elk smell?

If it the strong elk smell just get it cleaned/ washed off and hung in a cooler an age it for at least ten days,

 

[PNWGator]

Well done on punching a tag!

Wonder if it was still really warm when you put it in game bags, into the trash bags and into the cooler with a little bit of ice and it simply didn't cool down quickly or thoroughly enough before you hung it. It was hot yesterday!

 

[PredatorSlayer]

I shot my bull yesterday morning and just butchered it up today, I don't remember it smelling weird yesterday when I de-boned and loaded it out.
Today though I was getting nauseated by the pungent and super gamey smell of the meat..
It was hot yesterday and the boned meat was loaded into a cooler with a small amount of ice, I used game bags and stuck them in a trash bag to keep it dry in the cooler.
The meat was hung in my cool shop overnight, I can't see how the odor could be from the meat spoiling but I'm concerned..
Has anyone ever had a really fragrant elk?

Sounds like you took pretty good care of the meat - i am guessing it isn't rotten. Rotten meat is a different smell than gamey. Sounds like he was all hormoned up from ruttin, I would let that meat age as long as you can. For some reason, my bull last year tasted gamier than previous bulls. Maybe there is something in the idaho sage brush? Lol. His meat has gotten better the longer it sat in the freezer. We had elk steak the other night and it was excellent. Good luck.

 

[dok7mm]

Trash bags tend to seal the heat in and elk take a lot of cooling, especially in early season. I've boned out elk that were hung overnight in freezing weather, to find the hindquarters were still warm inside the next morning.

Sure hope your bull is okay.

 

[Mike 338]

Not sure by what you mean by "gamey". Spoiled meat isn't gamey. It's just spoiled. Getting elk out before it spoils is difficult in the summer. Boning out creates a huge lump of meat that, if not already cool, can spoil quickly. Gott'a get the hide off it right away and in the shade, get it out and in a cooler pronto. Even in a cooler with ice, if left in a huge lump, will not cool down quickly enough and may spoil on you right in the cooler. Breaking it up and distributing it into numerous coolers, surrounded by ice will cool it much faster. If it's nauseating you, it's probably turned and inedible. I speak from experience on this one. Let someone else who is not so invested in the blood, sweat and tears smell it. If they say it's rotten than it's probably rotten.

 

[Deleted member 25294]

Thanks guys
It was very cool when I shot him, low 50's.
I had him boned out by 0800 and laid the game bags in the shade for a few hours while hiking back for the game packs.

I'm regretting leaving the meat in a cooler bagged up but this isn't the first time I've done this in hot weather..

The temp in my shop was low 60's.
It's not really a rotten smell just a very pugnent and stinky elk smell.
I'm talking way more than I've ever experienced in butchering 12 bulls.
Think strong elk urin odor mixed with gut smell..
No urin or stomach fluid got on the meat either..

I wrapped and froze half the meat,and froze the half that I'll grind in a salt brine that I'll thaw out this weekend.
I'm thinking the meat is probably safe to eat, guess I'll have to find out...

 

[Mike 338]

Guess you'll have to cook it up and give it a whirl.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

Thanks guys
It was very cool when I shot him, low 50's.
I had him boned out by 0800 and laid the game bags in the shade for a few hours while hiking back for the game packs.

I'm regretting leaving the meat in a cooler bagged up but this isn't the first time I've done this in hot weather..

The temp in my shop was low 60's.
It's not really a rotten smell just a very pugnent and stinky elk smell.
I'm talking way more than I've ever experienced in butchering 12 bulls.
Think strong elk urin odor mixed with gut smell..
No urin or stomach fluid got on the meat either..

I wrapped and froze half the meat,and froze the half that I'll grind in a salt brine that I'll thaw out this weekend.
I'm thinking the meat is probably safe to eat, guess I'll have to find out...

It won't be any more of a gamble than eating at Chipotle

 

[Dosh]

aj, much of the gaminess is contained in the blood. Some soak the meat alternately in cold then warm water for a few minutes, repeated several times followed by patting dry. Also the removal of fat and silver skin which contain the gamey smell helps. I've killed enough bulls in my years and only hunt less gamey cow elk now, you can't eat antlers! Other methods of soaking include salt water, vinegar water and dairy. Good luck and hope the taste is palatable.

 

[bigngreen]

Sounds like you soured it, you were fine till the garbage bags and cooler, that smell that makes you just choke up is soured, a strong smelling animal you can't smell just cutting unless it's soured for some reason. I inspect the glands usually if an animal is very smelly right at boning and get my tag refunded because it's fevered for some reason but you'll know the second your boning it out in the field.
Until the animal is at ambient temp you need air flow more than cool, any good game bag will still allow air flow while wicking and cooling the meat, garbage bags are death on meat especially elk!!!
That warm your best to hang it in a bag and get air flow around it till you can cover it in ice and cool it fast.
The next worst thing for souring elk is a truck topper!

 

[Deleted member 25294]

Sounds like you soured it, you were fine till the garbage bags and cooler, that smell that makes you just choke up is soured, a strong smelling animal you can't smell just cutting unless it's soured for some reason. I inspect the glands usually if an animal is very smelly right at boning and get my tag refunded because it's fevered for some reason but you'll know the second your boning it out in the field.
Until the animal is at ambient temp you need air flow more than cool, any good game bag will still allow air flow while wicking and cooling the meat, garbage bags are death on meat especially elk!!!
That warm your best to hang it in a bag and get air flow around it till you can cover it in ice and cool it fast.
The next worst thing for souring elk is a truck topper!

Yeah after speaking with IDFG about it I may have soured it slightly..
I texted my buddy who was with me though and he said he immediately noticed the extremely strong gamey smell when he was loading the boned meat in the game bags.
Maybe a few things going on but from talking with the biologist it should be perfectly safe to eat.
I'll let you guys know how it goes, I'll thaw some steak tonight and give it a try tomorrow

 

[bigngreen]

Elk can have an odd smell that does not seem to have any effect on the taste but it's a smell that won't make you gag but makes you wonder, if you smell it and your first reaction is to yack it's soured elk if it just makes you wonder then it's just elk, some will be that way bulls, cows don't seem to matter, I've had alfalfa feed cows have a strong smell but the flavor was excellent, same with bulls, arrowed them in high country sage brush all horned up and they were excellent table fair, one of the most knarled bulls I killed was a 6.5 year old bull that was all broken from fighting and had a couple bullet holes in him that were healing, he was supremely excellent eating, it's almost all in the meat care, we don't even label a cow from a bull anymore cause it'll all eat the same with good care and cooked correctly.