I've shot dozens of deer over the years, both buck and doe, and have never had a problem (in PA, NY, FL, GA, and AL). Based on past experience, gamey taste can usually be traced back to 4 major areas: poor shot placement, lack of complete field dressing, improper processing, and storage (freezing too soon). Poor shots that end up with you trailing your deer for long distances are the first contributor to gamey meat. Next in line would have to be field dressing. I know a lot of folks down south here don't field dress deer like they do in the northern states. Part of that process is removing the tarsels and entrails (including the "boys" from bucks). Next, you have to cool the meat quickly leaving it on the bone if possible. And as stated several times earlier in the thread, you gotta keep the water off, unless of course you like your venison at the same consistency as a tire. The faster you get the heat out of the meat, the less gamey tasting it is. Leaving it on the bone until after it's gone through rigor will make the meat more tender. Remove all fat from the meat you are keeping also helps. You can also add beef fat to hamburg to keep it from drying out. And finally, and most importantly, DO NOT let the meat freeze before it has cooled completely all the way thru. Once the outside freezes on the outside, it traps the "gaminess" into the meat. These 4 points work for most North American game.
Look here,I have been hunting in Fl since I was a young kid,I have shot prolly over 100 deer and 200 hogs. I pretty much know how to field dress any critter,and have ate most everything that walks,crawls,and slithers and flys. Out of all those deer 2 were strong and gamey and one was real tough.Those twp particular deer deer were in full rut,one was chasing a doe,and the other just cruising. The larger older one was KIA in Ga.Shot cleanly thru the front shoulders in cool weather,field dressed within an hr,hung to cool down then packed in ice and drained till reaching a processor 5 days later. The other was a giant 8 pt killed in Missouri this year,raised on corn,beans,and alfalfa.Shot and dropped where he stood.FIeld dressed immediatly,hung outside for a few hrs then put on ice for about a week,drained daily.I've never had gamey meat until these two. The one deer was at least 5 years old,the other was 3.I have done every other large game animal the same way and never hade one I could remember that was nasty. Even the elk in my freezer my buddy killed is tender and sweet.
I had a problem with an 8 point that I shot in 2007. I went online and found a recipe that worked well for me. I soaked the meat in Apple Cider for 3 or 4 hours then I took it out and dried it off. Then I dry rubbed the deer and let it sit in the fridge over night. The next day I pulled it out and let it sit untill it got to room temp and seared it on the grill to medium rear. Worked like a charm. :chef
