I am not a enthusiastic venison fan so I understand. However I once had a Venison Loin dish at a restaurant and it was fabulous! I usually will not eat venison cooked by a non-professional for three reasons:

1. I am not sure how the meat was processed. I have seen all sorts of variations on gutting , hanging and butchering deer by hunters and their friends. Some handling and processing methods would curl your hair!

2. The age of the deer has a lot to do with flavor and texture of the venison. Older deer produce tough and strong flavored venison.

3. The cooking skill sets fo the preparer. Preparation is key even with good quality venison. With marginal quality, it is the only way to make it palatable. Poorly prepared venison is gag worthy, period.

I've tried venison and other types of wild game, none were pleasing to me. It's rarely encountered in my area, very few people are hunters and restaurants don't tend to offer it much.

I wasn't crazy about the flavor of it either til my husband took a younger deer, and since then I have told him I don't want old big buck meat. I also butcher our own meat and let it age in fridge before freezing and I think that makes a difference.

I had some venison sausage that Annie cooked for us when we visited her in Michigan last summer, and it was palatable, but not something I would seek out. She said it was from a doe that was not old. They are allowed to cull the herd in her area because the deer where she lives destroy a lot of crops and are having a population explosion. Annie also told me that killing does does more to control the population than killing bucks. I very seldom eat red meat.

There are quite a few things that I absolutely don't like that other people love, but it is not necessary for everyone to like the same things. My brother doesn't like raw tomatoes, but I still buy them for myself and sometimes grow them. He is okay with homegrown vine-ripened tomatoes and will eat a Caprese salad made with them. There aren't many vegetables that I do not like, except for things like sweet potatoes and rhubarb. I also like most fruits.

I completely agree with Amy's different tastes comment. It's just the way it is.

Lots of people over time have tried to convince me I like tamales. It's more of a texture issue and is NOT going to happen.

chloebud - who knows...maybe tamales you will like them. hahaha

Son and grandson are big time hunters, dove, deer, turkey. Son belongs to a hunting club for deer and has a farm where he dove and turkey hunts. He also goes once a year to Kansas for turkey hunting.

I have always been able to cook the dove and deer, but not eat. Son smokes his turkey, delicious.

Recently, cause I've not been doing so well, health wise, he offered to grill burgers at home and bring them so we could share a meal together. I KNEW it would be venison burgers, and I ate. He grilled black and blue burgers! Great!

One Thanksgiving, I was making green beans for the family. My cousin's wife didn't like green beans at all, she said, and apologized in advance for not taking any. Well, she did try them, and said she liked them, they were the first beans she had that didn't taste like dirt. LOL! A little backhanded compliment, I guess, but I'll take it!

Maefleur03, your comments about your husband and broccoli reminds of my husband. Everytime I said I wanted to make a pumpkin pie he would say no I don't like pumpkin pie make such and such. Finally after years of hearing this I said I Iike pumpkin pie and I'm going to make one. He liked it, his Mom anyways overbaked pumpkin pie and it was hard and burnt. So now when I make a pumpkin pie he eats as much as me.

"chloebud - who knows...maybe tamales you will like them. hahaha"

LOL, LJ, I've tried LOTS of tamales, for sure! I would hear things like, "You've just never had good tamales." My mom's (or wife's, aunt's, grandma's, etc.) are the best. I'm going to bring you some." Can't count how many of those so-called "good" tamales I've sampled!

This reminds me of a conversation I had with my brother years ago. He heard me say that I don't like eggplant. He said " You just haven't had it like my wife makes it". I looked him straight in the eyes, and said firmly, " There is nothing your wife can do to eggplant that will make me like it" . He never said another word to me about eggplant as long as he lived.

I love a good tamale. It's an odd comparison though.

Some people are rigid and inflexible with respect to what they eat. Some know to try new things and variations before making up their mind, others don't want to.

I love people who dont like venison. It means more for me. I havent had it in a long time now. I must say that given the option I would have elk. We have a herd locally and they have taken to crossing our property at the driveway. They need to watch out.

I do understand the I dont like no matter what. I do not like cilantro and unfortunately it is a popular addition to everything at the moment. People will put it in anything. I have intestinal issues with it but I also dont like the taste. I am sure this fad will pass. I used to not like pickles. I loved how they smelled but the taste was ucky but finally my taste buds have worn down enough that I can eat sweet pickles. Still despise dill though.

I am not crazy about venison. My family does have a lot of hunters. I have found that the sausage they have made with a blend of venison, pork and beef is pretty good and I do eat it. My sister used to make great venison spaghetti. Other than that I can do without it. Luckily so many do love it that they definitely don't force me to take some home with me.

I think I like bison best of the wild meats. Rich and somewhat sweet. Extremely lean. I do add a touch of EVOO when cooking it so it isn't too dry. DH and I have great cholesterol numbers as we have always avoided animal fats. I think DNA has something to do with it also.

Cilantro. Love it!

I don’t care if it’s venison, bison, salmon or chocolate cake, if I say I don’t care for it, I really do mean that I don’t care for it. I think it’s very disrespectful to try and force someone to try something they have no interest in trying. I get anxious just thinking about it. (it’s a real pet peeve) I remember that thread!!! I remember feeling the same way then as I do now! LOL

Grandson keeps venison jerky all the time. He missed hunting when in Hawaii, and now has a hunting spot in Virginia Beach, that he got permission to hunt on. First day, he killed his first with bow.

Like the country song says, "What part of No don't you understand?".

I don't like venison or salmon... I really don't care for bread, rarely eat sandwhiches for that reason. I told my SIL I really didn't care for bread, she immediately told me I've never tried good bread.... how does she know?

My DH, her brother loves bread, he's bought lots of "good" bread that he loves, I just don't eat it. Life is good, I don't need to eat bread.

patriciae_gw, Cilantro is not a fad, as it has been an important ingredient in Mexican and SE Asian cuisines for a very long time. You may not like it and not want to eat it (which is fine), but it's not going away! A lot of people hate kimchee, but that's not going away either. One of the herbs I do not like is tarragon, and so I understand why you do not like cilantro.

I'm a bit of the opposite of you regarding pickles - I love dill pickles and despite sweet pickles. When I go to a restaurant that is going to serve tartar sauce, I always ask whether they make it with sweet pickles or not because if it is made with sweet pickles I will gag.

I love people who do not like fish because that means more for me. Fish are in a very limited supply, however, unlike venison, which seems almost limitless.

I do understand, however, that there are cases in which people really do not like something because they have never had it prepared properly, but I hope the number of these cases is very small. Unfortunately, they do exist.

Son is into spear fishing. This will be his last weekend. They go to Panama City with a group. I have two beautiful amber jack filet's in my freezer he gave me couple weeks ago.

I agree, there's no fad involved with cilantro, for the reasons lars mentions. It's a staple ingredient for many types of food.

There can be a very valid reason for why some dislike its flavor. Something like 10% of the population have a gene that affects the senses of taste/smell in a way that causes cilantro to taste like soap. I don't have that problem but for those who do, wanting to avoid cilantro is easy to understand.

My DH has the anti-cilantro thing. He also hates mint. I wonder if it tastes like soap to him? Maybe he knows the taste of soap from how much trouble he got into as a little boy! 😉

It does not taste like soap to me but has a weird metallic tang. It has no place in biscuits and gravy like one place was doing.

"One of the herbs I do not like is tarragon, and so I understand why you do not like cilantro."

Same with me when it comes to tarragon, although a hint of it can be okay. As much as I love cilantro, I totally get the "soapy" taste people mention. Hard to imagine certain things without it, starting with salsa.

Many years ago, I worked with a woman whose husband was a hunter. The subject came up in conversation one day. She said that he would bring home elk all packaged for the freezer after hunting trips. Occasionally he would request it for dinner. She couldn't stand it and came up with a partial solution. Every time he requested elk, she would take two packages out of the freezer, cook one and throw the other into the trash. I had never eaten elk, so I asked if she might sometime bring a package that was destined for the trash to work instead, so I might try it. She was happy to do so. I cooked it and the next day, I told her that I totally got why she didn't like it.

I get jkayd’s story about the pumpkin pie. For a long time, every time I suggested fish pie for dinner (DH loves fish, me not so much), DH would say “no”. Finally I just made one from an idea I had been mulling over in my head. DH loved it and now actually requests fish pie. Turns out his mother used to make a version he didn’t like.

And I don’t care for raw tomatoes, _except_ in bruschetta, and only if there is bread in each mouthful. I have a good friend who is the same. And I only like eggplant in baba ganoush.

But I get that it’s irritating when people press you to try something you’ve said you dislike, because seemingly they make the only palatable version. My mother was like that.

The men in my family hunt. We always have venison in the freezer. Personally I only like the ground meat. I cut it with ground beef to add some fat. I use it in any recipe that calls for ground meat. I have a recipe I like for the roasts. It is like a sauerbraten. That isn't bad, but I prefer a beef roast. I also like the venison jerky i make. Otherwise I don't like the steaks. I just don't like the taste. My kids and grands love the back strap that my husband cooks for breakfast. Needless to say when he has it butchered he only orders one or two roasts, the back straps and the remaining ground up.

The real story, that I've heard before and that seems to be among comments here, is that "it's good if you combine it with X" or "it needs to be prepared a certain way". Few foods having a flavor that's widely appealing are described that way. Also, comments from some number of people who feel they've been forced or put upon to eat it or take some with them are common. I've heard such stories before.

Deer can be found in many countries and allowing hunting is far from the only way of keeping their populations in check.

The only venison I've ever eaten and enjoyed was because I was young and full of beer. A friend bought a tavern in a small rural town and my girlfriend and I, both young and unmarried went from the big city to visit. Lots of partying and when the bar closed the owner continued the party at his house where he prepared something with venison and lots of onions and red wine. I can't recall if it was served over rice or noodles or plain. It cooked for a long time and we were all ravenous before it was ready to eat. Between the beer and the long wait, I could almost forget that I was eating Bambi.

The first venison I had as a child was a roast. It was seasoned with salt and pepper and put in a pan to roast. Worst meat I eve ate. Dry, tough and gamey. It was decades before I tried it again. When I learned to cook it myself I found that it has to be cooked with liquid or used as a ground meat. Bring out the slow cooker.

Coincidentally, I am making a venison meat pie for dinner tonight. It is 30° now and promises to be a cold, grey wet day so the aroma of that in the house just warms us up to begin with.

I've never had venison, but I feel the same way about sweet potatoes. I don't like them. Period. No, I will not like them whatever goopy way you cook them. They will still be gross. Please, just accept that and stop trying!

I agree on the sweet potatoes. Hard pass.

I've tried various game meats and I didn't care for them....a bit too strong. Game birds are a different story :-) And I don't consider bison a wild or game meat as it is farmed just like beef is. It's OK but not my favorite. A little dry and chewy compared to beef.

There are very few foods I do not like but those that I don't, I would be pretty irritated if someone forced it on me or constantly encouraged me to try it. I've tried okra fixed by various people in various ways and I still don't think its worth eating!! Don't ask me again!!

I am surprised that many folks do not like common foods that most others think delicious and even diet staples!! I couldn't live without good bread (maybe I could but I wouldn't want to :-)). Or fresh, sliced ripe tomatoes! And eggplant and sweet potatoes. It's OK if they don't - their choice - but I think they are just missing out.

i won't go within a hundred miles of a meatloaf. meatloaf is the world's downfall. if people stopped making meatloaf, wars would end. without meatloaf, there would be world peace, climate change would cease to exist, the oceans would become crystal clear and devoid of pollution, flowers would bloom year 'round no matter where you live, it would never go above or below 70 degrees and the sun would shine 365 days a year and dogs would live forever.

think about it the next time somebody asks for meatloaf. JUST SAY NO!!!!!

Ninapearl, I never knew. I never knew. 😢 So sad.

I do not like lamb and refuse to eat it. BUT: my nephew and his now ex-wife invited us over for dinner. She's a red seal chef and as soon as we walked into the house it smelled devine! She said, "I hope you like rack of lamb!" I smiled and said, "I love it!" Inside my head I was dreading eating the lamb and didn't want to be rude by refusing to eat her food that she so happily cooked just for us.

The saying that "you haven't tried mine yet!" is true. Her's was absolutely delicious and I had seconds. I've been raised that you ALWAYS take *some* of the food offered to you if someone went out of their way to make it for you. Even if you know it's something you don't like. Unless you're allergic to it, appreciate the effort someone went into cooking for you.

I do find that for some people, tastes do change over time. For example, I refused to eat turnip greens, sweet potatoes, Brussels sprouts and a few other things when I was young. There were many good cooks in my family, so it wasn’t that I wasn’t exposed to them or that the weren’t prepared well. Fast forward several years later and now I do like them. DH will not eat sweet potatoes or several other things. I make him a baked potato and me a sweet potato. We figure it out.

Venison is something I never really liked either, although I have cooked it and eaten it many times in my first marriage. No thanks. I will pass. I have eaten elk and bison at restaurants that was very well-prepared and tasty but I am not going out of my way to prepare it at home.

I don't like venison either. Altho like Raven said, I have had it in sausage mixed with beef or pork, and it isn't bad. If anyone gives me some, I just say thank you, and then I feed it to my dogs.

I think the saying, "But you haven't tried mine yet" originated because so many prepare venison very badly. Dumping canned mushroom soup on it is NOT a recipe. It is a disaster. I don't offer any wild game meat to guests except my children who like only a few things. ( Venison bacon and bison burgers. ) I know people have strong feelings about it.

What can I say? Some cooks are just rude.

I ate venison when I was young. My dad prepared the meat by letting the blood drain out after the deer was killed and soaking it in salt water. My dad said that took the gaminess out of it. He pounded it and coated in salt, pepper and flour and fried it. I loved it. I've tried what other people have prepared and it was too strong flavored so there is something to how it is prepared.

I forgot to add my ‘ditto’ to ninapearl’s post. I just don’t eat meatloaf either. I ate it as a kid. Not now, not ever.

I actually do know that cilantro is a part of the cuisine of other countries and is appropriate in those foods but it was not added to every thing on earth. At the moment it is a fad herb just like oregano or thyme used to be. People put it in anything. Those same people have stopped using parsley. It is one of those things. My problem with it goes beyond not liking the taste, it actually disagrees with me. Too bad. I would prefer to like it and tolerate it but I do not. Telling me how dim I am for not knowing it is a part of many cuisines is just like telling someone they will like Venison. Flavor profiles in food come and go. Sometimes it is good. Getting Americans to expand their food flavors has always been a good thing. I totally understand why some people dont like Venison. It is a strong definite flavor. Making it taste like the blandest of beef is fine if venison is what you have and dont like. I like it. I dont expect someone else to like it because I do. I liked squirrel as a child. I wonder if I would like it now.

At times we would soak venison in buttermilk

I don't care for venison. I've tried it numerous times, never prepared by the same person, thus thinking someone would magically get the 'gamey' taste out of it. That never happened. It reminded me of college when friends would try to convince me that I wouldn't be able to taste the vodka in a screwdriver. I'd tell them to blindfold me and give me small cup of orange juice and a small cup of orange juice and vodka, and I would always be able to tell them apart, because I hate the taste of vodka.

I can always detect aspartame (NutraSweet and Equal) in anything, because it gives me an immediate bitter aftertaste, no matter how much I loved what I ate or drank just 2 seconds earlier. So I guess some people just have an aversion to the taste/flavour of something, despite how it is prepared, especially if they were unaware they were eating the food or ingredient that they don't like.

I understand OP's question, but mine is for a different food. I do like properly cooked venison, and understand why many don't. That's fine, more for me...

BUT -

"Artemis, what you mean you don't like turkey or chicken breast? You just haven't had it cooked right!!!!!" Pardon me, but after 66 years on this planet, I KNOW I don't like either. I'll TOLERATE some chicken breast in some circumstances, but I won't tolerate the turkey breast at all. Sorry. Not sorry.

On another paw, I hated Brussels sprouts as a kid - mean nasty boiled things that usually came from a can.

But I'd never had had them fresh and roasted. I even outright purposefully BUY them now.

I can always detect aspartame (NutraSweet and Equal) in anything, because it gives me an immediate bitter aftertaste, no matter how much I loved what I ate or drank just 2 seconds earlier. So I guess some people just have an aversion to the taste/flavour of something, despite how it is prepared, especially if they were unaware they were eating the food or ingredient that they don't like.

Same here. Always. And it is true of all the fake sweeteners, for me.

I have never seen brussel sprouts in a can. Sounds awful. We like them fresh and roasted too.

Canned Brussels sprouts?? *shudder*

I purposefully buy them fresh and roast them.

Kadefol: I don't know why some people insist on trying to force their food
preferences on others. Husband only hunts with his camera, but a friend
of his is an avid hunter and has foisted venison and venison sausage on
us even though he knows we will not eat it. He feels we will change our
minds once we taste it. Uhhh, no!! So it's languishing in the freezer
until it's freezer clean-out time.

Suggestion - instead of tossing it at freezer cleanout, before that time ask among your non-mutual friends if one or another would appreciate the gift you don't wish to eat. Pass it on to someone who likes it Not wasted, then.

Give me a call.