The Anti-Pet Peeve Thread - Small things that made your day

[IWish]

bubbie, I remember an old boyfriend of mine that hunts told me that there is a gland in bucks, (in one of the legs), that needs to be removed asap after it's down. He said that it takes care of the gamey taste. Is that true? We have whitetail, but I believe there is blacktail in Northern AZ...mule deer - I think that's what Bob called 'em.

Havelina bakes/parties are big out here...a hole is dug in the ground, covered w/hot coals to cook. I hear it's delicious.

Also, I won't bore you with our weather here in the desert. Let me just say that our Winter lasted...maybe...a couple of days. Heh.

[bubbie]

I am assuming he was referring to tarsal glands. There are two, one on each rear leg. No, it is not true. I actually don’t know anyone personally who would remove the glands first thing or at all unless they are using the bone or the particular joint for stock or whatever. I would not know why a person would do that either though because there is a lot of other bone one can make stock from.

[IWish]

Ah, I see. I often wondered if he told me that because I don't care for the taste...too gamey. I know his mom would prepare the meat in heavily spiced marinade. Heh. Made me wonder if she wasn't a fan of it, either. Thanks for responding, I appreciate it.

[jmagee87]

Yeah, myself nor anyone I know bothers to remove that from the whitetail we hunt

[jmagee87]

The older/larger the deer, the more gamey it is. That's why when I hunt, I dont go for big bucks. Meat isnt nearly as good on them

Depends on the deer. Whitetail deer, for instance, will taste the same regardless of how old it is. There is an odd buck that does not participate in rut for whatever reason that will taste almost like elk, but other than that I think they are all the same for the most part (I am not including fawns and old farts here; I don't really know what either of those taste like). Mule deer, on the other hand, will taste and have different meat texture the older they get. I prefer those over whitetail. Definitely true for moose as well, the young the better.

I guess I should clarify and say, the younger the deer, typically the more tender the meat. Not necessarily in gamey taste. A large older whitetail buck is gonna have much tougher meat than a younger deer.

[IWish]

He probably was just trying to give me a reason, (to convince me), to eat it. I mean, it's not awful...I just don't like gamey meat. I don't care for lamb, either...that tastes gamey to me, too. This thread is making me hungry...off to grill a couple of beef steaks.

Thanks for responding, jmagee.

[bubbie]

That's pretty awesome. You would probably have to sell a low to mid range Banksy to go on a hunt like that today. I heard they were closing hunting on Caribou in that part of the country too, but cannot say for sure. Do indeed share photos if you find them. That part of Canada is something else. Labrador is pretty much nowhere anywhere you go. Don't go during the bug season though. The bugs they have are slightly different from the bugs normal people are used to. Instead of giving you a bite and flying away, they bite a piece off ya and fly to a tree to eat it Seriously though, bugs are crazy there. Wish I could do a few more trips to far ends of Canada. Very beautiful remote places. If asked today, I would really have difficult times choosing one particular place to go to. There are so many to choose from. I am lucky to have visited many of them before the kids and all that.

we went both times right after bug season, middle September or so. they were a pretty penny back then, so can only imagine it has gotten that much more expensive. I remember it costing $30 for a pizza in 2003, so I imagine that it's over $100 now.

our guide told us bug season was the worst, and that we always planned good timing around it. unbearable and even if you had the bug nets and everything, you were getting eaten alive.

*edit*
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/ ... -1.2879442

holy crap! had no idea the industry collapsed. those numbers are staggering. 280,000 > 15,000 in 20 years.

guess that was a once (twice) in a lifetime trip!

800,000 to less than 15,000. But yes, it is a mess. Hope they pull through. Caribou population in Alberta is almost nonexistent. Climate change is a factor. Predator control or lack of it is a biggie though. While wolf and bear populations are thriving, deer and other game are taking toll.

An interesting article on the subject if interested:
Race is on to save small herd of island caribou as wolves close in

Numbers are different, but clearly represent the point, IMO. About 95% reduction in caribou population in only 4 years is pretty astounding. The way the government deal with the situation is pretty astounding as well and not in a good way.

P.S. It's pretty great you were able to make those trips. Good stuff. There are still places to hunt caribou in Canada. Costs quite a penny though.

[Philpenn]

Getting to explain to a Comcast representative why I don't want Comcast as my cellular provider.

[RottenAtom]

Had a grade 'A' performance evaluation today with a boss that was very grateful and complimentary. I feel very fortunate to have landed in a great place after years of working in the shittiest of corporate fudge holes.

[ccsmd598]

Had a grade 'A' performance evaluation today with a boss that was very grateful and complimentary. I feel very fortunate to have landed in a great place after years of working in the shittiest of corporate fudge holes.

Congrats! Good stuff

[mfaith]

Had a grade 'A' performance evaluation today with a boss that was very grateful and complimentary. I feel very fortunate to have landed in a great place after years of working in the shittiest of corporate fudge holes.

Congrats man, that's awesome.

[rubberneck]

Had a grade 'A' performance evaluation today with a boss that was very grateful and complimentary. I feel very fortunate to have landed in a great place after years of working in the shittiest of corporate fudge holes.

But not A+ tho.

There's always next year I guess.

[fredo]

I figured the quote marks denoted irony.

[RottenAtom]

Thanks guys. Upon further inspection the 'A' is not my grade. It stands for 'annual'

My score was the top score of 'Excellent'

[piper27]

Thanks guys. Upon further inspection the 'A' is not my grade. It stands for 'annual'

My score was the top score of 'Excellent'

Awesome to hear