re: Deer ground meat question UPDATE : pg 3

It would be a dead giveaway. Have several friends use him with no problem I just want to get his opinion and hopefully give me a partial refund

Not him

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It’s almost a rotten smel

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It's probably the pork. I've smelt that a few times when Ive opened cryogenic or vacuum packed pork. It only smells for a minute or 2 before it goes away. Taste fine when you cook it.

I had a similar problem when processing the meat myself. I had some deer roasts and other large cuts in the freezer for several months. I got my first grinder for Christmas last year and decided I wanted to try it out so I thawed it, ground it, then re froze it in the white tubed bags that you can buy at academy. It all ended up with a brown tint and a funky smell/taste that couldn't be masked in tacos or spaghetti. I'm not sure if it was being old and re frozen that was the problem or if it was my packaging methods but I learned my lesson. I bought a vacuum sealer and ground my deer fresh this year. So far the results are much better.

No, he seemed very cocky when I dropped it off. Felt like if I went back, I might have a physical confrontation. I would have gone to jail. I had smoked sausage and tamales made. When I got home with it, I cooked a pack of sausage in the skillet. It didn't have a rancid taste, it was just not very pleasant. I then tried cooking it on the pit, still not tolerable. One of my relatives brings deer there on a regular basis, even his had a weird taste to me. The only local place I bring it now is in Raceland.

You have nothing to lose. You need to make him cook a pack and see how he reacts when he eats it!

You need to get a pack from one of your friends, to use as the baseline. He will know something is wrong when he smells them.

I had this happen a couple of times in my life. last year I got a batch back from the processor and it had a funky smell like that. I ate it a few different times and never did get sick or anything, but just couldn't get past the funk so I pitched it. part of the risk that you take with game animal processing, IMO.

I’ve been using this practice for 30+ yrs without an issue. I’ve never heard of salmonella or any other bacteria developing in ice.