# Home butchered beef smells like blood



## Honduras Trish (Nov 30, 2007)

We just did our first butchering of a cow (well, it was actually a bull), and the freezer is full of beef. We've used some ground beef and some steaks, and the members of the family with more sensitive noses say that the meat, even after cooking, "smells like blood."

I wonder if we should be doing something differently? We did hang the carcass overnight, and we don't have a way to hang it longer than that since we don't have a big enough freezer available to us and we never have weather below about 45 degrees or so. 

Any suggestions of something we might have done wrong, or something we could do better? The meat tastes good, and if it is relatively heavily seasoned the smell is hidden. We'll still use all of this meat, but I'd like to improve with the next butchering, if possible.

Thanks!


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## francismilker (Jan 12, 2006)

How old was the cow?


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## bruce2288 (Jul 10, 2009)

DThe only ? I would ask is did the critter bleed out well?


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## Honduras Trish (Nov 30, 2007)

Answers to the questions:

The bull was 6 yrs old.

Dh says that he thinks he was well bled out. Since this was our first time butchering, we don't really have anything to compare with.


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## nosqrls (Jun 9, 2012)

One of the things I have seen done is a standup freezers used. Drill a hole (careful not to drill into refrigerant line ) in top 4x4 or 4x6 across top of freezer to support weight. Mount hook, half carcase length wise if necessary. Set temp to just above freezing and hang as long as you want. Or if animal is small enough hang whole in one. And don't forget drip pan in the bottom.


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## countryfied2011 (Jul 5, 2011)

Several years ago we got a young steer from my MIL, DH put it up at his Mom's for about 3 weeks and fed it corn and then took it to a processing plant. I went and picked the meat up...the meat we got back was not the young steer, the bones were way bigger(like a really old cow or steer) and it was really tough...the worst part of it was the blood smell/taste was awful. I couldn't eat it...I dont know whether i got the smell when I went into the plant(it was a very small local place that is out of business now) and couldnt get the smell out of my mind or it actually was the meat. I have a very sensitive smell and tastier. Even when I cooked it I would almost gagged from it and one bite and I would have to quit eating it besides the fact it was so tuff. We ended up giving most of it away. I understand how your family members feel..lol


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## oregon woodsmok (Dec 19, 2010)

The meat is too fresh.

You could not hang it, so when you get it out of the freezer, put it in the fridge and let it set for a week, or even more, before you cook it.

If that doesn't do it, marinate the meat before you cook it.

If it is just a few family members complaining, I suspect it is not the smell. It is in their mind because they aren't adapting well to home killed meat.

Personally, I don't like the taste of bull meat, so perhaps you could castrate the next beef animal and see if you like that meat better.


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## Evons hubby (Oct 3, 2005)

oregon woodsmok said:


> Personally, I don't like the taste of bull meat, so perhaps you could castrate the next beef animal and see if you like that meat better.


Yeppers, a six year old bull is going to have a smell and flavor that is offensive to some. Castrating a couple months before slaughter time will help a lot. Also a lot of people are not set up for proper butchering at home. First thing is they will shoot the critter between the eyes to render them "passive" basically dead. This is a very humane method but your animal doesnt bleed out as well. They need to be hit between the eyes, very hard with a sledge hammer. This stuns the animal, and renders them unconscious but doesnt kill them, they are then immediately hung upside down and their throat cut... and they bleed out quite thoroughly without regaining consciousness. This is quite tricky if one is not set up for the task, and very well practiced at it. A glancing blow will merely anger the animal. Not quite hard enough, and the animal may regain consciousness before bleeding to death. The meat should hang in a cold (35-40 degrees) environment for at least 3 days before the final cutting up and freezing.


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## Jennifer L. (May 10, 2002)

I agree, it's really just fresh meat. People very rarely (most probably never) get really fresh meat. It's a bit different.


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## Fetherhd (Aug 16, 2012)

The reason that they castrate steers is that it improves the taste one hundred percent. MOST adult male animals...be they elk, deer, pig beef heck even rabbit....will usually have a stronger tasting meat. I can tell a sexually mature buck rabbit over a young one just by the smell of the meat. Has something to do with all of those hormones. I prefer a nice young spike elk ANY day over a mature bull. Next time get a steer and be sure to bleed that meat out while the heart is still beating. When we kill a steer...we put a 22 shell right between the eyes...as soon as the steer falls (they do not seem to thrash much) I take a very sharp knife and cut through the big arteries in the throat, be sure to step back...it is usually a virtual waterfall of blood.Even though they are basically brain dead...their hearts will still continue to beat for a few....Then we hook the hind legs to a skidsters fork lift and hoist em up so the last bit of blood drains out. Keep in mind that grass fed beef no matter what will taste differant than what you find in the stores.


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## Fetherhd (Aug 16, 2012)

nosqrls said:


> One of the things I have seen done is a standup freezers used. Drill a hole (careful not to drill into refrigerant line ) in top 4x4 or 4x6 across top of freezer to support weight. Mount hook, half carcase length wise if necessary. Set temp to just above freezing and hang as long as you want. Or if animal is small enough hang whole in one. And don't forget drip pan in the bottom.


AWESOME idea....I was planning on building an insulated shed and running an airconditioner on high....Usually by slaughter time our ambient temps are pretty cool. I like your idea a lot better!!


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## Fetherhd (Aug 16, 2012)

OH...you can take your steaks, roasts, and cut up meat and soak it over night in the fridge in milk, drain it and rinse it well before you cook...I know it sounds weird but it DOES help to take that wild or "gamey" tastes out of meat. Don't know what you can do with the burger...sorry


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## Honduras Trish (Nov 30, 2007)

Thanks so much for all of these thoughts and suggestions! I'll read them over with my son and husband, and we'll make a few adjustments the next time we butcher. Next time will be a cow, not a bull, so we'll also have a chance to see if perhaps that factor will make a difference. 

Fortunately, we are all enjoying the meat, in spite of the smell. Today we made a bunch of jerky, and we can't keep our hands off it! LOL


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## Raymond James (Apr 15, 2013)

I agree with the cause as being 6 year old bull. If you can get the cattle big enough on your grass to butcher at 18 to 24 months you will be much happier with the meat. My customers like the taste better and it fits in their freezer. Depending on climate you may have to keep them longer but try not to go over 36 months. I find that old cows and bulls are best donated to a food pantry putting the whole animal into hamburger. I get a tax credit much larger than the check I would have gotten at the sale barn and the charity pays for the butchering in most cases if not tax write off is that much larger.


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## copperhead46 (Jan 25, 2008)

I second the milk, it really takes the blood smell out, I use it sometimes if a deer is pretty gamey, too.


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## QuickBrownFox (Feb 15, 2013)

I'm surprised at the thought that it's because the meat is very fresh. We butcher deer & goats the day they are shot and never have a problem with the meat being really bloody or smelling of blood. Even the big old bucks.

My thoughts were that it had been a little too warm. If the meat were all placed in the freezer at the same time, or in very large batches it would raise the temperature in the freezer and it would have taken a long time to get frozen, especially the meat in the middle. The carcass must be bled out and chilled down quickly. In the case of the animals we butcher we run the frigid well water inside the carcass after skinning to help chill it, and we try to only butcher large animals when it is cool outside. If the carcass is too warm it is also more difficult to cut up. the chilled muscle is much easier to get a grip on & a blade through.

Also, six years is a long time to have all that testosterone flooding the meat. It will absolutely have a different flavor than the young feeder cattle people are use to getting at the store. But, like I said, we occasionally get an old buck during hunting season & if they are gutted immediately, skinned & chilled rapidly, and butchered right away we just don't encounter that off flavor.

The only time I ever had honestly bloody tasting meat, I could not eat it. It was a buck that someone let hang, unprocessed, too long. I was almost afraid to try it again. But when my husband started hunting again & we started raising our own meat animals I learned to do our butchering and we eat almost nothing but our own processed animals from autumn until well into spring.


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## Raymond James (Apr 15, 2013)

Honduras Trish do you have access to a butcher? Walk in cooler to hang meat? When I was in rural areas of Central and South America in the mid 90's the people butchered there own and shared it. These were areas without electricity so very little refrigeration. Refrigerators were propane of kerosene. The solution was kill and cook the hog/cow that day. From what I could see they took turns butchering an animal and everyone in the village got some. 

If you have electricity and can do the modifying a refrigerator that sounds like a good idea.


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## opportunity (Mar 31, 2012)

I don't think it's because it was an old bull we have eaten our bulls after they are old enough that we need new blood lines. Our last one was 6 years old we got 970 pounds of meat back it is harder to chew but it's very flavorful in a good way not at all gamey or bloody. I think the problem was not cooling fast enough we always make sure ours are cooled fast by the butcher


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## ridgerunner1965 (Apr 13, 2013)

warm butchering can be a problem. the worst problem is when yu pile all the meat in the freezer it can take up to 3 or 4 days to cool the meat in the center of the pile.with a small animal you can space it out in the freezer but with a huge animal it can be a definite problem. ive warm butchered lots of animals but they were under 200 lbs.

and a 6 yr old bull will def taste diferent.there is a reason old bull meat is not in big demand.it goes for burger and blogagna.id not be afraid to eat it but i eat lots of wild meats.


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## Maria (Apr 24, 2003)

Meat smells like death and blood until it's been hung a few days. That's just how it is. And if you don't let it hang until rigor mortis is over, the meat will be tough.

My daughter is a food scientist, and a few years ago she told us that if the meat doesn't get through rigor mortis before cooking, it will do it in the cooking pan. Since then we built a meat locker and have been hanging everything until the muscles loosen up. No blood and death smell, and as tender as you could want.

The year before that, my husband shot a 9 point white tailed deer and we had to grind everything it was so tough. The next year with another 9 point buck, with a decent hanging time, the meat was almost tender and not gamey at all.

There's an enzymatic reaction that takes place in the muscles after death and the meat won't become tender until that's completely over.

You could take that meat you've got and thaw it and let it age in the fridge for a couple of weeks and it probably won't smell that way any more. It won't be as tender as if it had been hung for the whole time because the long muscles get stretched by the hanging process but it will be a lot better than no aging at all.

We are going to butcher a 7 year old bull this year, and I'm sure his meat will be just fine after we age him 2 or 3 weeks. 

We cool our meat locker with a window AC controlled by a coolbot gizmo. We keep the meat between 35 and 40 degrees for the entire hanging time. It works well.


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## o&itw (Dec 19, 2008)

Fetherhd said:


> OH...you can take your steaks, roasts, and cut up meat and soak it over night in the fridge in milk, drain it and rinse it well before you cook...I know it sounds weird but it DOES help to take that wild or "gamey" tastes out of meat. Don't know what you can do with the burger...sorry


Beer works better


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## Honduras Trish (Nov 30, 2007)

Thanks everyone, for the helpful thoughts and suggestions. We are finding that letting the meat sit in the fridge a few days before using is helpful. We marinated some steaks for several days, and I mixed up meatloaf but didn't cook it for several days and both of those seems not to have the smell. Of course, they both also had lots of seasonings . . .

Do you think it would be okay to soak the meat in milk, and then give the milk to the dogs?


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## QuickBrownFox (Feb 15, 2013)

It would be fine to give the milk to the dogs. Or pigs if you have them!


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