Originally Posted by Ben2
What makes a backstrap unusually tough? Daughter shot a doe Monday shot it back a little so waited til Tuesday morning to recover it. Cleaned it and prepped a backstrap to grill Wednesday. Backstrap felt fine when I cut it out of the deer refrigerated it 36 hrs, then got it out to grill and it felt like the center of the backstrap was frozen it did not bend the same as before and just felt tough in the middle. I cut the small end off and made poppers with thin slices then grilled yhe thicker half whole. Both ways the meat was fine on the outside but tough as leather in the middle cooked to medium at the most. Ended up throwing it out. Have cooked a ton of backstraps but never had one like that, anyone know what could have caused it? Was about a 110lb doe.

Eating it fresh might have had something to do with it. I've cooked some before a day or 2 after killing it and had it be tough like that.

Or it could have been something wrong with the deer. I killed a small buck many years ago that was stiff as a board 30 minutes after I killed him. His legs were extended, so we stood him up on 4 legs and made a picture. It looked like I was standing behind a live deer. I cleaned him and tried to eat him, but it was tough as nails. The dogs got the rest of it.

All the labor of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.