# Eating bruised/damaged venison from car hit



## tripleduece249 (Sep 11, 2014)

Let me start off by saying there wasn't a topic for this so I went with the most general. 

Long story short. Saw a decent 7 point get hit by a car and was given legal permission to take it after the police shot it in the heart. Had it home and skinned within two hours of death, quartered and on ice in 3. I'm butchering it and have found a break in both back femurs, which explains why it was just sitting up on the ground in the grass near the road. 

Only been hunting 3 years. This is only the second deer I have ever got. First one was a clean bow kill at 15 yards on the ground that I butchered myself. It was really easy and clean in comparison to the mess i have on my hands now. I figured I'd be throwing away some of the meat but tonight I threw away the entire rear quarter after breaking it down and trying to clean it up. It had clotted blood between every muscle, surrounding the muscles, under the membranes and dark blood spots in the thick of the of big muscles. For examples, I sliced the Sirloin in 1/4" slices and there was spotting throughout most of it. The muscles are intact and there are no tears in the muscles themselves on this piece. I pulled out one of the front quarters, which was the best of all 4 quarters and it was in great shape! The entire thing was usable without any question.

Earlier tonight my attitude was, if I need to ask if it's still good, I better throw it out. Now I'm thinking about the other rear and front quarter I'm going to work on tomorrow and figured I'd ask around and see if anyone has any experience with this. These last two pieces look like they have allot of the clotted blood trapped under the membrane like the first rear quarter did. The other rear definitively has a broken femur and the front from the looks of it sustained some damage. 

*Have any of you out there tried to process a road kill deer? At what point is the meat not any good, in terms of trauma?* Like I said, it was pretty fresh by road kill standards (can't believe I'm actually typing this statement). From the outside you would have never known there was any damage. Is it bad when there is allot of blood in and around the meat like I have been describing? I'd like to hear anything you guys have to say but lets keep it serious...I've already heard all the jokes from everyone I know. I really liked the idea of this buck not going to waste. At least the loins and back straps were perfect.


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## MT Archer (Nov 24, 2011)

tripleduece249 said:


> Have any of you out there tried to process a road kill deer? At what point is the meat not any good, in terms of trauma? Like I said, it was pretty fresh by road kill standards *(can't believe I'm actually typing this statement*). From the outside you would have never known there was any damage. Is it bad when there is allot of blood in and around the meat like I have been describing? I'd like to hear anything you guys have to say but lets keep it serious...I've already heard all the jokes from everyone I know. I really liked the idea of this buck not going to waste. At least the loins and back straps were perfect.


I know you want to keep it serious but I laughed pretty hard when I read this. 

I get your logic in trying to pull some value out of it but no way would I try and salvage road kill. Grocery store beef just ain't that expensive.


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## SWIFFY (Apr 18, 2012)

I would totally do what youre doing! I take many roadkills each season. I would not take the meat with a lot of hemorrhaging.... its just not worth it. I take what looks good, is easy and fast and the rest goes to the yotes and eagles. 

To me, grocery store beef IS THAT EXPENSIVE and isnt worth the bag it comes in. I love venison and love to see the roadkills go to some use rather than rotting on the roadside. 

Good for you for trying, but dont beat yourself up for tossing some....


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## 25ft-up (Mar 14, 2010)

I wouldn't let the bloodshot meat sit overnight. Get the good meat away from the blood asap and in the freezer. Cut away some of the meat off the muscle sections if that's the only way to clean the blood off. If the meat is bloodshot all the way through than it's up to you if you want to eat it. Check if it has a smell like glands, or if the meat smells clean. Jerky is what I would make out of what's salvaged. I took the straps off of a doe that was dispatched on the side of the road after getting hit by a car. It was as tough as shoe leather, but I didn't know how long the deer had been laying there under stress.


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## tripleduece249 (Sep 11, 2014)

There was allot more hemorrhaging than I was expecting. Thanks for the reply. I'm really new to hunting in general so I wasn't sure what to expect.


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## TM2/SSMike (Mar 20, 2014)

I have a friend that gets road kills and grinds it all and freezes it. He cooks up a couple pounds a week to mix with dry food for his dogs. They love it.


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## tripleduece249 (Sep 11, 2014)

25ft-up said:


> I wouldn't let the bloodshot meat sit overnight. Get the good meat away from the blood asap and in the freezer. Cut away some of the meat off the muscle sections if that's the only way to clean the blood off. If the meat is bloodshot all the way through than it's up to you if you want to eat it. Check if it has a smell like glands, or if the meat smells clean. Jerky is what I would make out of what's salvaged. I took the straps off of a doe that was dispatched on the side of the road after getting hit by a car. It was as tough as shoe leather, but I didn't know how long the deer had been laying there under stress.


I went out of town for Thanksgiving the morning after I quartered it and put on ice. The quarters have been on ice since Tuesday night(11/22). I didn't have much of a choice there since I got the deer that same evening. It smells fine. So you are saying I would have probably had more usable meet, or at least less bloodshot if I butchered the same night?


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## 25ft-up (Mar 14, 2010)

tripleduece249 said:


> I went out of town for Thanksgiving the morning after I quartered it and put on ice. The quarters have been on ice since Tuesday night(11/22). I didn't have much of a choice there since I got the deer that same evening. It smells fine. So you are saying I would have probably had more usable meet, or at least less bloodshot if I butchered the same night?


No. I meant the meat could take on a bad odor/taste from the blood if the blood starts to dry on it, or sits long enough for bacteria to set in. I'll cut around the jelly like bloodshot meat on a shot deer. I'm picky when it comes to the smell of the meat.


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## IDHUNTER (Dec 2, 2003)

Any meat you can get off of a roadkill animal is a bonus so like others have said dont feel bad about not using all of it. It would have all gone to waste if it wasn't for you anyway so take what looks good and what you feel good about and let mother nature have the rest.


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## B4L Okie (Dec 6, 2011)

Most car hit deer have too much trauma to make good eating. I've cut meat for 40 years and unless one took it to the head only, I won't mess with it. All that blood in the tissue will make it taste gamey. Some get lucky and salvage some....the few I've tried were not worth the time and had little usable meat.


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## SilentElk (Oct 6, 2004)

Good read and entertaining. I like how Tripleduece writes this up. Entertaining but good questions. You will loose a lot but I am sure you will salvage something. How about back straps?

Good on you trying to use that deer. As said, salvage what you can and toss the rest. Its all meat that was going to rot anyways so anything is a bonus.


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## hungry hollow (Apr 19, 2008)

I think the longer a deer lives after being hit allows more blood io be pumped into the damaged areas. If possible, get one hit in the front end.


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## tripleduece249 (Sep 11, 2014)

B4L Okie said:


> Most car hit deer have too much trauma to make good eating. I've cut meat for 40 years and unless one took it to the head only, I won't mess with it. All that blood in the tissue will make it taste gamey. Some get lucky and salvage some....the few I've tried were not worth the time and had little usable meat.


Thanks for confirming about the blood in the meat.



SilentElk said:


> You will loose a lot but I am sure you will salvage something. How about back straps?


I think I'm only going to end up with the loins, back straps and one good front quarter. All that meat looked normal. I'll have to reply in a week or so when we actually eat some and let everyone knows how it tastes. 

A little more background to the story. The deer was hit in a suburb near Buffalo, NY and I was picking it up on a busy street right when everyone was starting to get off work. The cop blocked the one lane off so I could pull my car close to it. I'm sure some of the non-hunters driving by were thinking about stopping and giving me a few bucks so I didn't have to feed my family road kill. I'll post a couple pics in a little bit.


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## j.d.m. (Dec 28, 2005)

I salvaged a roadkill rutted up buck. Hit on entire left side, mainly rear. Ended up throwing away most of the left rear quarter due to too much hemoraginging. I couldn't get a clean piece of meat without all the jelly,bloody stuff everywhere. I couldn't tell what was smelling good or bad with the rut hormones through everything. When I cut the round eye to see if it was salvageable for jerky, it was massively marbled with blood clots. It wasn't worth it. It's good to salvage what you can, as it all would have went to waste if not, so don't feel bad if you toss anything that you're not comfortable with.


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## Pyme (May 6, 2015)

I'd clean away as much truly bloodshot meat as possible, then take the rest, that is good but maybe not in pieces large enough for steaks/roasts, and grind it.

It will be safe to eat, and by using it as ground meat in sauces or flavored up for burgers, you'll lose any extra gaminess that a bit of blood might add to it.


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## tripleduece249 (Sep 11, 2014)




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## thirdhandman (Nov 2, 2009)

A lot of car hit deer are hit from the side, but not rolled over. If this is the case, the back straps and tenderloins are usually good and are the best meat on a deer imho. Take them and leave the rest for the dogs.:teeth:


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## cschwanz (Sep 10, 2012)

If the back legs are banged up, toss them. You should still have quality backstraps, front shoulders and some neck meat for a roast or something.


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## honker22 (Jul 24, 2012)

Tripledeuce, good for you for doing the right thing. It's actually refreshing to see that someone from New York would do this. I live in the deep south where I'm the butt of ******* roadkill eating jokes. I'd say you just earned some serious ******* points for this good act. Welcome to the brotherhood!
AS far as eating roadkill, I've never done it so I have no advice. So much for stereotypes :teeth:


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## tripleduece249 (Sep 11, 2014)

honker22 said:


> I'd say you just earned some serious ******* points


I got some old Army buddies that live in the south and I was thinking about them and how I probably just out-rednecked all of em:thumbs_up


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## tripleduece249 (Sep 11, 2014)

Here's my update on how that deer turned out.

First the inner loins. They were not visibly damaged so I removed and froze them the night I picked him up. We cooked them about a week later and when we opened the package it had a VERY barnyard smell. We cast-iron pan seared and baked for about 10 minutes. Still smelled the almost manure smell. Took a bite and it tasted like it smelled so we had broccoli and rice for dinner that night. 

The next day I had too see how the backstraps were so I cooked a portion of one. It got cooked the same way and they were excellent. 

Ended up throwing out both rear quarters. Both femurs were broken and when I broke them down pretty much everything was bloodshot. It all smelled a little funky, like old blood. 

I saved most of one of the front quarters for stew and grind. Tastes perfect. 
The other front quarter had some good meat but the upper portion was damaged. Looked like allot of muscle damage. Possibly the deer equivalent to a dislocation. Saved some and threw out the questionable stuff. Both Shanks were good and will probably be braised. 

I cleaned and whitened the skull so I thought I'd share the pics. I froze the hide to work on when the cold weather is over.

Overall it was well worth the trouble IMO. Being a new hunter it was a valuable experience to be able to butcher a second deer in two seasons. I had never done a Euro mount so I had an excuse to finally get a pressure washer. I didn't weigh what i kept but it was two full backstraps, maybe 8-10 lbs of trimmed grind or stew meat, and both shanks. Thanks to everyone that posted!

View attachment 5308825
View attachment 5308833


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## KRONIIK (Jun 3, 2014)

Sensible outcome. 
You saved some good meat, tossed what would have gone to waste anyway, and learned a few things. 
Win, win, win in my book. 

Far too many people are too "proud" and uppity to ever eat road-killed venison. 
What's the difference once the damaged portions are trimmed off?

I've butchered dozens of fresh car-killed deer, and most had less damaged edible meat than many rifle kills. 
Granted some are mangled beyond hope, but many just get "thumped" a bit. 
Head-only hits are pretty common, too.

It's really kind of a shame how much perfectly good meat rots on our Nation's highways because people don't want to get their hands a little bloody.
(Or are simply too lazy to at least look into the possibility of salvaging a deer they just hit.)


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## RublineRunner (Jan 5, 2017)

Save the stuff that doesn't look nasty! My dad take the good parts of fresh roadkill when he can


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## SWIFFY (Apr 18, 2012)

Good too here! Rarely is the whole deer good, so take what you can and toss the questionable stuff! Ive taken meat off of 3 roadkills now this winter and the rest is in the coyote pile!

Glad you found it a positive experience!


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## bsstalker (Sep 6, 2008)

Come on guys, nothing really wastefully rots on the roadside. Yotes and vultures and scavengers and maggots clean it up.


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## catskin (May 15, 2016)

We Love Bloodshot Roadkill!!!


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## KRONIIK (Jun 3, 2014)

bsstalker said:


> Come on guys, nothing really wastefully rots on the roadside. Yotes and vultures and scavengers and maggots clean it up.


That's also true of deer and elk that are shot by thrill-kill poachers and left to rot.

But there are other social and ethical implications to consider from some standpoint other than the importance of making sure that maggots are properly-fed.

Point is that most would agree that it may not be the BEST use of a great natural resource...


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## SilentElk (Oct 6, 2004)

OP, thanks for coming back and letting us know how it turned out. Many thanks


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## 1/2 Bubble Off (Dec 29, 2016)

Some times you can recover some of the bloodshot stuff by soaking in salt water for a day or so.... Obviously, sometimes the tissue is way too far gone. When I pick up a roadkill, I usually use the bloodshot stuff for dog food....


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## Live4hunting (Dec 6, 2004)

If its fresh road kill I have butchered deer for myself and a couple buddies. I would not take a deer I didn't see hit, who knows how long its been there. Not all hit deer become mashed. some times you can salvage one side, front or back depending on how/where hit. Skin, cut out the jelly and cool as fast as possible. Then butcher, scrap/feed to dogs what doesn't look good. Any meat salvaged helps save on the grocery bill. Personally id rather eat game than beef on a regular basis. If I hankering for a steak we go out.


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## schlep1967 (Feb 2, 2005)

My experience is that if the deer dies instantly when hit, as in heart stops pumping blood before the deer hits the ground, you will get very little blood in any of the muscles. If it lies on the side of the road for a few minutes until it dies or is put down, you will have a lot of blood to deal with. 
I had one hit at the end of my driveway one night by a small honda car. The hood of the car was shaped like a snow plow. The deer was thrown over my mail box and landed in the yard. Never moved. I looked at the car and figured that deer was wasted. A guy I know stopped and took the deer. He told me there was no blood in the meat at all.


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## xpedition (Mar 26, 2015)

tripleduece249 said:


> View attachment 5136185


Was that at the Nike base in Hamburg by any chance?


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## dorkbuck33 (Sep 12, 2011)

Sure has been an interesting read while bored at work . The only thing I might have done different is not doing a euro mount , yes I would have cut the antlers off as they are worth $15 / lb. or use for what ever . To each his own - I do applaud you on the effort you made to use a resource that was certain junk in the end . I have butchered a couple myself but nowadays I always have an overstock as it is and just keep on driving . When I pass by a road hit I always says to me self "What a Waste" .


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## tripleduece249 (Sep 11, 2014)

xpedition said:


> Was that at the Nike base in Hamburg by any chance?


That was on Harlem Road in Cheektowaga, NY. Almost right across from St. Joseph's Hospital.


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## brancher147 (Sep 1, 2015)

I cut backstraps out of a roadkill earlier this week. It was banged up (obviously) and did not even get all of the backstrap, just the clean parts, not bruised or bloodied. I usually leave the rest, unless I want dog food meat. Unless it was hit in the head, then it should all mostly be good.


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## 2arrow1 (Jan 29, 2008)

you should pick them up heck county sheriffs here have a call list they go down for them. If the deer is in one piece. first thing you do is stick your hand in the pouch area to see if its still warm.(cold deer I leave) I take all others, 90% of time back straps will be good and inner ok(choice pieces) the rest is bonus meat.


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## Chiefy (May 26, 2021)

I love in Britain, I work for the local council. I've set it up so I get the reports of road kill deer. I eat good meat all the time from that😁😁😁


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## jacobh (Jun 7, 2009)

I’ve taken roadkills in past beats letting them waste along side of road. That said anything blood meat is a waste. Take what u can and trash rest. Guys laugh at roadkill deer but truthfully I’ll take deer steak over store bought any day


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