We've had long discussions here about how to get the best tenderness. Gutless dressing is very popular and I've done it many times myself but if it's done before rigor mortis sets in, it's sure to make the the meat tougher, sometime a LOT tougher.
RC, I use the gutless method 95% of the time, what causes the meat to be tougher if done to quickly
As meat approaches rigor mortis, the fibers contract and shortened fibers are tougher. If they're still on the bone, contraction is minimal. If cut, though, they will get shorter and will stay that way. They won't stretch out again no matter what you do.
I've kept track of the toughest animals I've killed over the last 20 years and all of them have been done gutless. A couple have been memorable in how tough they were, totally unchewable. I once ended up with 300lb of moose burger because of it.
In recent years I've stopped doing it gutless, in spite of the extra work and mess involved, and I haven't had a tough one since.
Cold shortening is another factor. Meat that's cooled too fast, like hot meat cut off the carcass and rolled in snow, will be tougher. Look up cold shortening for more info. Ive read research that game shot close to the freezing point should be left unskinned for at least 12 hours to slow down the cooling and to prevent cold shortening.
