My old man has warned me to cut out the thyroid of the deer before I process it. Now he's a different cat so I take what he says with a grain or two of salt but it's bugged me for 20 years and I've never got an answer. In fact, can't even find anything referencing it online. I worry about it everytime I cook my neck roast but I'm certain this is crazy.. Can I stop worrying about this? Anyone know?

Taught by old germans how to process and they always removed all glands. So yes

Yes, stop worrying about it.

I cook a lot of neck roasts from deer & pigs. Just make sure they are clean, season them and cook them low & slow.

There are glands that are important to remove, but nothing internal to worry about with a neck roast.

Thyroid IIRC will usually be removed when you remove the wind pipe.

I cook necks all the time. My understanding is the only glands you have to remove are the "scent" glands. Which would be the tarsal glands in the leg and a couple of others in different locations. The thyroid is an endocrine gland and I don't think it changes any flavor or anything.

I typically don't do any neck roasts, so don't worry about it. On Meateater the other day on the episode about pigs, they talked about 8 glands, and the trapper recommended taking all of those out. I did not/never hear this before??

Yeah, I have meateater cookbook and nothing about thyroid removal is ever mentioned on deer. And really nothing on the internet, or his show..... thanks for the feedback, I haven't ever attempted to remove it other than basic processing, it has just always been in the back of my mind everytime I cook the neck roast. I'm officially going to stop worrying about it.

On larger pigs and buck deer, removing the glands is important FME.

There are none in the neck to worry about after cleaning.

Just for reference.

Lots of things passed down that are not reality.

I dont do neck roasts, but have cut the meat from the neck on almost everything we never remove any glands from it, so if its there we have been putting it in sausage/burger for years.

Dont feel alone, here is mine... My maternal grandfather, God rest is soul, taught us that the fat from a deer would make sausage have a bad taste and make it go rancid in the freezer etc. I have gone 90% of my life trimming off every spec of fat from a deer... easy in late season after the rut in dry years, but pre rut in wet years a nightmare!

I have come to know many that leave all kinds of venison fat intact, I have eaten their hamburger and sausage, some of it I liked better than the stuff we made.

always, would not cook with out removing

What gland is even in the neck?

Only thing I know of is the rectopharyngeal lymph nodes, that the bios take for CWD testing. That's way up in the jaw and throat area. Is there another??

None to be concerned with. Just skin and pull the wind pipe. Neck roasts are awesome IMO. They make some awesome tacos.

There are glands that need to be removed, but none in the neck.

I have taken neck roasts from big swol up S Texas deer during the rut that were shot in the neck, and turned that meat into delicious tacos many times.

The neck roast is a great piece of meat to cook.

Me and the kids love a neck roast. Never made it into tacos. Gonna try it!