Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Favorite red meats in order

I'll start
Buffalo
Moose
Elk
Beef
Venison

Not crazy about Mule deer for some reason

I've never had pronghorn so I don't know about it.

Ya'll?

Nilgai
Elk
Everything else.

Given proper care for the meat, the preparation matters more than the ingredients unless you're talking about nilgai or elk.


Okie John

Pronghorn
Eland
Buffalo
Impala
Beef
Deer
Elk

elk
moose
antelope
deer

Beef
antelope
elk
deer

Barley-fed Doe Whitetail
Blue Fin Tuna
2-year-old Bull Moose
Elk
Barley Finished AAA Red Albert Angus Beef

Moose
Elk
Beef

elk
pronghorn
bighorn sheep
corn fed whitetail
mule deer
buffalo (only ate one)
moose ( only ate one)
mountain goat
Javelina if you can call that big game

Of what I have had.:

Moose
Pronghorn
Elk
Corn fed whitetail
Beef
Buffalo
Bear

None of it is bad and it may have been the way it was cooked. Worst meat I’ve ate was raccoon. Greasy damn things

Buffalo
Elk
Beef
Deer
Everything else
Rotten Otter
Pronghorn

Blackbuck
Eland
Elk
Blacktail Deer
Pronghorn
Black Bear
Whitetail
Mule Deer

Axis
Eland
Oryx/gemsbok
Beef
Elk
Pronghorn

Moose
Elk
Beef
Venison
Antelope
Bear

Bighorn
Pronghorn
Oryx
Elk
Whitetail
Buffalo
Moose
Mule deer
Bear
Mountain Goat

In no particular order.
Axis
Antelope
Moose
Zebra
Eland

Honorable Mention.
Hartebeest
Ruffled grouse
Corn fed mallard
Bighorn

It's not red but it's good, Soylent Green...

hehehe.

Corn finished beef
Corn finished pork
Moose - young
Elk - young
Antelope - on grain fields
Whitetail from corn country

Beef
Axis
Oryx
Elk
Deer
Antelope

Beef
Early season Blacktail
Moose
Late season blacktail
Rut Blacktail

Ranking in strict order is tough, but I'll try:
Beef
Axis
Dall sheep
Eland
August sitka blacktail
Moose
Gemsbok
Impala
Nilgai
Springbok
Antelope doe
Coues whitetail
Midwest whitetail
Cheetah
Lion
Elk
.
.
.
.
.
..mule deer

I’ve had,

Moose
Elk
Bison
Whitetail
Pronghorn
Blackbuck
Axis
Beef

I’d have to have a side by side comparison to remember all the flavors. That said I remember really enjoying the moose.

Mutton
Beef

Everything else falls in line behind that.

Glad to see a few mentions of bear. Although I’d put it right there with white tail.

Pussy
Steak
Axis
Venison

Our finished Beef
Cow elk
Whitetail doe
Ate moose a few times and know that I'm supposed to like it, but for some reason I don't care for it.

Featherweight6555: Then YOU haven't eaten early season Alfalfa fed Mule Deer!
My list:

#1: Alfalfa fed early season Whitetail Deer
#2: Alfalfa fed early season Mule Deer
#3: Cow Elk
#4: Pre-rut Bull Elk
#5: Moose
#6: Bighorn Sheep
#7: Antelope (my whole family LOVES Antelope steaks and burger)
#8: Mt. Goat
#9: Black Bear pot roast
#10: Properly prepared (marination is the secret!) Mallard Duck
#11: Canada Goose Terriyaki Jerky

Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

Dall sheep
Moose
Elk
WT on sugar beets
Caribou
black bear eating blueberries
antelope

That's " pink"not red. 😆

1. 1 1/2 yr. old steer Angus corn beef raised in a small pen " wild game is good but nothing is as tasty as a 2 inch cut Porterhouse beef steak raised in small pen and fed lots of corn ."
2.cow elk
3.cow moose
4.doe antelope
5.doe whitetail shot in early September
6. males of all the wild game running ,rutting , have sex and fighting makes meat tuff and tangy
7. grass fed beef is horrible to eat

I forgot several, that should have been listed, getting old lol

Mule Deer Hot Italian Sausages, I had them last night
Mule Deer Jalapeño Cheddar Cheese Smokies
Barley-fed Doe Whitetail
Blue Fin Tuna
2-year-old Bull Moose
Elk
Barley Finished AAA Red Albert Angus Beef
Hungarian Partridge
Canada Goose

Elk
Bighorn
Antelope
Moose
Beef
Deer

The list is somewhat fluid, depending on cut, how it’s being cooked, etc.

There is nothing good about mule deer

meat from a young bear that raided honey bee hives for a month rates at top of my list , about 160 lb with out hide or guts

The elk I’ve shot have all been quite old, evidently. The meat has been quite tough. Even the hamburger was tough.
It’s hard to beat a whitetail doe’s tenderloin.
I’m not a big fan of pronghorn meat. But it’s edible.
I’ve eaten elk shot by others that was very good - young cow steak = best elk so far.

I just had a portion of a whitetail buck’s backstrap for breakfast. That buck was maybe a three year old. The meat was excellent.

What I’m trying to write is that there’s a lot of variation within each species.

The tastiest/best game meat for me so far, is whitetail tenderloin.

Beef
Moose
Antelope
Cougar
Pork
Elk
Whitetail
Blacktail
Mulie





P

Were I hunt and kill them, they are fantastic.

I was at a party at a neighbor's home, told them I was a hunter, and two couples said they did not like wild game.

I invited them over and made a whole Mule Deer Doe Backstrap, by searing it in my Cast Iron Pan and finishing it in the Oven. They all said they thought it was as good as any Beef Tenderloin they ever had, and devoured it.

It is that good, but as you know game is only as good as what they are feeding on, how they were shot, handled in the field, butchered, and cooked.

Most people overcook game.

Eland (ate a young bull that broke his leg and was phenomenal)
….
….
……
Pierre David Deer (seriously)
…

Elk
Axis or Scimitar or Nilgai or Gemsbok
August Whitetail
Fat Whitetail Doe
Buffalo (finished on corn)
Wild Hog

Beef
Bear
Moose
Whitetail
Elk
Mule deer

Question for all the guys who listed bear high up on their lists....

How do you prepare it?

Have tried several times and found it terrible.

Cooked wrong maybe?

You are correct. I've only killed one but have ate MD a few times. Maybe the Alfalfa fed ones are better. There was no alfalfa (that I remember) around Meeker Co. Where the ones I have eaten came from.

Feather weight, Look again there's alfalfa East and West of town in Meeker also North near Axel, Powell Park west of town is all alfalfa, The Mule Deer move down to the White River fields usually in October and spend the winter there. The River Mule Deer are good eating for sure. Rio7

If you kill a young mule deer in August or September I'll bet they're edible, just about all game is.
I've eaten a lot of most everything. It's been a long time since i had anything mule deer that i liked. I killed one in 1997b that my dog wouldntb even eat.
I have a deer tag for Dec 15-31 so I'll get to try mule deer yet again. If it's good i will resurrect this thread and state so.

Liked them all but here goes.

Musk Ox
Black Bear
Bison/Moose
Caribou
Mt Goat

Labia, inner and outer.
Elk
Venison
Beef

The ranch’s finished beef
Elk
Bear
Lion
Young sandhill crane.

Osky

I dud not list black bear as it they are what they eat.

Have tried beaver fed- horrible.
Grass fed- blah
Sugar fed- fantastic

I would really like to hunt a fall, blueberry fed black bear.
I think it would be fantastic.

Going back next spring on a pastrie, molasses, oat fed baited bear hunt. Really looking to forward to filling the freezer and adding bear fat to the larder.

Thank you for the info RIO7. I was there a LONG time ago, 1994 to be exact. I was Mule Deer and Elk hunting on the Keystone Ranch. I was fortunate and blessed to get a nice 3x4 Muley and a 5x5 Elk on a 5 day hunt.
I don't foresee doing this again unless my son somehow talks me into it. Who knows?

I'm much more likely to be talked into taking a pronghorn trip out west somewhere, as that is one of the game animals I'd like to take.

Again, thank you for the information.

Antelope
Beef
Whitetail early season
Mule Deer
Elk

Honestly can't tell the difference between elk and mule deer.

Thinking that was seasoned with revenge, satisfaction and maybe a little karma. Although I bet a tender black bear that was finished off on bee hives would be pretty damn tasty. I shot one two years ago that was eating berries and, apples that was pretty good and he was a 425 bruin that was chased by hounds for a couple miles.

Pronghorn
Mule Deer
young wild pig
Elk
Black Bear

I've eaten quite a few types of African antelope, Cape Buffalo etc. and all were good when prepared by the camp chef, but I haven't eaten them enough to rank them. I rarely eat beef.

Of African game, i liked most but didn't care for warthog nor wildebeest.

You might very well have had a bad cook, though there are two kinds of wildebeest and even among Africans black wildebeest are considered better eating than blue wildebeest.

Have eaten all sorts of big game around the world, and the time of year, field-care and the cook can cause all sorts of variations on taste.

One example was a female impala that I killed on my first African safari for "camp meat" 30 years ago. The PH was of British descent, and had the complete, skinned-and-dress carcass set up to be turned slowly over hardwood coals. We then left to do a little bird-shooting before dark.

When we returned the "cook" had built up the fire and turned the impala into near-jerky. This was because the cook was of Boer descent, and they tend to cook the hell out of meat, as opposed to British cooks who tend to cook game on the rare side.

Have seen the same sort of thing in various other African countries, as well as others around the world. Germans also tend to cook the hell out of game, while others don't. Have had great game meat on the rare side in countries from New Zealand to Finland.

Have also had warthog and wildebeest that turned into jerky, and were as good as any domestic pork or lean beef.

Have also served pre-rut mule deer backstrap steaks from a 400-pound muley buck taken in Alberta to dinner guests. Didn't tell them what it was, but because of the size of the steaks two assumed it was elk--and remarked they were some of the best elk steaks....

By far the finest meat I have ever eaten anywhere in my life is Scimitar Horned Oryx that I shot as a cull animal on a Texas ranch that raises them.

It is milder and more tender than the finest prime rib. They are big animals. Net weight of quarters, backstraps, and neck meat, no ribs, hanging on the hooks was 174#. So guessing live weight was around 450#.

Otherwise, we eat whitetails and wild pigs as our main meat. While time consuming, trimming off tendons, silver skin, and “gristle” makes a world of difference and turns big, old bucks into very tender meat.

I need to shoot one of those scimitar's.

Prime beef Ribeye
Bison
Warthog
Moose and venison would tie
Impala
Caribou- ok in burger, decent but moose and venison are much better
Dall sheep- ok, must be cooked super rare
Black bear? 95% are disgusting, the other 5% are edible.

Scimitars are excellent--and in my experience are all oryx. Gemsbok are bigger--the heaviest I've taken in Africa was also taken on a cull hunt, and weighed 550 whole on official scales.

But have also had gemsbok meat ruined in Africa by over-cooking....

The same cook fixed the other dishes except cheetah which he refused to cook so i fixed it myself. He was quite a good cook otherwise.

I have not yet had many western species, but here are my favorites from my limited experience:

1. Sandhill crane breasts cooked medium rare
2. Ice aged whitetail deer
3. Dry aged whitetail deer
4. Mallard duck breast cooked medium rare
5. Grocery store meat (beef, chicken, pork)

I think field care, proper aging, and not overcooking are the keys to excellent wild game.

Beef Ribeye

OP said Red Meat, so I won't start out with BBQ Wild, Feral Pork!

1. Elk ( include Red stag)
2. Oryx + Gemsbuk
3. Beef
4. Axis deer
5. Mule Deer
6. Whitetail feeding on Soy Beans.

While pronghorn have what I call "pretty meat", I can't stand the goaty things, ha. Yes, I know how to field care Game, and "still", has a "whang" I can't get past. I have it processed and then give it to friends who do love it ( and I suspect they can eat three day old road kill too! lol) But I don't eat Mutton either! Lamb chops, oh yeah! But they aren't Red meat, to me.

1.beef
2.moose
3.whitetail
4.blackbear
5.mule deer

Regarding wild game and in order:

*Zebra
*Eland
*Zebra

The rest are about the same to me: young mule deer, oryx, elk, wildebeest, whitetail, impala, hartebeest, nilgai, etc. are all good to me and taste about the same if not overcooked. I've never eaten warthog, but sure like watching them and hunting them. All the PH's always said they didn't want to eat them and gave them to staff.

Old rutting mule deer can be bad enough to stink up the house for a couple of days and can be hard to take, though I have completely covered the taste by throwing backstraps on a smoker frozen and slowly smoking until you could only taste smoked meat and not a rutting mulie. Wild pigs, especially old boars, can have the same affect as old rutting mule deer. Having seen the things that crawl out of dead wild pigs and witnessing old boars that even coyotes and buzzards won't eat, I tie a cotton rope to them so I can limit touching them, drag them out into the pasture, cut the rope (again so I don't have to touch them) and leave them.

Regarding sandhill cranes, the best thing to do is keep a straight face and repeat "rib-eye of the sky" to everyone you see and as often as possible. If you do it convincingly and enough people are around, you won't be stuck with having to eat one.

Beef
Whitetail
Lamb
Pork
Wild pork

What it has been feeding on and how it is cared for and prepared matters.

My favorite game meat is Javalina and pronghorn when I have killed and prepared it. Other peoples, not so much.

Javalina??? Range Rats ?? You have to be kidding how do you get past the Flea's and the Smell ?? Rio7

In order best I can:

Zebra
Kudu
Moose
Lamb
Whitetail
Beef

Can’t rank the other African game I have eaten.

Not a big fan of elk. Had it several times but I think it was the preparation mostly.

Beaver backstrap was excellent the one time I had it.

Here here🍺🍺

[/quote]Not a big fan of elk. Had it several times but I think it was the preparation mostly.[/quote]

One of my writer friends who's killed a lot of elk once stated that elk meat is one of the most variable in taste of any big game. Which my wife and I agree with.

The reasons are:

Elk rut relatively early in the fall compared to deer. Mature bulls tend to taste great until they get into the rut in late September, and after around October 1st can taste kinda musty (or even worse) until they start to recover from the rut around November 1st. Plus, this stress also results in tougher meat. Cows aren't affected as much, but during the rut can be hassled by bulls enough to lose weight, which also affects their meat--along with age of the animal.

Because elk are bigger animals, and often killed during warmer weather during bow and some rifle seasons, the meat also isn't always cooled very quickly. This can definitely affect taste--and the typical technique of boning-out elk, especially early in fall, can make the meat tougher, due to "shortening" of the muscle cells. As can quickly skinning elk in colder weather.

The very best elk we've gotten was a 5-point bull I killed on the opening day of archery season near dark. We were able to load the field-dressed carcass into a pickup, and then hang it up where it could cool during a 35-40 degree night. It was skinned the next day, and the quarters aged five days before butchering. (Yes, "aging" starts to take place within 36-48 hours.)

It takes longer to age either mature cows or bulls enough to make a difference in tenderness, sometimes up to 2 weeks. But not cooling the meat sufficiently within the first 24 hours can result in "souring" of the meat due to bacterial activity, which usually happens to the front quarters, which contrary to what many believe are thicker than the hindquarters--especially the shoulders of a big bull. Which is why many elk hunters skin and/or break down the front end soon after the kill.

Which is why "preparation" is far more involved than just cooking 'em.

For me, timing of the season, what the animal is feeding on, age and condition of the animal, manner of the kill, field care, proper temperature, aging and preparation are all variables that affect how the meat will be.

Almost every species of game I've taken, when the stars align when all the above factors are optimal, the meat is fantastic.

When almost none of the criteria are met, no matter what the game, it sort of turns to dog meat.

Be selective of which you shoot. The young half grown ones are best. Never had a flee infested one. Don't touch the scent glands, take them off with the hide. Change gloves and wash the knife after skinning. As I said, when I shoot and prepare one they are all good. If someone else does it not so much.

I hear a lot of negatives from many about the quality of javalina and pronghorn for eating. But I've yet to experience any of that.

Prime Beef
Lamb
Whitetail
Elk
Wild Pigs small ones
Duck
Mule Deer
Pronghorn

Moose
Pronghorn
Black Bear
Caribou
Elk
Whitetail

Cape Buffalo
Bacon
Bacon
Bacon
Bacon

I have never shot an elk. I like hunting them while deer hunting but have not been successful. I do like mulies and antelope. I finally tried elk prepared a few different ways and they just remind me of a big deer. After that, I really have no intention of actually harvesting one. I'd rather just chase my mule deer and white tails. If I could pick my game to hunt ever year it would be no question pronghorn antelope. The hunt is a blast and their meat is fantastic.

Lamb
Veal
Moose
Whitetail/black bear
Beef

Only "wild" big game we've eaten !

Moose
Bighorn sheep
Bison
Elk
Caribou
Pronghorn
Black bear
Beef
MD/WT
Muskox
Domestic pork
Wild pig

I just had some fresh venison blackstrap tonight which melted in the mouth.

Beef
Moose
Antelope
Elk (young 2 year old)
Blacktail
Like to try Axis

Beef, aged, prime.

Yep ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Did it look like this;

Moose
Beef
Eland
Elk