Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Your wild game dining preference?

Ohhhh...I forgot about Gemsbok and mountain lion...

Never had mountain lion any way but in a stew. Wonder if Eileen has any recipes?

Gemsbok YES!

Mountain lion is so tough the broth bent my fork.

Dall sheep, Eland, calf elk, Pronghorn, calf moose, Pheasant, Teal, and Grey Partridge, in about that order, but methods of handling meat and recipes used in cooking matter!

I also thoroughly enjoy both whitetail and mule deer, ruffed grouse, geese, most ducks, and even snipe. I've made my living most of my life raising livestock and poultry, but don't eat much domestic meat. Wild is just better to me. I cut my own meat and make my own sausage and cook my own meals.

Big on sandhill crane, mountain lion, beaver, young caribou, oryx (White Sands, NM), Sitka blacktail, bison, good ducks, lynx, feral pigs...

Moose, elk, Dall sheep, mountain goat, black bear, WT deer, mule deer, hares, most upland birds, and muskox are all very, very good under good conditions.

The worst I ever tried to eat was a piece of sea otter backstrap. Not far behind was an old pronghorn buck and a fall brown bear in the salmon. One huge caribou bull was nearly inedible.

I really enjoyed Nyala filet. It was seared in coconut oil, roasted on a pan for 15 minutes, and served in a brown onion sauce with mashies. Phenomenal!!

Eric

It is extremely difficult to pick one as a favorite. I have had game I didn't care for but generally it was the fault of the cook or the person handling it in the field. The only moose I had prior to moving to Alaska was terrible. Tasted like vinegar. I knew it had to have been handled improperly or shot in the rut. All the moose I've had since moving here has been excellent.

My wife and I shot a lot of grass fed deer and elk when we lived in the lower 48 and always found them to be outstanding. My wife once killed a summer crop control elk in a pea field. That was some of the finest elk ever. We've both killed some excellent eating caribou, always cows, or bulls pre/post rut.

I've had musk ox, mountain goat, Dall sheep, antelope, and spring black bear and all of it outstanding.

I am very fond of snowshoe rabbit and gray squirrel, though I've not had a squirrel stew in a very long time. About the only game bird I'll pass on is spruce grouse, though many tell me I'm crazy. I've not had many good ones. I like duck and goose if they are not over cooked. I did try some seal jerky once, compliments of a co-worker. I don't need to ever do that again.

If I had to pick just one, it would probably be Dall sheep. Though it would be only by the slimmest of margins over anything on the list. I like wild game. A lot.

On a hunt outside Toad River BC we had a tenderloin sampler one night. In order of preference, mountain goat, Stone sheep, moose then elk. Eland is high on the list as well.

I had some under great conditions a few years ago, on the Emerald Rose tied up at the harbor, still remember that!

Moose elk and WT deer in that order. My two bear were so different that its hard to know. one was very good and the other was a stinky mess.

Grouse, salmon, deer, elk, turkey and pronghorn; I've not had the privilege of trying moose.

I like it all. I think Sitka blacktail is my favorite. Love moose, fried quail or squirrel.

Bear is likely the one I'm not a big fan of.

Bear can vary considerably, due to the time of year and diet. When it's good, it's really good, but when it's bad.... Elk can also vary considerably. I suspect a lot of people rate elk high because they're grazers, like cows, so the meat tends to resemble lean beef more than some other animals.

Unless we go out, we eat only wild game, and don't find all that much difference in cloven-hoofed animals. They're all good, if taken care of in the field and not abused in the kitchen. Have had people who say they don't like mule deer eat it at our house and guess it's elk. We've probably had two dozen different species of cloven-hoofed animals in our freezers over the years, and tend to remember specific animals that were exceptional more than certain species.

My preference is meat that has been well taken care of- That seems to make more difference than whether it was a deer, antelope or elk.

Elk, moose, antelope, whitetail deer, Hungarian partridge, pheasant in order of preference of my favorite wild meats. Right at the top, with elk tenderloin, is fresh walleye and frog legs.

I've been pondering something my wife told me a few years back regarding the venison I prepare. She and her two daughters generally prefer not to eat it so I've been trying to understand just what it is they don't care for. They all tell me it tastes good, so I've been stumped as to what the problem is. I think part of it is the former husband/girls' Dad turning them off on it by his handling/preparation of what he brought home. Beyond that, what finally came out was the texture of the meat was the issue. At first I thought they were all just nuts, but started paying attention to "texture" (whatever that is).

They all seem to prefer elk to deer and the only difference I can tell regarding texture is that elk is coarser or more grainy (closer to beef) whereas deer seems to have a finer texture. My older step-daughter tried some fresh deer tenderloin (medium rare) right off the grill and said it tasted good, but was "mushy". The combination of being very tender as well as fine textured seemed to turn her off. I've never had moose, but my wife has and says it's great and texture isn't an issue. All this has me thinking maybe this texture thing is related to the size of the animal and they compare everything to beef - the more it differs from beef, the less they like it. Smaller animals - finer texture, larger animals - coarser texture?

The more I think about it, I still think they're all nuts But then, that just means more for me and the grandsons - they beg for steak every time they come over...

We eat almost all wild meat instead of beef. When we do have beef, it's often disappointing.

As do I - it's the women folk that just don't get it! I still enjoy a good Fillet, T-bone or New York strip at home, but am usually disappointed with beef at most restaurants. When I grill steaks for the family anymore, I do beef for them and usually have venison myself.

The problem is between their ears. Just say it's lamb or veal and they'll love it!!!

JGray,

That's pretty much the conclusion I've come to over the years. The average American's taste buds are trained to beef, pork chicken, so anything that tastes or chews somewhat different is weird. I recently read an interesting article on taste research in Smithsonian magazine. The latest tests indicate our taste buds ARE trained, and often we can start liking something new if we eat it 10 or more times. So few people eat lamb anymore that I've seen the same reaction to its distinctive flavor as many have to game.

Of course, many Americans prefer bland food or drink in general, due to the processed stuff designed not to offend anybody which makes up most supermarket foods. Which explains why many choose Budweiser and Coors over microbrews, Kraft macaroni and cheese over fresh pasta and real cheese, and Chicken McNuggets over real chicken.