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

Definitely some of that going on as well...

After killing a goat this year, I've been able to eat every game species here in MT.

Pronghorn is far and away my favorite, and is always the first to go. The most tender game meat I've had by a long stretch.

Whitetail is also always great, even all the rutted up bucks I've shot have been delicious. It's what we eat the most of by far so it's kind of my bar for comparing other meats to. I will say the riverbottom bucks of SW MT that live in cottonwoods and eat alfalfa are a bit better than the big timber bucks we kill in NW MT, but not as much as you'd expect.

Black bear would probably be my third favorite close to whitetail. Nothing better than big crock potted bear roast. The higher fat content and large grain makes it perfect for low and slow cooking. The fat also helps it make great burger and sausages.

I've never been a huge fan of elk, for some reason it always ends up being tougher than other game meats for me. No off flavor or smell, but just tough. I haven't had cow elk in a long time, maybe it's a lot better.

Mule deer is what it is, the bucks we've killed have all had a bit of aroma, but once cooked it's good enough.

The mountain goat tenderloins over the campfire the night of the kill was some of the best protein I've ever had. Everything else has been... An adventure. Lots of slow cooked chili, no grilled steaks. Very mild flavor, but it's easily the toughest game meat I've had.

The only bighorn I've ate was an ancient old ewe and she was tough also, but nowhere near as bad as the goat. Similar color and flavor to mule deer.

The mountain lion was an awesome change of pace, great lean white meat that can be used in place of pork chops in any recipe. I'd kill another in a second for the meat alone.

Amen to that. I won a bet once with a gourmet chef in Los Angeles when I told him I had shot a bear in the Sierra that was basically inedible. He bet me he could make the best chili ever if I gave him some of the meat. I did, and several acquaintances gathered for the tasting. The looks of disgust were priceless, and I won the bet. I did, however, salvage the meat. It made some of the best teriyaki jerky I've ever had. Go figure.

that ive had nilgai is at the top of the list, then speed goat, bison, elk,.....deer can fall anywhere on the line depending on the individual....walleye and pheasant can fall anywhere on the line depending on if im hungry for it or not....

JGray, I have a done a few taste tests and compared our home grown beef to store bought. The home grown always has more flavor and a little different flavor as well. Love grilled burgers(1") with a touch of red/pink in the center.


Even better is a antelope backstrap steak with a blood red center!

Beyond good.

My buddy gave some moose steaks and those are great as well.

but our local beef here is different than what most people are buying in the store....hell i rarely eat steak in a resturant anymore cause the stuff i buy from Hoch's just tastes better....but then your beef and what i buy out of Hoch's is eating the same stuff as the elk around here

My wife loves game meat as much as I do and I'm grateful for that.

We had a few of her family visiting of the summer and I made venison burgers. I know if I told them it was venison they wouldn't have eaten it, so I just said 'How about some burgers?'

There was none left.

Elk from the Missouri Breaks in Montana,not from the mountains in Western MT.,Whitetail deer,then antelope.I hope I never have to eat mule deer again.
I've eaten bighorn sheep,mountain goat,elk,whitetail,mule deer,black bear,moose,caribou,beaver,muskrat,porcupine,grouse(ruffed,spruce,sharptail,)Hungarian partridge,pheasants,ducks,geese,swan,sandhill cranes,doves,snipe,squirrels,rabbits(cottontail,snowshoe and Jack rabbit)and I even tried coyote made into summer sausage once,one bite.But Elk is my favorite.

Sheridan, the beef might get a touch more grain than the elk. Unless the elk herd has been camped on a wheat field.....grin


Steelhead, here's one. My wife loves chicken and pheasant.

But won't touch the pheasant, afraid of biting/swallowing a copper plated #5.

Freaks her out. I said just don't chomp around like an old cow and you'll be fine.

Evidentially bad advice.

Cooked up a big batch of tacos for a gathering of my students last year. Most are not from here and the talk eventually turned to game meat. Many remarked they've never had venison or antelope.
I just had to tell them..


" If you ate those tacos....you have!"



They actually thought it was cool instead of being repulsed.

texture is a different, fat levels are different....but a steak from the beef you and the other guys around here raise is a fair ways away from what most tend to think of as beef....its a hell of alot leaner than any steak you get at a decent restaurant for one thing....most decent restaurant steaks and most feedlot beef tastes flat out greasy to me...

course after eating mule deer all these years i cant figure what peoples hang up with lamb is....i dont mind lamb at all...

For me it is elk followed very closely by Dall sheep. I have had amazing antelope, and antelope that would gaga a maggot.... Both times the antelope were handled properly, and quickly. Go figure...

Dall sheep or stones sheep is tops in my books early caribou is also outstanding. Cow elk is pretty tasty and so is moose but it can be a little chewy.

That all makes sense, John - I prefer microbrews and the girls do, in fact, drink Budweiser and Coors (light, no less)! Coffee is another one - the bolder/darker, the better. The girls think my beer and coffee is disgusting

Jerry

Sam, I'm not sure I've had home grown beef and think I need to change that. I know quite a few folks that buy a half or whole beef, often splitting it between a couple families. I eat more venison so generally buy smaller quantities from the local markets (usually just steaks and burger). My neighbor raises a few cows and butchers one for his own consumption every now and then - I'm sure he'd work with me on a smaller quantity...

Jerry

even with all the wild game we ate(Darla and i would generally buy and fill a couple doe tags along with the buck tags) we bought usually a full beef a year, some years one and a half, a half at a time cause of two athletic girls in the house....we damn near went broke feeding them.....Jess, after practice, would come home, thaw out a 2 pound package of burger, make herself 3 giant hamburgers for a snack and then eat a full supper 2 hours later...was unreal to watch.....she didnt have hardly any fat on her either, burned it off playing sports

Recently my wife bought water buffalo and we were trying to decide what it tasted like. IMO it tastes like any other buffalo/bison - maybe not quite as lean and dry.

Yeah my wife probably wouldn't react that great either if I told her not to do something like an ol'cow.

Big Horn sheep
Elk or pheasant

sheridan,

We went through the same "disappearing meat" deal with Eileen's son. We'd cook a 10-pound elk roast in Friday night, expecting to use it for various meals all weekend, and find it gone by Saturday afternoon.

Ralphie, sure I said it in a little more sensitive manner....grin