I've had the opportunity to harvest four different species of big game so far. I'm sure others have more under their belt but I thought it would be interesting to hear what others consider the best. I've heard differing opinions on antelope and caribou so I'm curious about those two in particular.
Colorado eastern plains Pronghorn. Same location corn fed whitetails or muleys. Big Horn sheep, Elk Moose. Was good tasting, but tough Worst was Mountain Goat and Javelina and Wyoming pronghorn
If God wanted you to walk and carry things on your back, He would not have invented stirrups and pack saddles
I have harvested bison, elk, moose, antelope, big horn sheep (ram & ewes), black bear, mule & whitetail deer, caribou and elk. We have been given Musk Ox and seal. The preference my wife has is: 1) Antelope 2) Caribou 3) Deer
They're almost all good--as long as the meat is treated right before it goes in the freezer, and then isn't abused by the cook--which generally means over-cooking.
We have taken and eaten a wide variety of big game over the decades in North America, Europe and Africa. and the only one we learned try to avoid so far is fallow deer bucks during the rut.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.” John Steinbeck
Antelope and Sitka Blacktail are two of my favorites. The antelope have a natural sage flavor that I love. The Sitka blacktail have a sweet and salty taste which I believe comes from feeding on the tide line during winter months.
I am not very fond of bears, though most I’ve had where the salmon eating variety. Moose also rates low on my list for ungulates. Just has a different taste that rates lower than common whitetail/elk imo.
Stuck in airports, Terrorized Sent to meetings, Hypnotized Over-exposed, Commercialized Handle me with Care... -Traveling Wilbury's
I’ve eaten almost every member of the deer family native to NA. I may be the odd man out but to me , for the most part, they all taste like deer. I may just not have a sophisticated enough pallet because with few exceptions I view fish the same way, white flaky fish fried in oil with cornmeal coating tastes like white fish fried in oil to me.
I think much of the time nostalgia plays a bigger part than actual meat quality. I mean who’s not going to fondly recall how good their Dalls sheep tenderloin was when they had it for supper after they trudged back to camp a couple hours past dark. My dad, a friend, and I once fried and ate about 16” of grizzly bear backstrap after finding our way to camp in the fog. We all 3 remember that and talk about it often, but I’d bet it wouldn’t have been as good at the house when we weren’t wet and tired.
Around here it’s elk, most guys have never shot an elk around here but may have eaten some a friend gave them. Or maybe they’ve shot one on their personal once in a lifetime hunt, of course it’s the finest meat they’ve ever eaten. I hear this regularly from people who wouldn’t think of eating a local whitetail deer that’s been eating green wheat and living the good life.
Like I said, maybe I’m the weird one but I find about all big game in NA pretty good table fare. Depending of course on the individual animal and the way it was taken care of.
Ping pong balls for the win. Once you've wrestled everything else in life is easy. Dan Gable I keep my circle small, I’d rather have 4 quarters than 100 pennies.
Bill N; Top of the morning to you sir, I hope the last Friday of 2019 finds you well.
Thanks for the interesting topic and the educational reading that it's provided.
Whenever this topic comes up, I'm reminded of a good buddy from the Yukon who when asked that same question by me replied, "Caribou". When I asked him what was his least favorite, he replied, "Caribou 2 months later..."
Off the top of my head and dragging up some distant memories it'd be something like this for me personally.
Sitka Blacktail Young Moose Whitetail Early Mulie buck Vineyard/orchard raiding Black Bear Elk California Bighorn Blacktail Good Pronghorn Nanny Mountain Goat Cougar
Over the years at game banquets we've had Caribou, Bobcat, Beaver and most of the above listed species too. However as it's cooked for a large group I'll leave them out other than to say I've had small samples.
Way, way back in the day I've sampled Zebra, Cape Buffalo, Klipspringer and Hartebeest. As it was a lifetime ago - 1975 - I recall thinking Zebra was really good, but otherwise nothing stands out.
Also I should further state that we've had some "old bull Moose" that was flavorful, but even the burger was tough, with a similar experience with a big old billy Mountain Goat.
We had friends here in BC who made an annual trip down to Wyoming for a few years prior to 9/11 when it became much tougher for us Canucks to travel south of the medicine line with firearms. The first year or two they shared Pronghorn with us that was fantastic, then the next year or perhaps two were much, much less than fantastic. I can't for the life of me recall if we ever figured out why that was - sorry.
While I don't mind the taste of mutton, my good wife and one daughter do not, so that's why the California Bighorn rates there. I'd say as a broad statement that if one doesn't like mutton, they won't prefer wild sheep as table fare, but that's just one guy's opinion as always.
Lastly, I struggled with where to place the vineyard/orchard raiding Black Bear as one we had was simply spectacular and the rest were just "really pretty fine eating" That said, it is bear and some folks just can't get over eating a bear - which I honestly struggle with a tad for reasons which are inexplicable and irrational at best.
Stone sheep ribs over a willow fire (to satisfy the “tastes good because of the experience” factor) Stone sheep steaks at home Bull elk Young cow elk Older cow elk (I can definitely find a flavour preference among elk, bulls always appeal to my palate more) August young bull moose from a young aspen stand Whitetails where they are feeding on peas and oats all summer and fall (tastes remarkably like young cow elk)
Cougar/lynx Caribou/november muley bucks.
Originally Posted by Someone
Why pack all that messy meat out of the bush when we can just go to the grocery store where meat is made? Hell,if they sold antlers I would save so much money I could afford to go Dolphin fishing. Maybe even a baby seal safari.
All the best to you and your family as well Dwayne!
Originally Posted by Someone
Why pack all that messy meat out of the bush when we can just go to the grocery store where meat is made? Hell,if they sold antlers I would save so much money I could afford to go Dolphin fishing. Maybe even a baby seal safari.
The elk I've eaten was really good, kind of between WT deer and beef. A friend served up Texas nilgai and New Mexico pronghorn, both were good but he is a cajun coonass that knows how to cook game. We eat a good bit of WT deer ground meat but corn fed beef is my favorite. I've decided not to eat any more scavengers such as bear and hog. A bear will eat anything I'm told and I have witnessed wild hogs eating decaying carcasses. The exception is smoked hocks from captivity raised pork. When We shoot a hog I carefully get a rope around a hoof and drag it off. After a couple of friends found worms in the meat I lost my appetite. Moses was right.
Patriotism (and religion) is the last refuge of a scoundrel.
Haha. You don’t live in my head F A G so don’t bother. Giving you what you give others. And will keep doing it too. Worthless piece of crap.. When you gonna eat a bullet in the mouth? Waiting for the great news... Hurry up.
I've killed whitetail, mule deer, elk, antelope, cougar, moose and caribou. In addition I've eaten black bear, Dall sheep, mountain goat, and musk ox.
It would be a tough call between all of them. It would probably be a toss up between antelope and Dall sheep. And they would be barely ahead of moose, elk, musk ox and mountain goat.
Early caribou is excellent, bull or cow. The bulls past mid September are pretty strong. Bull moose can get pretty rank during the rut. The only bad mule deer I ever had was one I shot that had been wounded previously. Back leg was broken and the right hind quarter was hot to the touch. Not just normal body warm but hot. It was hard eating that one, but we were pretty poor back then.
I've eaten a few whitetails from heavy forest that were kind of strong but not inedible. I eaten a lot more from wheat country that were excellent. Same for mule deer. Spring black bear or a high country fall black bear have always been good eating, at least the ones shared with me. Cougar is lean and very good eating. I've not had the opportunity to try blacktail deer though have heard nothing but rave reviews of it.
Chronographs, bore scopes and pattern boards have broke a lot of hearts.
E. Colorado Pronghorn E. Colorado whitetail E. Colorado elk Rocky Mtn. Bighorn sheep.
A note on pronghorns: Location and diet, in addition to field care, makes all the difference in how they taste. I began my pronghorn hunting while I lived in Wyoming, and hunted an area west of Casper. After shooting several goats, I gave up on hunting them for a while- the meat was so strong and gamey that you had to sneak up on the kitchen to turn over the steaks! Then, I moved to Colorado, and began bowhunting for pronghorns. Same field care, but a world of difference in the quality of table fare. Moved the antelope to the top of my list for wild game.
As far as exotic species go, its:
Fallow deer doe Nilgai Red Deer hind
I'd rather be a free man in my grave, than living as a puppet or a slave....
Got a buddy who is going to give this lizard a try tonight after a successful spot-and-stalk this morning. 🤣
"What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated." Thomas Paine
Got a buddy who is going to give this lizard a try tonight after a successful spot-and-stalk this morning. 🤣
What the heck kind of lizard is that?
Iguana. South Florida has become overrun with them.
"What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as freedom should not be highly rated." Thomas Paine
sako gator is my favorite game meat .a buddy of mine is a state trapper so when i need one i just call him. 6 or 7 footers don't pay much but he has to get them out of the ponds on school grounds i get 3 or 4 a year with a tag in there tail he has to kill them before he can give it to me
I have tried whale, both cooked in a Norwegian restaurant and fresh-killed by Inuits in Hudson's Bay. The Norwegian was minke whale cooked like liver and onions, and it tasted a LOT like liver and onions. The Inuit was beluga skin/fat, which is what they prefer to eat rather than the meat, which is usually fed to sled dogs. They call it muktuk, and it's pretty bland unless aged a while.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.” John Steinbeck
Elk Antelope Moose Whitetail Caribou Muley Bear that was smoked by a friend. I've ate bighorn a couple times and it was good, but I'm reserving judgement until I get to eat my own bighorn.
Casey
Not being married to any particular political party sure makes it a lot easier to look at the world more objectively... Having said that, MAGA.
Has anybody tried alligator. That’s some good **it!
Agreed can't believe all the votes for bear... Bear is sausage\kielbasa\pepperoni makins around here.
Ping pong balls for the win. Once you've wrestled everything else in life is easy. Dan Gable I keep my circle small, I’d rather have 4 quarters than 100 pennies.
Personally I preferred kings over reds, but silvers are more than edible
Yep king and coho outta salt are pretty tough to beat.. Reds are my favorite
Ping pong balls for the win. Once you've wrestled everything else in life is easy. Dan Gable I keep my circle small, I’d rather have 4 quarters than 100 pennies.
~Molɔ̀ːn Labé Skýla~ As Bob Hagel would say"You should not use a rifle that will kill an animal when everything goes right; you should use one that will do the job when everything goes wrong."Good words of wisdom...............
Agreed can't believe all the votes for bear... Bear is sausage\kielbasa\pepperoni makins around here.
I said in my post on P 3 (?), I boil bear meat before I cook it. Can be fried, grilled, broiled, or roasted AFTER boiling. My friends weren’t sure it wasn’t venison.
As with ‘bears’ in general, what they eat can affect the flavor.
I am sure a whitetail doe is close but squirrels are pretty close. We don't have them much any more but quail is pretty close to the top.. Feral pigs are closer to 4 or 5th place. Be Well, Rustyzipper
Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy. Its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery. Winston Churchill.
The first four have all been significantly better than whitetail for me.
John
If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14
My favorite is the kind that was properly cared for in the field and properly butchered. I've had way to much crappy tasting game that wasn't cared for properly. Antelope is the worst. Warm temps and people waiting to long to get the meat cooled.
Music washes away the dust of everyday life Some people wait a lifetime to meet their favorite hunting and shooting buddy. Mine calls me dad
Has anybody tried alligator. That’s some good **it!
Agreed can't believe all the votes for bear... Bear is sausage\kielbasa\pepperoni makins around here.
Judman; Good afternoon to you sir, I hope that your Christmas was a good one and this finds you and yours well.
As a wee point of clarification, I'll add that our black bear experience has been with Okanagan black bears which typically don't have access to a lot of carrion, garbage dumps or salmon runs. Between our family and some friends who would cut their game at our place, I'd think the sample would have been roughly 12-15 bears, so not a whole pile.
A good buddy who guided up on the north coast for bigger black bears than we have around here mentioned a very strong fish smell from many or most of them. In addition I'll say that we've got family on Vancouver Island who aren't crazy about bear meat in any form either, so there you go.
Back on the prairies, the bears who were taken off grain fields were often said to be good table fare, but that's going off what other's said and not a lot of personal experience beyond a roast or two.
We've got a "private land" season here that starts in August which is more or less for vineyard and orchard owners to have their friends deal with problem bears rather than calling the Conservation Officers. The absolute best black bear I can recall eating was likely a 2 year old shot by a contractor friend of ours who was asked to do so by the owner of the vineyard he was putting an addition onto.
Honestly the back leg he gave us smelled like grape juice before any marinating...
We ended up doing it as a wrapped roast after I removed the leg bone, then we did a salt, pepper and herbs de Provence sorta rub, browned it and then cooked it in a local red wine.
Anyway sir, as mentioned just a clarification on why I personally put black bear - with the correct diet - so high on the list.
Guess I don't really have a favorite. It all can be prepared to taste dang good. Only bad wild game that I ever had was a whitetail, many years ago. And I'm pretty sure the steaks tasted like crap because the processor cut through bone, leaving me with bone in steaks. Never again.
I've had moose, elk, mule and whitetail deer, antelope, caribou, and David's deer.
Laws aren't preventative measures. In other words, more laws won't prevent gun crime from happening.
For me the most consistent is pronghorn. Only had one bad one out of ~40ish.
Most inconsistent has been elk.
Beyond that proper care from the field to table is most important on any game animal.
Seeing guys haul around pronghorn in the back of a truck, hide on in the September heat for a day or more is common..Same guys love to tell you how bad they taste..damn mystery I tell ya.
Never ate a bear outta a garbage dump, or a salmon stream. Ate lots outta Apple orchards, BlackBerry fed, huckleberry fed and spring bear, to me, my family, and friends, it's pepperoni \sausage filler. Glad some like it. Cougar is about the same, mild pork, in texture, color and taste, if that's "delicious" then I'm happy for you. I'll take, in no particular order
Oryx Moose Elk Pronghorn Caribou
To me antelope is the most underrated meat there is. Whitetail and axis is perty good, nothing beats a good beef steak treated properly.... Grin
Last edited by Judman; 12/30/19. Reason: Forgot my mtn caribou
Ping pong balls for the win. Once you've wrestled everything else in life is easy. Dan Gable I keep my circle small, I’d rather have 4 quarters than 100 pennies.
Dall Sheep Caribou Moose Sitka Blacktail Goat Elk Columbia Blacktail Fall black bear in brown bear territory Spring black bear
Have had bad ones of several of those high on the list, mainly from poor meat handling, and in one case from taking a shot that should have been a pass, in retrospect.
The only bear I’ve eaten was a young bear, from Maine, and his diet was whatever forage the big woods of Maine offers in September (this seemed to be bountiful) and the sweets he sometimes treated himself too from a bait barrel
I thought the meat was awesome
I’ve heard bear meat can be highly influenced by diet but this is my only data point
Mtn caribou and black Hawaiian sheep is damn good, especially bbq'd on kona with a cold beer...
Ping pong balls for the win. Once you've wrestled everything else in life is easy. Dan Gable I keep my circle small, I’d rather have 4 quarters than 100 pennies.
Kudu tenderloin cooked on a braii over coals of 900 year old plum wood gets my vote, hands down. Gunner is right. Something about game cooked on safari simply cannot be matched here.
Moose, Caribou then Venison, Elk, and certain Antelope. Have had some very good Antelope, and some that was just plain nasty. I guess it depends on what they eat. Don't really care for Bear, too fatty. Grouse and certain ducks are great. Coot's Merganser not so much. Ptarmigan no thank you. Pheasants and wild Turkey absolutely.
I’ve eaten almost every member of the deer family native to NA. I may be the odd man out but to me , for the most part, they all taste like deer. I may just not have a sophisticated enough pallet because with few exceptions I view fish the same way, white flaky fish fried in oil with cornmeal coating tastes like white fish fried in oil to me.
I think much of the time nostalgia plays a bigger part than actual meat quality. I mean who’s not going to fondly recall how good their Dalls sheep tenderloin was when they had it for supper after they trudged back to camp a couple hours past dark. My dad, a friend, and I once fried and ate about 16” of grizzly bear backstrap after finding our way to camp in the fog. We all 3 remember that and talk about it often, but I’d bet it wouldn’t have been as good at the house when we weren’t wet and tired.
Around here it’s elk, most guys have never shot an elk around here but may have eaten some a friend gave them. Or maybe they’ve shot one on their personal once in a lifetime hunt, of course it’s the finest meat they’ve ever eaten. I hear this regularly from people who wouldn’t think of eating a local whitetail deer that’s been eating green wheat and living the good life.
Like I said, maybe I’m the weird one but I find about all big game in NA pretty good table fare. Depending of course on the individual animal and the way it was taken care of.
God bless Texas----------------------- Old 300 I will remain what i am until the day I die- A HUNTER......Sitting Bull Its not how you pick the booger.. but where you put it !! Roger V Hunter
Blacktail backstrap cooked over a fire in deer camp after a long day hiking the ridges is right up there. When eating elk, mule deer, and moose on the same day at a family gathering, I liked elk the best.
He who joyfully marches in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would suffice.
I’ve eaten almost every member of the deer family native to NA. I may be the odd man out but to me , for the most part, they all taste like deer. I may just not have a sophisticated enough pallet because with few exceptions I view fish the same way, white flaky fish fried in oil with cornmeal coating tastes like white fish fried in oil to me.
I think much of the time nostalgia plays a bigger part than actual meat quality. I mean who’s not going to fondly recall how good their Dalls sheep tenderloin was when they had it for supper after they trudged back to camp a couple hours past dark. My dad, a friend, and I once fried and ate about 16” of grizzly bear backstrap after finding our way to camp in the fog. We all 3 remember that and talk about it often, but I’d bet it wouldn’t have been as good at the house when we weren’t wet and tired.
Around here it’s elk, most guys have never shot an elk around here but may have eaten some a friend gave them. Or maybe they’ve shot one on their personal once in a lifetime hunt, of course it’s the finest meat they’ve ever eaten. I hear this regularly from people who wouldn’t think of eating a local whitetail deer that’s been eating green wheat and living the good life.
Like I said, maybe I’m the weird one but I find about all big game in NA pretty good table fare. Depending of course on the individual animal and the way it was taken care of.
As memory factors in I can recall cooking fresh whitetail liver and heart with onion gravy when I was still a teen. In tent camp on a public management area either sex archery hunt with 6 or 8 friends ranging from my age to 50 or so. Back in the recurve days. Luckily had paid attention when Mama wanted to teach me how to make gravy. As others have said the setting makes the meal and I'm sure had we all been home, well rested, clean and warm we could have done better. But in the woods on a cold January night there were no leftovers.
Colossians 3:17 (New King James Version) "And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."
Some really great responses here! Most interesting to me are the numerous comments on antelope listing specific locations where they're good and others where they're bad. And especially surprised about the negative comments on Wyoming antelope since that seems to be the most popular state to hunt them in. Guys that I've spoken with about Wyoming pronghorn have mentioned the mild sage flavor but I've personally never heard of the strong gamey flavor. Kind of has me freaked out as I was thinking about a trip to Wyoming for Pronghorn.
i only have hunted Canada and America i used to do this test with my kids i used black bear,elk,whitetail & muledeer,buffalo,caribou,russian boar. we all hated russian boar. buffalo was the favorite for all and that`s understandable , but the other favorite with my kids was antelope always.elk was always #2 behind antelope for the kids. > here`s kinda a funny story of my now 30 year old son and his friends when he was 16 years old and had a drivers license about my wild game meat. i was a lineman for the local REA had to work late we had outages so i got home about midnight ,fire pit was burn`n good,and of course they were drink`n beer from my fridge they all stay at my house they knew the rule. i looked at my son and he was grillin food from my freezer and thought he was cook`n some of his deer meat that he shot from the last fall ? but one of his friend`s said to me thanks for all those buffalo T -Bones they sure are tasty. i nicely told my son the next day eat those dam deer steaks you got ,heck you guys can`t taste that much drinkin beer anyway.now today i laugh at what our kids used to do and i mis the heck my son put me through but i mis it too as my father did.but now i got grandkids and now my kids will figure out about that part except i am helping my grandkids with some payback fun . with a GRIN !
I must boil the Bear meat FIRST, helps with the fat grease.
I have eaten Feral Hog on several occasions. I don't consider feral pigs as Big Game.
That said, my friend who lives and hunts in a large river bottom kills a LOT of feral hogs. THEY know which ones to cook/eat and it is PORK. Delicious !
Antelope (Montana, hunted near Bozeman) Caribou Whitetail from farm country
Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same. Ronald Reagan
Fortuitous timing on this thread as I'm cooking a bear roast today on the smoker. I can't say for sure how this one will turn out but so far it's my favorite meat of mule deer, blacktail, whitetail, Roosevelt and Rocky Mountain elk, antelope, and black bear. I think game meat flavor is highly dependent on what they are eating. We have very good bear food here.
Last edited by Fireball2; 01/15/20.
_______________________________________________________ An 8 dollar driveway boy living in a T-111 shack
If it's on my plate it is liable to be the favorite. Be Well, Rustyzipper.
Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy. Its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery. Winston Churchill.
... I think game meat flavor is highly dependent on what they are eating. We have very good bear food here...
In the case of animals with one single stomach, like bears or wild pigs, it definetely is like that. But when we talk ruminants that have several stomachs I do not think the feed easily transmits into their taste. OR nos as much at least. Maybe someone with more knowledge can confirm this for us.
Dall sheep backstraps over an open fire sure was awesome, but I was a hungry MOFO after eating instant oatmeal for 3 days. Caribou stew was awesome as well. my favorite local table fare is axis deer.
The lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part!
"When you disarm the people, you commence to offend them and show that you distrust them either through cowardice or lack of confidence, and both of these opinions generate hatred." Niccolo Machiavelli
"Come, shall we go and kill us venison? And yet it irks me the poor dappled fools, Being native burghers of this desert city, Should in their own confines with forked heads Have their round haunches gored."
I like all of the stuff Ive taken. The stand outs are a 3 year old bull moose from Vermont taken in 2015. And back in 2002, I shot a Sitka Blacktail on Kodiak island. that was very tasty. Really like elk and whitetail. Antelope backstraps are tops of the list too. I eat all of it. My bear was mostly sausage, but that was very good also. hell, Ill eat all of it!
Of the stuff I've taken I like the black bear from here in Michigan best, but the gator I've had from others is the best.
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Good Whitetail is my favorite. It is our primary meat. We have deer meat in some form four to five days a week.
Two factors that produce noticeably better tasting meat are taking the animal early in the fall, when their fat reserves are up and shots to the brain stem or thoracic spine between the shoulder blades so there is instant death.
Someone opined the taste difference was due to the hormone dump on a death run. I don’t know why, but the results are noticeable comparing deer of same age, sex, size, and same area of browse.
So table meat cuts are shot as early in the season as possible. Late season goes to the grinder mixed 60:40 deer to pork to add fat to it.
I have shot Axis four times and never been very happy with it. Might have been the particular area, but it was not good to me.
Blackbuck is excellent.
Elk is good, mule deer not so much, rattlesnake is ok, but a real pain to eat with all of the bones. After hunting in south Louisiana, first hand taste tests give the prize for absolute worst meat to Nutria, Coons, and Possums. Never again will those go on my plate unless it is the end of the world scenario. Wild turkey and ducks are edible, but so so. Goose makes wonderful gumbo.
The big green swamp frogs are fantastic when well prepared.
Good Whitetail is my favorite. It is our primary meat. We have deer meat in some form four to five days a week.
Two factors that produce noticeably better tasting meat are taking the animal early in the fall, when their fat reserves are up and shots to the brain stem or thoracic spine between the shoulder blades so there is instant death.
Someone opined the taste difference was due to the hormone dump on a death run. I don’t know why, but the results are noticeable comparing deer of same age, sex, size, and same area of browse.
So table meat cuts are shot as early in the season as possible. Late season goes to the grinder mixed 60:40 deer to pork to add fat to it.
I have shot Axis four times and never been very happy with it. Might have been the particular area, but it was not good to me.
Blackbuck is excellent.
Elk is good, mule deer not so much, rattlesnake is ok, but a real pain to eat with all of the bones. After hunting in south Louisiana, first hand taste tests give the prize for absolute worst meat to Nutria, Coons, and Possums. Never again will those go on my plate unless it is the end of the world scenario. Wild turkey and ducks are edible, but so so. Goose makes wonderful gumbo.
The big green swamp frogs are fantastic when well prepared.
How many deer are you allowed to take a year in Texas? I kill one moose a year and eat it a couple times a week with a family of 4. The meat lasts about 5 months.
"Allways speak the truth and you will never have to remember what you said before..." Sam Houston Texans, "We say Grace, We Say Mam, If You Don't Like it, We Don't Give a Damn!"
the number varies by county, ranging from 1 - 5 with regular tags. Sometimes I hunt on ranches with management tags. The State issues tags to a ranch based on biologist surveys and management goals for the population in the area. Usually, there are tags going unused.
Bucks average 225 - 230# early in the season. Does are 90 - 120.
Two bucks usually are enough for my wife and me, depending how much family and friends ask for. A third provides enough to share more generously.
I like good deer sausage! Slovacek in Snook Texas makes the best I’ve eaten.
hanco, Lots of us South Central Texans (Germans-Czechs) make good sausage. I make my own and smoke it in small batches. I used to make 100 or more pounds at one time but now I make small batches from 10-50 pounds. It's much less work in one day and I can control the seasoning better.
Salt is the key ingredient. If you get the salt right it's gonna be edible. I use 30 ounces per 100 pounds of meat as a ratio. In other words if I make 10 pounds that's 3 oz. salt and that's counting curing salt. 4 oz of curing salt per 100 pounds of meat is the standard rule. I subtract whatever weight of curing salt I use from the 30 oz per 100 pounds meat ratio.
A lot of people making it at home don't use curing salt. I used to not but I got worried about the botulism you can get from the smoker. That's what curing salt is for, to kill the botulism that can thrive in the smoker. Being as your temperature inside the smoke house or smoker doesn't get that high you need curing salt which is Sodium Nitrite. Sodium Nitrite is used for fresh sausage. They use sodium nitrite-nitrate blend for drying sausage. I'm not an authority on dried sausage so I've never used that. But with Sodium Nitrite I know it replaces the salt about equally. In other words If I use 4 oz curing salt per 100 pounds meat then 4 oz. of the total salt will be curing salt, and 26 will be regular sodium chloride or table salt. That, by the way, is non iodized. Iodine will make it turn black. It works for me, sodium nitrite, Prague Number 1 for fresh sausage and Prague Number 2-Sodium Nitrate-Sodium Nitrite, Prague Number 2 for dried sausage. Anyway, the rest if my recipe is variable depending on what I feel like. Also, if you like hot pepper or chile as they call it, dry the chiles. If you use them fresh I've found it makes the sausage mushy. I use large jalapenos. They're generally not too hot and add a great flavor to the sausage. I also use a couple oz black pepper in 100 pounds. That's about the extent of my recipe and is pretty common in Texas style German-Czech sausage.
Last edited by Filaman; 02/22/20.
What goes up must come down, what goes around comes around, there's no free lunch. Trump's comin' back, get over it!
Like many others, I do like a good antelope. However, I don't get it often as antelope tags are VERY hard to draw in Idaho. I've only drawn twice in my life, the last time being 3 years ago.
“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” ― George Orwell
It's not over when you lose. It's over when you quit.
Mature Dall rams killed in July, or August. Of course it could be the element, and beauty of that sheep country you're in, along with usually digesting a fair amount of freeze dried grub for days on end leading up to the kill...;)
Second would be the Shiras moose I killed four years ago in Southwest Montana. I think I cried when we ran out of that.
Moose meat is great--except bulls during the peak of the rut.
We have taken several moose, including two in Montana--both by Eileen. (Yes, she has drawn two tags, one bull and one antlerless.) I have taken bulls both before the rut and well after in Alaska, Alberta, and British Columbia--and ALL were great.
Have eaten some other people took during the rut (which is basically the same as elk) and while it could be made edible, was not the same....
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.” John Steinbeck
John; Good evening to you sir, I hope the second last weekend of February was a good one for you and Eileen.
Hopefully I can be forgiven for telling this story again, but I still clearly recall my mother giving dad the gears for bringing a bull home from his annual moose hunt near the Manitoba border in the bush country of central Saskatchewan. Honestly I don't recall if it was tough or not however, because Mom - God rest her soul - believed in cooking all meat pretty much to death and then having it swim in gravy before serving it.
Honestly I didn't really like steak until I was in my late teens and had someone order a medium rare steak for me in a restaurant.
My brother in law killed a few bulls up in the Cariboo country near Horsefly over the years and one of the bigger ones was truly and sincerely chewy, even the burger. It had a "zesty" flavor to it too and while it was edible it wasn't as good as a lot of other moose we'd had.
All the best to you folks as we head into warmer weather and longer days.
Ate some Hawaiian black ram at my pards place here In Kauai last night, it rates right up at the top..
Ping pong balls for the win. Once you've wrestled everything else in life is easy. Dan Gable I keep my circle small, I’d rather have 4 quarters than 100 pennies.
I had 1.5” thick backstrap steak cooked rare off of 2 different whitetail bucks that bit the dust this year and one raghorn bull elk for supper three nights last week. All were great but the elk is a little tougher than the deer. Not a bad place to be when the freezer is stacked to the top with deer and elk steaks and your 4 year old tells you he wants backstrap and those asparagus trees for supper.
Good Whitetail is my favorite. It is our primary meat. We have deer meat in some form four to five days a week.
Two factors that produce noticeably better tasting meat are taking the animal early in the fall, when their fat reserves are up and shots to the brain stem or thoracic spine between the shoulder blades so there is instant death.
Someone opined the taste difference was due to the hormone dump on a death run. I don’t know why, but the results are noticeable comparing deer of same age, sex, size, and same area of browse.
So table meat cuts are shot as early in the season as possible. Late season goes to the grinder mixed 60:40 deer to pork to add fat to it.
I have shot Axis four times and never been very happy with it. Might have been the particular area, but it was not good to me.
Blackbuck is excellent.
Elk is good, mule deer not so much, rattlesnake is ok, but a real pain to eat with all of the bones. After hunting in south Louisiana, first hand taste tests give the prize for absolute worst meat to Nutria, Coons, and Possums. Never again will those go on my plate unless it is the end of the world scenario. Wild turkey and ducks are edible, but so so. Goose makes wonderful gumbo.
The big green swamp frogs are fantastic when well prepared.
No flame intended, but I always comment on comments that are 180 out of my thoughts.
I've eaten a lot of axis and never had a bad bit of it.
I've eaten enough blackbuck to know I'll never even try it again. And while guiding we were sent out one night to bring back a mouflon doe. We could not find one to save ourselves so we whacked a black buck doe in the head with the 22 mag. Talk about getting chewed out. The gals that owned that 16,000 acres could COOK. Great cooks. I figured I was going to learn. What I learned was come back empty handed rather than a bb... and that if you drown bb in enough bell peppers it tastes like.. bell pepper.
Also I cannot for the life of me tell any difference between a Sept/Oct deer and a Jan/Feb deer.
We eat whitetail. Its a strong flavor to us, but we are used to it, but its FAR from the top.
Isn't it cool and strange at the same time how taste buds can vary?
We can keep Larry Root and all his idiotic blabber and user names on here, but we can't get Ralph back..... Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, over....
probably has a lot to do with the plants available to them and local conditions which translate into meat quality and taste.
The difference in fat from October to December in the rut or post rut is dramatic at least where I hunt. I’ll try to remember to take photos next year.
Curious for those who mention eating “fat” deer or other game. Are you eating the fat? Since game doesn’t marble and I trim every last speck of fat when I butcher a game animal I don’t think it would make much difference to me but I’m curious to know how you guys do it.
I have eaten fat on wild pigs and rendered lard from bear fat that was excellent but for members of the deer family it all gets trimmed and tossed.
probably has a lot to do with the plants available to them and local conditions which translate into meat quality and taste.
The difference in fat from October to December in the rut or post rut is dramatic at least where I hunt. I’ll try to remember to take photos next year.
We hunt in La Grange on our property and in the hill country at Round Mountain whitetail deer.
I see the wild swings on fat too. But as another mentions we trim off all fat. Won't even think about ribs if the deer are fat. Just get rid of deer fat, its adds a bad taste. That said its easy to trim it off.
RE diet. Yes, totally can affect. I"ve eaten mule deer off sage that were not great to me. Ones from the mountains are always great.
Blackbuck I've eaten from all kinds of areas of TX and have yet to eat one that made me think, yep I"d shoot another.
Axis about the same all over TX even in our area. No bad ones yet. Different times of the year too. Guiding for years in Rocksprings I've eaten them all year long.
But Nilgai, great to me before the juisache greens out, ones just after that have been bitter.
I"ve also eaten a fair bit of game thats tough due to age, but flavor has not been bad. Just age it well and use other cuts, but I"ve heard of folks saying hamburger can be tough even..
To be fair we try to avoid shooting/eating anything full rut. It happens at times but we try like heck to avoid it.
We can keep Larry Root and all his idiotic blabber and user names on here, but we can't get Ralph back..... Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, over....
with respect , when talkin whitetail venison meat here in Minnesota,there is a huge difference between a fawn,doe and bucks during the rutt here in Minnesota fawns are always still tasty,does and bucks in early September are very good. but once the rutt starts buck meat goes down hill but still makes decent sausage. does too during the rutt are not as tasty as early September but are still decent to eat. by late December all whitetail deer seem to taste better ,even bucks by the end of December are better tasting here in Minnesota.the best tasting whitetail deer is still is fawn shot early in September thru mid October,these fawns during this time of year are succulent,makes me hungry just thinking about those loins frying with onions.
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