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Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 95,727 Likes: 2
Campfire Oracle
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Campfire Oracle
Joined: Jan 2016
Posts: 95,727 Likes: 2 |
I have never eaten moose. That being said, the best game meat I have ever eaten was a yearling bison. Every pronghorn that I have tried has been excellent too. My favorite small game has to be squirrel (perhaps because I don't get an opportunity to hunt them as often as quail/dove /rabbit). Squirrel are better than quail, dove or rabbit. Sandhill crane are pretty darn good. I like doe whitetails better than steak. It's getting hard to find even prime steak that really has good flavor. https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/why-i-eat-squirrel-reallyI have had squirrel twice and neither time did I enjoy it. I dont know if it was just a poor tasting sub-species of your local squirrels or if its was a matter of our squirrels diets. Either way, I feel like I am missing out. There is alot of people on this forum that seem to really like the little critters. Somebody send me some good squirrel and I will trade some good porcupine. Hahaha. No thanks. I would send some but the fox squirrels and cat (grey) squirrels were scarce in E Texas where I hunt the last two years. Hit me up next fall.
Last edited by jaguartx; 02/17/20.
Ecc 10:2 The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but that of a fool to the left.
A Nation which leaves God behind is soon left behind.
"The Lord never asked anyone to be a tax collector, lowyer, or Redskins fan".
I Dindo Nuffin
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Posts: 28,259 Likes: 6
Campfire Ranger
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OP
Campfire Ranger
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 28,259 Likes: 6 |
A question with no "right" answer.
Individual tastes differ. Individual animals within the same species differ. I offer my experience with 20+ moose and about 75 caribou.
What it has been eating, what it has been doing, perhaps (bear on the salmon streams vs blueberry slopes.... Animals stressed from running vs those killed unaware, etc.)
Chalk in how it is killed, temperatures, how it is taken care of, processed, and cooked.
Not all of us (few in fact) have sampled all the game meat availble. So all opinions are valid.
In my own case, from a very general perspective, I rank it wild sheep, musk ox, caribou, moose, then deer and pronghorn, elk, bear.
The very best caribou I have eaten will outrank all the others I mentioned on the individual meal taste test
Some personal opinion/comments that may or may not be pertinent:
If you have had bad caribou, it was probably a bull in rut, or not properly taken care of.
I don't believe I have ever seen any "marbeled" moose meat from the 20 something I have eaten.
Musk ox is marbeled, and not that different from beef, (the several roasts I have eaten, killed by a friend, were excellent). If you had bad musk oxen, see above caribou sentence. Limited sample to be sure, but from 3 different animals. And not really choice cuts. (We aren't that good of friends it appears...:) ) I hear you las. Good stuff. The flip side is I've never ran across anybody who sampled Axis meat who said it was anything other than fantastic. There will likely be some pop up now though. Thanks.
It is irrelevant what you think. What matters is the TRUTH.
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 2,248 Likes: 1
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 2,248 Likes: 1 |
I've had whitetail, caribou, elk, moose, mule deer, bear, antelope and bison here in North America. Several different species of antelope, wildebeest, warthog and zebra in Africa. My favorite was zebra loin cooked rare over a wood fire; but some of that could have been the tafel lager, the campfire and the overall experience. For North America, I put moose on top. So does my son. One daughter prefers whitetail, the other caribou. Wife prefers beef. It's all made out of meat, so it's all good.......as long as it isn't overcooked.
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Joined: Jan 2002
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Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 2,248 Likes: 1 |
By all means, do the Newfoundland hunt. Been there twice. Beautiful country, great people and great hunting. Consider a bear tag if interested. Pretty inexpensive add on to a moose hunt.
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 50,637
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 50,637 |
It's up there but I like Pronghorn better. Nothing beats grass-fed pronghorn. Never had any that fed on mostly sage. Yup, only have experience with 3 bucks in NE WY. All three died quickly and were cooled reasonably fast. Like you said, nothing at all beats having to eat them. They were rank and nasty to the max.
Mark Begich, Joaquin Jackson, and Heller resistance... Three huge reasons to worry about the NRA.
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Joined: Aug 2015
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Aug 2015
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Pussy. The ultimate wild game!!! We're talking seafood?
Let's Go Brandon! FJB
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Joined: May 2010
Posts: 6,658
Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: May 2010
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JGRaider: My Hunting career/interest has led me to enjoy all manner of "wild game" and I'll list'em in my order of enjoyment preference!
#1 = Whitetailed Deer (grain fed and harvested before the rut) #2 = Elk (again harvested before the rut) #3 = Mule Deer (grain fed before the rut) #4 = Moose (avoid older bulls in this ranking) #5 = Blacktailed Deer #6 = Antelope (cared for properly and cleanly kill't) #7 = Mt. Goat #8 = Bear (Bear roast with onions, carrots and potatoes is really good!) #9 = Cougar #10 = Wild Turkey (can't figure out a "good" way to prepare these?) #11 = Canada Goose (made into sausage!)
Sadly I have not partaken much at all of Bighorn Sheep - I hear their meat is rather palatable.
We are thawing out some filet mignon of Whitetailed Deer for dinner tonight! I can't wait. Hold into the wind VarmintGuy #10 Deep fry in peanut oil
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Joined: May 2010
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Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: May 2010
Posts: 6,658 |
JGRaider: My Hunting career/interest has led me to enjoy all manner of "wild game" and I'll list'em in my order of enjoyment preference!
#1 = Whitetailed Deer (grain fed and harvested before the rut) #2 = Elk (again harvested before the rut) #3 = Mule Deer (grain fed before the rut) #4 = Moose (avoid older bulls in this ranking) #5 = Blacktailed Deer #6 = Antelope (cared for properly and cleanly kill't) #7 = Mt. Goat #8 = Bear (Bear roast with onions, carrots and potatoes is really good!) #9 = Cougar #10 = Wild Turkey (can't figure out a "good" way to prepare these?) #11 = Canada Goose (made into sausage!)
Sadly I have not partaken much at all of Bighorn Sheep - I hear their meat is rather palatable.
We are thawing out some filet mignon of Whitetailed Deer for dinner tonight! I can't wait. Hold into the wind VarmintGuy #10 Deep fry in peanut oil #11= yuck
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 50,637
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 50,637 |
A question with no "right" answer.
Individual tastes differ. Individual animals within the same species differ. I offer my experience with 20+ moose and about 75 caribou.
What it has been eating, what it has been doing, perhaps (bear on the salmon streams vs blueberry slopes.... Animals stressed from running vs those killed unaware, etc.)
Chalk in how it is killed, temperatures, how it is taken care of, processed, and cooked.
Not all of us (few in fact) have sampled all the game meat availble. So all opinions are valid.
In my own case, from a very general perspective, I rank it wild sheep, musk ox, caribou, moose, then deer and pronghorn, elk, bear.
The very best caribou I have eaten will outrank all the others I mentioned on the individual meal taste test
Some personal opinion/comments that may or may not be pertinent:
If you have had bad caribou, it was probably a bull in rut, or not properly taken care of.
I don't believe I have ever seen any "marbeled" moose meat from the 20 something I have eaten.
Musk ox is marbeled, and not that different from beef, (the several roasts I have eaten, killed by a friend, were excellent). If you had bad musk oxen, see above caribou sentence. Limited sample to be sure, but from 3 different animals. And not really choice cuts. (We aren't that good of friends it appears...:) ) Good post with a couple thoughts... in the last four years alone I have had a part in butchering of over 20 bull moose and since i killed my first bull in '65 have had a part in a whole bunch of them. I have never seen even the first indication of marbling and have seen some ridiculously fat moose. I agree totally on carbon at its best being as good as it comes, even from late winter animals. The biggest problem with musk oxen is the fact if freezes almost immediately after expiring. It is hard to slow that down. Frozen solid it does not ever age properly and is incredibly chewy. Had some from a summer cow and it was awesome. Since you mentioned sheep... I think they get a lot of credit for the mystique of being sheep. In virtually all blind tests I have done with sheep they seldom make the top two and carbon is often the meat picked when folks are certain they are eating sheep.
Mark Begich, Joaquin Jackson, and Heller resistance... Three huge reasons to worry about the NRA.
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Joined: Jan 2005
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
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teach your voice thingy what caribou is....
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
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Moose is the best I have had followed by antelope and then elk.
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Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 26,389 Likes: 6
Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 26,389 Likes: 6 |
Carbon must be well done.
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Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 12,632 Likes: 2
Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
Joined: Mar 2007
Posts: 12,632 Likes: 2 |
JGRaider: My Hunting career/interest has led me to enjoy all manner of "wild game" and I'll list'em in my order of enjoyment preference!
#1 = Whitetailed Deer (grain fed and harvested before the rut) #2 = Elk (again harvested before the rut) #3 = Mule Deer (grain fed before the rut) #4 = Moose (avoid older bulls in this ranking) #5 = Blacktailed Deer #6 = Antelope (cared for properly and cleanly kill't) #7 = Mt. Goat #8 = Bear (Bear roast with onions, carrots and potatoes is really good!) #9 = Cougar #10 = Wild Turkey (can't figure out a "good" way to prepare these?) #11 = Canada Goose (made into sausage!)
Sadly I have not partaken much at all of Bighorn Sheep - I hear their meat is rather palatable.
We are thawing out some filet mignon of Whitetailed Deer for dinner tonight! I can't wait. Hold into the wind VarmintGuy #10 Deep fry in peanut oil Another simple option. Just cut the breasts in strips and fry like chicken thumbs. The running gear and wings we reserve for either soup with wild rice or noodle soup. Legs are tough as woodpecker lips is you don't simmer them long enough. I just put the legs, thighs, and wings in a pot with some fresh garlic and bay leaf and simmer it bout all day adding water as needed. That's the stock for either the wild rice or noodle version. Got the recipes somewhere around here.
“When Tyranny becomes Law, Rebellion becomes Duty”
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."
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Joined: Feb 2001
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 50,637 |
Carbon must be well done. Totally and completely wrong.
Mark Begich, Joaquin Jackson, and Heller resistance... Three huge reasons to worry about the NRA.
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 50,637
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 50,637 |
Carbon must be well done. Totally and completely wrong. Since i read that as caribou, rather than carbon, you might be right. But caribou is not good overcooked. It dries out.
Mark Begich, Joaquin Jackson, and Heller resistance... Three huge reasons to worry about the NRA.
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 50,637
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 50,637 |
JGRaider: My Hunting career/interest has led me to enjoy all manner of "wild game" and I'll list'em in my order of enjoyment preference!
#1 = Whitetailed Deer (grain fed and harvested before the rut) #2 = Elk (again harvested before the rut) #3 = Mule Deer (grain fed before the rut) #4 = Moose (avoid older bulls in this ranking) #5 = Blacktailed Deer #6 = Antelope (cared for properly and cleanly kill't) #7 = Mt. Goat #8 = Bear (Bear roast with onions, carrots and potatoes is really good!) #9 = Cougar #10 = Wild Turkey (can't figure out a "good" way to prepare these?) #11 = Canada Goose (made into sausage!)
Sadly I have not partaken much at all of Bighorn Sheep - I hear their meat is rather palatable.
We are thawing out some filet mignon of Whitetailed Deer for dinner tonight! I can't wait. Hold into the wind VarmintGuy #10 Deep fry in peanut oil Another simple option. Just cut the breasts in strips and fry like chicken thumbs. The running gear and wings we reserve for either soup with wild rice or noodle soup. Legs are tough as woodpecker lips is you don't simmer them long enough. I just put the legs, thighs, and wings in a pot with some fresh garlic and bay leaf and simmer it bout all day adding water as needed. That's the stock for either the wild rice or noodle version. Got the recipes somewhere around here. My best results with wild turkeys has been flouring breast chunks and frying for a while. Then finishing off in a roaster or crock pot.
Mark Begich, Joaquin Jackson, and Heller resistance... Three huge reasons to worry about the NRA.
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Joined: Feb 2019
Posts: 2,386 Likes: 1
Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
Joined: Feb 2019
Posts: 2,386 Likes: 1 |
I smoked a wild turkey breast. There wasn’t any left after the family got into it...
And I love me some elk steaks cooked in an iron skillet with some bacon grease.
Last edited by OldGrayWolf; 02/17/20.
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Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Mar 2017
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Carbon must be well done. Totally and completely wrong. Agree! I prefer my carbon in the C-12 state.
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Feb 2010
Posts: 17,827 |
My family was given a large moose roast right before Thanksgiving one year, the women in the family were not game meat eaters normally. So in addition to the moose roast they prepared a small turkey just in case some did not care for the moose. Every bit of the moose roast got eaten at Thanksgiving dinner and the turkey got make into sandwiches the next day. I like elk the very best followed by moose, whitetail, antelope and mule deer. I've also enjoyed black bear too, mostly prepared as roasts, guests thought it good too comparing it to a good pork roast.
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Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 50,637
Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 50,637 |
My family was given a large moose roast right before Thanksgiving one year, the women in the family were not game meat eaters normally. So in addition to the moose roast they prepared a small turkey just in case some did not care for the moose. Every bit of the moose roast got eaten at Thanksgiving dinner and the turkey got make into sandwiches the next day. I like elk the very best followed by moose, whitetail, antelope and mule deer. I've also enjoyed black bear too, mostly prepared as roasts, guests thought it good too comparing it to a good pork roast. We eat a bunch of bears regularly... cannot imagine comparing black bear to pork.
Mark Begich, Joaquin Jackson, and Heller resistance... Three huge reasons to worry about the NRA.
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