Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Africa What does african game taste like?

Have always been curious about what people eat on safari. Was also wondering if some people who have been on safari could relate to us the game they have eaten and how and what it tastes like. Does the camp kitchen depend on what the hunters harvest?

Croc tastes like chicken.

Just kidding, never tried it.

1flier

Not been there myself either, but a friend recently returned from a plains game outing and reported that out of a substantially mixed bag, the universal favorite in camp was zebra.

Most of the antelope taste more or less like our venisons. I find plenty of variance in how a whitetail tastes, depending on what it been feeding on and what sort of country it lives in - farm country or cattle country, woodland or crop land or grass land, etc, and the varinaces amoungnst African antelope is similar.

For example, eland, which many people like, is similar to elk, with a sweeter flavor than, say, whitetail or beef.

Grysbok, waterbuck, kudu, impala, etc are all good eating, similar to a good whitetail.

Zebra is a whiter meat and is excellent so long as it isn't over cooked. Like most game, when over cooked it becomes tough, but because of its mild flavor and very low fat content, suffers more than most.

Cow Elephant taste similar to Argentine or grass fed beef. Bull elephant can have a stronger, gamier musky or muddy flavor.

Cape Buffalo taste like lean beef.

Often there is chicken or beef or pasta or other than game on the menu. Personally, I like game on the menu, but don't mind a change from time to time.

JPK

Eland is fantastic. I also like springbok. Oryx seems similar to whitetail, but it is a little greasier. I tried croc and it was good- it was a white meat with a relatively mild flavor.

I am not trying to be nasty, but does it make you fart like moose and bear does?
Randy
I meant to say does it make for more flatus with a more intense odour. My wife read the post as I was typing. I'll report on her assault later

I have found the wild game eaten on safari to be excellent. Kudu is my all time favorite, while bushpig and eland, followed by gemsbok are just outstanding. I have never had zebra, but I am told it is best of all. I actually prefer the plains antelope of Africa to our elk, deer, and beef.

I have found, at least in my case, that any gastric discomfort I may be experiencing when I get there vanishes as soon as I begin eating the game taken on safari. The local beer on the Eastern Cape does make me fart, though.

"What does african game taste like?"

Yum, yum, yum. "Please, sir can I have some more ?"

"Cape Buffalo taste like lean beef."

And Zambezi Valley oysters taste like fried scallops.

Medicman:

Too funny!!!!!!!

Richard

PS: Please report on all injurys inflicted by spouse!!

We liked impala the best, followed closely by kudu. Gemsbok I thought was too much like moose for my taste. Cape buffalo filets tasted like grass-fed really good beef.

Not quite as good as Missouri Breaks mule deer or Sitka blacktail, but very very good nonetheless. We got to eat as much as we wanted to, whenever we wanted to.

Dennis

Game taken that is at ease and prepared well is little different than our lean beef, but I find it to be a bit tough and dry if not especially cared for - much like whitetail.

Preparation makes such a difference. This past October our camp chef prepared impala liver and heart in gravy that was outstanding - not typically a dish I would relish. - but I could not resist second and that was for breakfast. Kudu, gemsbok, warthog and wildebeest were all quite good as well.

We walked quite a way every day and our appetite may have been stimulated.

Bones

How can one person describe taste to another? What does vanilla ice cream taste like ? I wouldn't have the foggiest idea how to describe the taste. I have eaten some of most of the game animals I have taken in Zimbabwe over 8 safaris and can truthfully say I have had none that is bad. Some I prefer to other but it is all good -- TO ME. Every camp I have been in has had a good cook capable of preparing a very good meal. One cook I would say was truley chef status and could prepare a meal egual to any I have ever had anywhere. Most of the camps I have been in used local fresh vegetables where available and while different I found them to be universally good. I am diabetic and mentioned it on the questionaire I filled out for my first safari. When I arrived in camp the cook informed me he had a diabetic cook book and would endeavor to prepare me diabetic meals which he did. They were quite good. I love to eat and have never been disappointed on safari and the food was one of the aspects I enjoyed most of all. In all the camps I have been in we almost always ate game meat and rarely beef, but always had bacon or sausage for breakfast and I became particularly fond of the big Afrikaans sausage that I can neither spell nor pronounce but can immediately recognize. The one special item I like is the bread that is baked in the dutch oven buried in the ground. It is probably better than any bread I have ever had. Fresh hot right out of the ground with generous portions of fresh butter is something to kill for.

My favorite is Eland, Kudu, Impala, Hartebeest, warthog and probably in that order...I like croc tail, it is more like pork than anything else but you must get past the fact that it may or may not be a man eater!

Cape buffalo is normally tough as boot leather except perhaps for the inside felets..but if the country is really green and they are fat then the backstraps are sometimes OK...Keep in mind that in the USA we do not eat 15 year old Herefords or Brangus because they are tough and chewy beyond belief, the same appalies to buffalo and those are the ones we on Safari have to eat...A young calf buffalo is excellent fare if your lucky enough to run a lion off one before its too late and while its still fresh..

African animals IMO are better table fare than deer or elk, and I really love deer meat..elk is OK. Most folks are the opposite, but it depends on your upbringing I suppose.

I like black wildebeest a lot too--much better than blue. Along with springbok, both are about as good as African game gets.

Like Ray, also not as wild about elk as many people. A good one can be quite good, but elk vary a lot in taste. Most people her ein Montana would disagree, but I suspect much of that is simply because the elk in question is dead, and there's lots of it.

I had some blue bull that tasted like it had blue balls. Horrid stuff, but I blame field care as the guy's venison is inedible too.

Edit: I didn't realize Nilgai was an Indian animal (bindi dot kind). Sorry for the confusion.

The antelope taste just like my neighbor's missing sheep, and zebra tastes just like free-roaming mustangs.

I do like African antelope and buffalo, as well as francolin and guinea.

JPK pretty much covered it correctly, IMO.

BBQ Francolin is excellent. Eland is excellent. A SA camp had bowls of what looked like summer sausage made from gemsbok. While a little greasy, was hard not to snack on. The buffalo we had was sliced thin and diced, served with a yellow rice and curry one night, some other hot spice another, I ate it all Anyone who wants my share of impala can have it as it reminded my of the worst brush eating deer I have ever had.

On my recent African safari, we dined on eland and kudu most often. It was served several ways, but grilled shish-kebab style was my favorite.

It is wonderfully tasty, tender and lean. I could easily make a steady diet of this stuff!!

I ate sable and nyala. It reminded me of venison and I enjoyed it.

On the other side of the coin, I had cape buffalo tongue and it tasted like the damn buffalo smelled! A friend sitting next to me at dinner saw the look on my face (gag reflex) and found it most amusing. I also had buffalo tail stew and it was very good.

405wcf