So far, elk is my favorite. Except for the elk I shot a few years back, all the wild game I have eaten has been from the Southeast.
How does antelope, mule deer, moose, and caribou rank?
Anyone like bear meat?
Quail... biggame, elk, though the one antelope I killed was the best single game I've ever eaten... the one my dad killed when I was 5 was the worst, dog literally wouldn't eat it.
Kent
Buffalo, if it qualifies as wild game.
For burger, bison. For every other cut, elk and sheep.
Caribou from the NW Alaska herd. It DOES make a difference which herd it comes from!
Ed
caribou, followed by moose.
Eland, followed by caribou.
Cougar is excellent, too.
Blessings,
Steve
Quail, just nothing better when it's cooked right. Even if it isn't cooked right, it's still pretty darned good.
venison. Not a lot of Elk in Florida.
Fried quail, or roasted quail stuffed with oysters.
Cougar is excellent, too.
Interesting. Is it common for people to eat the cougar meat when they kill one?
Cougar is excellent, too.
Interesting. Is it common for people to eat the cougar meat when they kill one?
Yes... it's required here in AZ that you retrieve the meat on bear and lion... I didn't like it myself but found someone that did.
Kent
Beaver tail!
A woman who will fix beav for you
and eat it too... is a keepa!
quail
bison
moose
Dall sheep
caribou
Ruffed grouse. Too bad they have almost disappeared here.
Dall sheep, moose, elk, caribou and blacktail deer.
How'd I forget axis and nilgai?
That would be my number two; good stuff.
Antelope, then whitetail.
Prep makes all the difference in the world.
The worst I think I ever had was mule deer deep fried in oil before the meat had even cooled from body temperature, very tough and rank, it was probably already in rigor when cut up.
This year I did a little test on a mule deer doe, aged most of the meat for 2 weeks but keep a hindquarter that I aged for 3 weeks.
The meat aged for 2 weeks was good, the meat aged three weeks was superb. A major transformation in tenderness and taste. Steaks from the round were fork tender and had lost almost all "deer" taste. It was the best deer meat I had ever had, and this coming from a mule deer besides.
Small game - ruffed grouse
Runner up - turkey
Big game - black bear
Runner up - caribou
Young cat squirrels are pretty darn good.
Prep makes all the difference in the world.
The worst I think I ever had was mule deer deep fried in oil before the meat had even cooled from body temperature, very tough and rank, it was probably already in rigor when cut up.
This ^
You never want to butcher an animal until after it has a chance to rigor on the bone.
Guaranteed to be the toughest, most rubbery thing you ever put in your mouth.
That said, I love burgers, elk or venison.
Burger prepared correctley is superb, but done incorrectely it isn't even edible.
Lists I've had isn't very long: Bobwhite Quail, prairie chicken, dove, pheasant, ducks, chukar (pen raised), turkey, fox squirrel, cottontail rabbit, deer, elk, antelope.
Quail has to be number one by a long shot. Antelope for big game.
Ruffed grouse. Too bad they have almost disappeared here.
+1 Nothing better than grouse pot pie.
Elk, but the two antelope I've killed were quite good also. For birds, ruff grouse are excellent.
Whitetail from my land with fresh caught native Adirondack brook trout. Adirondack surf and turf!
Any american deer with whitetail still my favorite, simply because of the large amount of it I eat every year.
-Ken
Blue Quail, Bighorn sheep in NA and Gemsbuck.
+1 reading down the list I figured someone had to get it right.
1 Dall Sheep
2 Moose
3 Pronghorn
Bighorn sheep, Moose, Pronghorn
Looks like I need to find quail. Haven't had it yet.
Squirrel. Far and away the winner.
i prefer elk but the best tasting meat i ever had was a bear that had be gourging on fremented prickly pear bulbs -- which really flavored the meat
Blackies can be that way on blueberries in the fall.
Chicken-fried backstrap from a yearling whitetail, aged for a week before pounding, tossing with a bit of Worchestershire, garlic powder, and cajun seasoning, then flouring and frying. I can make myself sick with the amount of this stuff that I can eat.....
Another vote for fall Black Bear.
Ruff Grouse hands down.
(Can't imagine wasting it in a pot pie, but to each his own.)
Next would be Sturgon but it's fish so it may not count.
Last but still tasty would be a young Whitetail, and by "young" I mean young of year,,, ie; veal.
You can cut it with a spork.
Antelope (pronghorn), oryx, and Barbary sheep.
Small game- Squirrel
Big Game- Nilgai
small game - cottontail rabbit
big game - bison
I like nearly all wild game, but the two above are my favorites.
ALL OF THEM
Except the ones I don't know how to cook.. LOL
OK in order best to next
Deer / Elk (close tie)
Rabbit / Pheasant (also a close tie)
Moose is my favorite- very mild flavor and tender as the best beef cuts.
My second would be cottontail rabbit cooked over the campfire the same days it's killed. Very close is fresh Blue Grouse cooked in camp the day they are killed.
Everything else is way behind, even though I eat more game meat than anything else.
Bob
Quail
Antelope
Dall Sheep
Bighorn
Elk
Moose
Pheasant
Caribou
Whitetail
Mule Deer
Mountain Goat
"free range" black angus if i get one in my crosshairs this fall
that that damm farmer who claims every year in october that his cattle get loose and start gobbling up all the acorns in the old sykes springs area of stewart state forest, just so he aint got to feed them out of his miserly pocket for 2-3 weeks that the acorns drop.
other than that
honestly..............................................
fried rabbit
then a well seasoned and marinated deer steak once in a great while
"free range" black angus if i get one in my crosshairs this fall
that that damm farmer who claims every year in october that his cattle get loose and start gobbling up all the acorns in the old sykes springs area of stewart state forest, just so he aint got to feed them out of his miserly pocket for 2-3 weeks that the acorns drop.
Unicorns...
Well, not really, but scimitar-horned oryx is VERY good.
Ruffed Grouse
Deer backstrap
Fresh Frog legs...I mean go out and gig them then skin and fry when you get back home late the same night, don't wait until tomorrow!
Dove breasts on the grill
Wild turkey breasts, pounded, breaded and fried in butter then smothered in gravy
So many choices, so little time.
Upland Bird; Ruffed grouse fed on those weird seeds in their crop.
Waterfowl; Mallard fed in wheat fields.
Small Game; Grey squirrel fed on Filberts [Hazelnuts].
Big Game; Elk fed on whatever. Whitetail a close second.
Freshwater Fish; Trout.
Saltwater Fish; Ling Cod.
Shellfish; Dungeness Crab fed on the most disgusting stuff they can find.
1. Ruffed Grouse
2. Whitetail (backstrap)
3. Turkey
Cougar.
Best meat I've ever ate!
Virgil B.
Pheasant
Venison
Wild boar
Impala
Warthog
Gemsbock
Caribou
Quail
Cougar.
Best meat I've ever ate!
Virgil B.
I read a lot about how good cougar is.
Must be something to it, never had it myself.
40 year old Cougar is real good!!!!!!!
Young sagehen is our favorite.
Then:
Moose
Antelope
Elk
Chuckar/quail
Mule deer (we don't have any whitetails)
Grain-eating ducks & geese
Venison, pheasant and rabbit
Fresh, tender, small, young bambi loins with butter and not much else.
Hold the spots... or not.
Curious, thought more here might rate wild pig/boar higher ?
- never tried it -
10-12kg red buck or blue flyer.
Deer first, elk second. I've only had antelope once. I liked it, the people who shot it and cooked it did not.
Most of the hoofed herbivores taste pretty good. Buffalo is good, caribou is good, reindeer is good, but I've only had them as prepared by others so I can't give them the same head to head comparison I can with things I've cooked myself.
I don't like bear.
Quail and grouse are good ... a little tricky to keep them from getting dry 'cause don't like my food draped in foo foo [bleep], I want to taste what it really tastes like.
I'm not particularly fond of duck or goose. Shoot and release.
I like most that I've tried. Stand all time favorites are grouse, moose, and venison. I've only had bear twice, almost had to spit it out the first time and went back for seconds last time I had it - so the jury is still out on it.
Overall...caribou from north of the Brooks.
next, N.E. Alabama white tail
Sausage ..... musk ox
Fish...halibut
Birds .... wild quail and S. Ga. duck
Curious, thought more here might rate wild pig/boar higher ?
- never tried it -
Best use is mixed with deer or beef in sausage to be honest. Second best use is to let it rot where shot in the field then come back the next day and shoot the other hogs eating on it.
Bobwhite Quail - due to a number of factors they've been gone around here for years.
Ruffed Grouse - Thanks to the tree huggers stopping forest management they are about gone too.
"Most terrifying words - I'm from the government and I'm here to help" - Ronald Reagan
Nobody likes woodcock??? Chunk it into bite size pieces and saute lightly in garlic salt and butter and just toothpick the chunks out of the pan??? Native lake trout out of Nipigon or native redfins out of Superior? Native specs out of Nipigon? Grouse in butter with a little salt and pepper is hard to beat. Any walleye on a plate within an hour is fantastic. Whitetail fawns are mighty tasty.
I've had wild hogs, antelope, elk, bear, rattlesnake, most species of ducks, upland birds and geese, goat but never moose. Have had some prepared poorly that I didn't like, but never run into a species that when well prepared wasn't pretty darn good.
Moose
Elk (had it last year for the first time)
Turkey
Whitetail Venison.
Honorable mention
Had Red Stag, Reh Deer, and Wild Boar in Europe, all were good.
Elk, Elk, and did i say Elk?
Gunner
I've had, elk, mule deer, caribou, whitetail, black bear, turkey,ducks, grouse, quail, rabbit, and stuff I want to forget
but Moose.. that's the best.
plab
Elk is the best I have ever had.
I like to eat doves and woodducks if they are cooked right.
So far, elk is my favorite. Except for the elk I shot a few years back, all the wild game I have eaten has been from the Southeast.
How does antelope, mule deer, moose, and caribou rank?
Anyone like bear meat?
Several "meats" have been good! Big game depends so much on how its dispatched, gutted/dressed/cooled/transported from the field, how is cured/hung/aged, butchered/wrapped, and then finally prepared!
DOVE
quail
grouse
chukar
pheasant ...... are excellent light fowls.
Pronghorns
whitetail deer
moose
and elk have all been excellent (at times, but not EVERY time I've eaten it)
Brook trout
sockeye
king salmon ...... rate high on the fish-list.
I like Quail, Grouse, and deer.
I tried elk jerky once, it was ok, and the bear jerky i had was good too. Never really had an elk steak. I hope to fix that this year.
Nilgia,elk,axis deer,whitetail deer,mule deer are some of the ones I really like.My list could be quite long.I really think wild game is a much healthier form of meat these days.