SDbuckmaster
Member
When I was younger I hated antelope but now it is the best hands down.
Best Game Meat??
- Thread starter CTELK83
- Start date
Guess I'd put Oryx as #1, but it's been 6 or 7 years since I've shot one. Elk, moose, and antelope are all great, can't say one is better than the other, on average. I also like mallards, pintails, and teal, but occasionally I get one that's not so great.
QuazyQuinton
Well-known member
Just sayin'....
Factors that influence wild game meat taste:
1-5. How the meat was cared for in the field.
6. The memory of the hunt. Savoring the meat and the memory of the hunt just go together.
Everything after that is mostly in your head.
Pucky Freak
Well-known member
I cannot tell a difference in taste or texture between the fawn antelope and the 3-year-old buck antelope I got last year.
On spring geese individual birds vary a lot, between inedible and tolerable. However, the hearts and livers are the best of any animal I’ve had.
One of the buck WT I shot last year was superb - far better than all the other bucks I’ve eaten. I can’t make heads or tails of it, but the meat is really good!
On spring geese individual birds vary a lot, between inedible and tolerable. However, the hearts and livers are the best of any animal I’ve had.
One of the buck WT I shot last year was superb - far better than all the other bucks I’ve eaten. I can’t make heads or tails of it, but the meat is really good!
Carl 9.3x62
Well-known member
I'd say either antelope or elk. My darling girlfriend, who's opinion I value greatly, prefers Blackhills baby whitetail.
Anyone on hear ever try elephant? @Europe or @kansasdad ? I would love to try it someday.
Anyone on hear ever try elephant? @Europe or @kansasdad ? I would love to try it someday.
Nick87
Well-known member
Snow geese taste like shit, to put it lightly.
BZNHNTR
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 25, 2021
- Messages
- 101
For big game pronghorn has to be the top for being consistently good. Then dall sheep, it’s amazing and what is left in the freezer is gold to us. Moose 3rd then elk but have had a couple elk that would be at the bottom. Then caribou (only had ones harvested in August and were great), Sitka black tail, Columbia black tail, whitetail, mule deer, bear. Tried musk ox once and would rank It very high but not a large enough sample size to be sure. Mountain goat also only once but would be at the bottom.
Overall I like them all though and love variety in the freezer!
Overall I like them all though and love variety in the freezer!
@Carl 9.3x62 i don’t remember eating the elephant my dad killed (my avatar photo). I do recall a recipe that was printed in a fundraising recipe book.
The elephant he killed left Tsavo National Park to enter the neighboring subsistence farmers maize fields. Dad and friend (professional hunter Peter Whitehead) were waiting on intercept very early in the morning as the elephant was returning towards the parks borders.
The entire elephant was parted out and distributed by the local population with speed. Dad kept the tail, tusks and ears (for leather).
Wild game that I recall eating include Thompson’s and Grant’s gazelle, wildebeest, and warthog. Zebra loins were eaten as camp food, along with impala. I don’t think we ate any of the Cape Buffalo (similar to the elephant, the carcass is picked clean in a few short hours).
My favorite/most memorable African meat is eland. This is the one animal that the Maasai would enjoy eating, as the called them “God‘s cattle”.
The elephant he killed left Tsavo National Park to enter the neighboring subsistence farmers maize fields. Dad and friend (professional hunter Peter Whitehead) were waiting on intercept very early in the morning as the elephant was returning towards the parks borders.
The entire elephant was parted out and distributed by the local population with speed. Dad kept the tail, tusks and ears (for leather).
Wild game that I recall eating include Thompson’s and Grant’s gazelle, wildebeest, and warthog. Zebra loins were eaten as camp food, along with impala. I don’t think we ate any of the Cape Buffalo (similar to the elephant, the carcass is picked clean in a few short hours).
My favorite/most memorable African meat is eland. This is the one animal that the Maasai would enjoy eating, as the called them “God‘s cattle”.
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A little search of Al Gore‘s internet……
Kruger National Park (South Africa) will process elephants taken in population control efforts as seen below.
More machinery compared to our day, but the attached video is from Meru National Reserve in Kenya.
Kruger National Park (South Africa) will process elephants taken in population control efforts as seen below.
More machinery compared to our day, but the attached video is from Meru National Reserve in Kenya.
Bison me and my son got opportunities once to hunt free range cow bison. So only had one time but it’s top for me.
1 bison
2 moose
3 elk caribou tied
4 bear
5 whitetail
6 sheep
7 mountain lion
8 mule deer pronghorn tied
9 wild hog
I have tried everything to make pronghorn good. Shooting off alfalfa, game care methods, only shooting not running- I have taken all the bar stool advice to heart and it never tastes really good. Usually becomes pepper sticks. Still open to suggestions there as we antelope hunt quite a bit. Pigs probably a one time thing but the ones I got stunk and pretty much could only cook outside ha ha. Always interesting to me that people love antelope-educate me what am I doing wrong? We for the most part only shoot bucks-factor?
1 bison
2 moose
3 elk caribou tied
4 bear
5 whitetail
6 sheep
7 mountain lion
8 mule deer pronghorn tied
9 wild hog
I have tried everything to make pronghorn good. Shooting off alfalfa, game care methods, only shooting not running- I have taken all the bar stool advice to heart and it never tastes really good. Usually becomes pepper sticks. Still open to suggestions there as we antelope hunt quite a bit. Pigs probably a one time thing but the ones I got stunk and pretty much could only cook outside ha ha. Always interesting to me that people love antelope-educate me what am I doing wrong? We for the most part only shoot bucks-factor?
Carl 9.3x62
Well-known member
Looks yummy, haha
I only listed my top.Elk
But I have eaten some others.
Central coast wild pig pretty damn good
Coastal blacktails & SW NM mulies also pretty damn good.
Farmland whitetails also pretty good.
Bison & caribou also pretty damn good.
Moose tastes like liver to me.
Antelope is ok,but I need to harvest my own.
Won't go down the "others" list,same with birds nor fish.
But I have eaten some others.
Central coast wild pig pretty damn good
Coastal blacktails & SW NM mulies also pretty damn good.
Farmland whitetails also pretty good.
Bison & caribou also pretty damn good.
Moose tastes like liver to me.
Antelope is ok,but I need to harvest my own.
Won't go down the "others" list,same with birds nor fish.
belshawelk
Well-known member
to put it more lightly, ALL geese taste like shit. Followed by ducks. Thats why i quit hunting them. I have ducks and geese everyday on our pond.
belshawelk
Well-known member
D
Deleted member 28227
Guest
My 2 cents, all meat is entirely dependent on preparation. Butchering process has a huge effect on the finished product. My assumption is that's where halal came from to begin with, equal parts food safety and how to prep meat so it's not gross.
After butchering cooking becomes super important. Different meats/cuts require different preparations. If you are trying to cook everything the same way, well there is your problem. I'm not particularly good at cooking, but I have enough expertise that I know that someone can make any properly butchered animal delicious.
When you say it "never really tastes good" what are you specifically taking about.
Toughness? Flavor.
You tend to hunt antelope in the heat, IMHO cooling the meat down takes primacy over everything. I try to have the meat on ice as soon as possible. Best pronghorn I've eaten were ones that I shot, skinned on the spot, and then immediately had on ice. Both were killed 10 min into shooting light when it was nice and cool.
I'd have to say pan- fried Mourning Dove is honestly one of my favorites. Easy to clean, easy to cook and to me they just taste so good. Beings me back to the days when I lived in Kansas and had access to sunflower fields. One of the funnest hunts ever when they are flying.
After that, Elk and Whitetail are pretty much tied up. Mule deer can be great, but some (depending on where they lived) just seem gamey to me.
Pronghorn and Squirrel are at the bottom for me. And yes, I've taken all the advice on game preparation blah blah... I think some of us just taste certain things differently than others so into the grinder they go. They are fun as hell to hunt and of course I'm going to eat what I kill.
After that, Elk and Whitetail are pretty much tied up. Mule deer can be great, but some (depending on where they lived) just seem gamey to me.
Pronghorn and Squirrel are at the bottom for me. And yes, I've taken all the advice on game preparation blah blah... I think some of us just taste certain things differently than others so into the grinder they go. They are fun as hell to hunt and of course I'm going to eat what I kill.
1) tie between quail and blue grouse
2) moose
3) antelope
4) elk
5) whitetail deer
Hope to try ibex this year (daughter has tag) and hope to try oryx in the future. I've heard that oryx is supposed to be top notch.
Bottom of the list is dove and ducks/geese. I can doctor them up with bacon and jalapenos on the grill but why bother? I could doctor up a cow turd using similar methods. Best option is to duck/dove hunt with someone who likes to eat it. Seems that people who like liver, love ducks, geese and dove.
A young whitetail (think faint spots showing) would move up the list to #2. Young elk/moose/antelope would also likely move higher on the list.
I worked on a Norwegian fishing vessel one time (fisheries observer with NOAA) where we taste sampled lots of species, including many type of salmon, mackerel, cod, pollock and most anything that came up in the trawl nets. Myself and others preferred the big, ugly Pacific cod over other species. I don't think we had ling cod, but would guess they are similar to Pacific Cod. Boats sold it for dog food since it wasn't the target species.
2) moose
3) antelope
4) elk
5) whitetail deer
Hope to try ibex this year (daughter has tag) and hope to try oryx in the future. I've heard that oryx is supposed to be top notch.
Bottom of the list is dove and ducks/geese. I can doctor them up with bacon and jalapenos on the grill but why bother? I could doctor up a cow turd using similar methods. Best option is to duck/dove hunt with someone who likes to eat it. Seems that people who like liver, love ducks, geese and dove.
A young whitetail (think faint spots showing) would move up the list to #2. Young elk/moose/antelope would also likely move higher on the list.
I worked on a Norwegian fishing vessel one time (fisheries observer with NOAA) where we taste sampled lots of species, including many type of salmon, mackerel, cod, pollock and most anything that came up in the trawl nets. Myself and others preferred the big, ugly Pacific cod over other species. I don't think we had ling cod, but would guess they are similar to Pacific Cod. Boats sold it for dog food since it wasn't the target species.
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