Worst wild game dish

[bushman13]

An interesting question popped up on Meateater podcast 161. What wild game dish have you cooked that you would never prepare again, and how did you cook it?

Mine is easy. There are non migratory Canadian geese that live in Georgia and I was unfortunate enough to shoot a couple in my early twenties. I got the bright idea of using a cookbook I had from Justin Wilson, the recipe for was for some kind of baked goose using Sauterne wine. I ended up with a pink cooked goose that tasted like it sounds, disgusting and indelible. I haven't raised my shotgun against a goose since, probably never will.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Diver duck sausage... the whole thing was ill conceived from the onset.

 

[Nameless Range]

Osso bucco is the most overrated wild game dish out there. I have made it twice, thinking the first time was a fluke, using two different but similar recipes from well-known wild game food-folk - once with a mule deer and the second time with elk. Just my opinion, but shanks are for burger.

 

[----]

I made a mule deer pastrami one time, but forgot to rinse/soak after the brine. It was like licking a salt cube, and not suitable for man or beast. Ben Lamb ate the whole thing.

 

[Pelican]

I tried to cook a goldeneye like I cook mallards. Terrible is an understatement. The first and last goldeneye I’ve shot. I gave a piece of the breast to the cat and he tried to bury it on the kitchen floor.

 

[madtom]

Osso bucco is the most overrated wild game dish out there. I have made it twice, thinking the first time was a fluke, using two different but similar recipes from well-known wild game food-folk - once with a mule deer and the second time with elk. Just my opinion, but shanks are for burger.

That's been my experience too. They even make marginal burger.

 

[madtom]

I tried to boil and sous vide the tongue from my elk this year. Granted I had little clue what I was doing, the flavor was weird enough that I'd be reluctant to pack out another.

 

[glass eye]

An old Billy Goat............nasty.

 

[LuketheDog]

Osso bucco is the most overrated wild game dish out there. I have made it twice, thinking the first time was a fluke, using two different but similar recipes from well-known wild game food-folk - once with a mule deer and the second time with elk. Just my opinion, but shanks are for burger.

Something wrong with your taste buds or your kitchen skills man, braised shanks are top shelf...

 

[MTelkHuntress]

Deer brains......some cultural things just dont translate. But the deer tongue tacos were superb!

 

[WapitiBob]

Duck
Catfish was so bad neither the cat or dog would touch it.

 

[JDH]

I grilled a couple of freshly killed snow goose breasts once. Didn't freeze, soak, marinade, or tenderize them. I have also had a couple of terrible catfish.

 

[WildWill]

Grilled paddle fish!

 

[wytex]

Snipe , the lab wouldn't even eat it.

 

[bushman13]

Snipe , the lab wouldn't even eat it.

Interesting, growing up in the scrub lands of Florida, snipe was the most elusive prize for my brother and I when we would set out on .410 grab bag adventures. I can't remember what they taste like though, but I will never forget how hard they are to hit.

 

[npaden]

Probably the legs off a wild turkey. I grilled them along with the breast. The breast was tough, but had good flavor but I was unable to consume the legs. With all the tendons and chewiness I couldn't get it down.

I guess I don't really remember the taste one way or the other, just the fact that it was the toughest thing I've ever attempted to consume.

 

[BigHornRam]

Mountain goat billy in rut. Smell alone would make you hurl.

 

[gouch]

Snipe , the lab wouldn't even eat it.

I felt the same way the first time I tried it. I tried it again a couple of years later and it was great. Don't know what the difference was.
Coot on the other hand is just plain horrible.

 

[Sask hunter]

Elk tongue brined and cooked like out of hank Shaw book. It tasted ok but I couldn’t get past the smell!!!

 

[huntin24/7]

Bighorn sheep my wife shot during the rut. Grilled backstraps, roasts, snacksticks. Didn't matter. It all tasted bad, and I'm not a fussy eater. I like lamb too, but this just wasnt good.