Best Game Meat??

[Mnbogboy]

Was curious what opinions would be about the best game meat?? Have heard Axis deer are tasty? What about Aoudad?
I would rate from the meat ive had:
Sika (mini elk from Maryland/Japan)
Elk
Moose
Than everything else in a large drop off

Thoughts?

Whitetail
longhorns
Moose

 

[D4570]

#1 Wild Bison
#2 Young Moose
#3 Sandhill crane.

 

[D4570]

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.

SWAN!!! Is the bottom of all closely followed by sagehen.

 

[Falcon75]

We only brought out two moose ribs to try and that was one of the best things I have eaten in my life. Want to go back to Quebec just for the ribs and a whole brisket this time. Burnt ends moose sounds so good. Antelope steak asada is second.

 

[bigsky2]

1) Oryx
2) Moose
3) Antelope
4) Elk
5) Sandhill Crane

 

[TOGIE]

i'm starting to realize if there is nothing wrong with the animal they damn near all taste the same and are all very good - at least between all the deer, elk, pronghorn, and moose i've eaten.

and any animal could be off tasting for any number of reasons.

but pronghorn still seems to be the most enjoyed one for my wife and me.

 

[shannerdrake]

Very subjective and a lot of variability.

I have found that when it comes to red meat, elk tends to be my favorite. I do eat a lot of whitetail and I have found some delicious and some not and I can't really put a rhyme or reason to it.

I've also had elk that was really good and some not that great. I shot a high country cow in two feet of snow and temps in the teens. Dropped her in her tracks and got her skinned, quartered, and cooled very quickly. I thought she would be the best meat I have ever had and was shocked at how "gamey" she was. Fast forward, two years later, I shot a mature bull in 80 degree temps with a muzzleloader who took awhile to die and awhile to cutup and cool. He turned out to be absolutely delicious. Makes no sense at all.

Wild hog can be delicious, but also not so good. Upland birds eat well. Early season puddle ducks are delicious. I feel like fat mallards eat more like a steak than a bird though. I still haven't got a taste for canada goose, but they are good enough in snack sticks or shredded and covered in bbq sauce.

It's been said 1000 times, but preparation matters more than meat. Learn how to cook things right and use the right meats for the right meal and you will be happy. An elk rump is never going to make a good stand in for dry smoked pulled pork so don't be disappointed when it doesn't turn out. However, brine that same piece and hot smoke it to medium and slice it thin and serve with horseradish and you will convert some vegans.

 

[Trap]

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.

thanks- I will go with the immediate ice and taking in the cool part of day that may or may not work depends on the antelope cooperation ha ha. I have clued into skinning immediately but not a huge difference so far. It’s not toughness on antelope ,it’s the flavor ,ours are always pretty strong reminds me of mutton kinda? Anyways we will keep trying things. Lots of people love antelope and I have been hunting/eating them for 30 plus years and still last thing out of the freezer. Thanks

 

[Deleted member 28227]

thanks- I will go with the immediate ice and taking in the cool part of day that may or may not work depends on the antelope cooperation ha ha. I have clued into skinning immediately but not a huge difference so far. It’s not toughness on antelope ,it’s the flavor ,ours are always pretty strong reminds me of mutton kinda? Anyways we will keep trying things. Lots of people love antelope and I have been hunting/eating them for 30 plus years and still last thing out of the freezer. Thanks

Yeah that's fair sounds like you're doing it right. Honestly I don't love the taste of beef steaks.

I'll pull an elk steak or deer steak out of the freezer before a beef t-bone. I might suggest preparations that don't "let the meat speak for it's" i.e. less steaks on the grill. Maybe trying smoking it, slow cooking, etc.

 

[jtm307]

Walleye, bass, bluegill, northern pike and crappie are my favorite game meats, not necessarily in that order. I can't tell the difference among any of them, and they're all delicious.

 

[BackofBeyond]

I'll eat anything. For me, game meat is as follows:

1) Axis
2) Antelope
3) Mtn. Lion
4) Moose
5) Elk
6) Whitetail
7) Mulies.

I've heard great things about caribou, hopefully end of next summer I'll be able to put that in it's respective ranking as well.

 

[WyoDoug]

Of what I have tasted for wild meat:
1) Antelope on irrigated fields
2) Corn fed deer or plains deer (mule deer)
3) Elk
4) Bison
5) Sage brush/juniper fed muleys
6) Whitetail deer
7) Antelope off irrigated fields where primary habitat is sage brush or other than irrigated fields

Keep in mind that a lot of how wild game tastes is related to how well you clean and care for the meat after the kill.

 

[Corn king 60]

As far as big game elk is all we will eat . Many years ago we ate so much deer including road kill I think we just got tired of it. I do have a friend that will make Italian roast beef out of it which is very good. Other than that we donate to the food bank all deer.small game squirrel 🐿 meat in home made spaghetti sauce is great. Eastern grouse great.as for fish walleye anytime of year. Perch and bluegill through the ice just seem better than in the summer

 

[Trap]

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?

I forgot Axis deer this was first year we were able to hunt them-way above any other deer probably be number 3 on list so I would go with 3 way tie elk,caribou,axis

 

[CB1]

For me it’s probably:

sandhill crane
Elk
Rabbit
Deer
Squirrel
Dove

Looking forward to expanding the list

 

[Fremont15]

1. Pronghorn
2. Elk
3. Deer

 

[SC Living Outdoors]

Moose and Nilgai are both really high on the list.

 

[ColoradoKid]

Duck

 

[Nick87]

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.

Puddle ducks?

 

[MTLabrador]

Puddle ducks?

This. There’s a big taste difference between mallards and divers.