Best tasting wild game

[hunternyny]

I saw Dr Mike's comment about how much he enjoys eating moose meat and was wondering

Everybody, but especially those who live in the west and/or up North in Canada and Alaska who are able to hunt so many different species of animals

Everything being equal--time of year, age, etc, what is the best tasting wild game in your opinion

 

[AK7AN]

I have had Missouri Whitetail.. some were good some weren't at all..
Colorado alfalfa fed Mule deer, all very tender and tasty.
Colorado Elk, Excellent table fare for sure and my freezer is still empty..
But I think the best wild big game I have ever eaten was a Colorado hi country Pronghorn, unbelievable delicate flavor, and so tender you almost don't need a knife.. Cook it medium rare on the grill with just a little garlic salt and FANTASTIC!!!

One wild game that I do miss, living out here in the west, is Squirrel, grew up in SW Missouri hunting and eating a lot of the little tasty creatures..

Oh, Grouse aint bad either..

Take care
Ed

 

[SJB358]

So far, nothing has beat a spike elk. I bring the pieces back and they hang in the cooler for 15-21 days. I have had some grill sessions were people couldn't stop stealing pieces off the grill and the funny part was they "didn't like venison". It was awesome.

Had moose and caribou and of course a bunch of deer and some antelope but elk really seems to draw a crowd. May have to take another moose to make the assessment a little better.

Great question.

 

[Thebear_78]

Dall sheep is right up there at the top. Moose and caribou are very good too. Goat is pretty good too.


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[DrMike]

Bear is correct in putting sheep up high. I'd say that sheep rates about best, followed closely by moose. A good cow elk or a young bull that is not rutted up can be very fine, though an alfalfa fed whitetail would press hard to surpass that elk. I've eaten more than a few bull elk that were fighting for their harem that were very tasty. It leads me to believe that how the animal is handled and how quickly the meat is cooled to determine whether it is gamey or not. I'd rank a good black bear that has been feeding on oats or on alfalfa or grazing on berries right there with whitetail. Mule deer can be somewhat gamey; it is an acquired taste. My wife doesn't care for mulies whatsoever. However, I've taken a few mule deer in central BC that had fed on sage that were very hard to beat for flavour. Still, I tend to prefer a tender young whitetail to a mule deer. Caribou is similar to mule deer in my experience, which isn't a bad thing at all. After this, I'd say that grizzly, cougar and goat are all acquired tastes. Each can be good, but there are other meats that are superior.

I haven't really had bad game, yet. Some had a wilder flavour than others, but all was good. As I stated, I am convinced that getting the hide off and cooling the animal, taking care to use two sets of knives (one for the hide and one for the meat) and cutting boneless are keys to superior meat.

 

[Thebear_78]

A fishy or carrion eating bear can be inedible. There is no way to make it palatable.

Marine mamas also must be an acquired taste, personally I can't stomach any of the finned mammals.


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[DrMike]

Good point, Bear. I've never shot a bear on carrion, having always been careful to consider food sources. Candidly, I have no desire to shoot such an animal. Bears feeding on oats or wheat? Fantastic!

 

[Thebear_78]

I agree, we eat bears whenever available. I did have some meat given to me that a buddy had shot. It was pre ground into Berger. My wife made spaghetti with it. First taste and I asked her....
"Is this salmon spaghetti?"
The dog wouldn't even eat it, and I've seen him munch down a week old road killed squirrel


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[Africa Huntress]

Mountain Zebra
Dall sheep
Tahr
Eland
Cane Rat

I think would possibly be my top five.

But, we have had bad and good of the same animal. I think it depends on the animal's life style as well as the time of year it was harvested in some cases, how it was dressed out, especially time wise and how it is prepared.

I agree with Dr Mike about "acquired" tastes, as both my sisters like lion rump but I do not ( or they are just trying to get on mum's good side ) I prefer whitetail over both mule deer and caribou. I only had moose one time and remember it as being very palatable. But if Dr Mike or Gil, or Cheyenne was to invite me to have dinner with them the next time they are having moose for dinner, I would be in a better position to give a more knowledgeable opinion on the taste of moose meat .

Best Regards

Jamila

 

[Anonymous]

Hard to pin this one down...

I'm very favorable to caribou shot up in the alpine in August. Big bulls in the rut are among the most inedible thing on earth. Great eating but timing matters. Cows taste better than bulls and young ones taste better than old ones. A 3 yr old cow is about the best yield to flavor ratio. I have shot a few yearlings over the years...exquisite is not an overstatement. Very versatile is about anything.

I'm also favorable toward moose- best specimens are little fork horns or cows if you can draw the tag. Everyone wants giants with racks the size of a plyboard...not so great on the table, but still ok. Good thing cause there's a lot of it.

Bears are the most variable meat in my AO...a bear shot in the alpine feeding on berries is flat out great eating...a bear down in the bottom rummaging trash or carcasses...not so much.

Mountain Goat is ok...honestly not my favorite, it's edible but finding a good goat recipe is nearly the challenge that killing a goat is. In Mexican dishes the old el cabrito is not bad. I can't eat it thinking beef, it's too different.

Dall sheep....is not as good as moose but good in it's own way. It's mutton...strong flavored in it's mildest forms and big rams aren't that. Best one I had was an ancient double broomer, past breeding age and almost past going at all. I imagine a young ewe is delicious, but there aren't a lot of ewe tags anywhere wild sheep are hunted.

Muskox are good eats. Reminiscent of yak. Very mild flavored and very lean.

Bison are just good. Everything a beef cow wants to be. I've had cow and bull and couldn't tell them apart.

Blacktail deer- pretty good. More complex than caribou or moose. Bucks can be a little variable in the rut. I can't tell a lot of difference from white-tailed deer or mule deer actually.

Surprisingly... lynx. Weirdly chicken like. I will eat every one I shoot. Much like mountain lion and a bit hard to come by as well.

Beaver....no. Not very good. It's a mountain man staple and they can keep it. My only thought is they killed a lot of beaver and didn't have to expend another minute killing groceries.

Grouse- my favorite of the bird species, especially ruffed. Ptarmigan are decent...complex and liverish. Ducks are OK- mallard, teals and pintails are the best...everything else is downhill precipitously. Lower 48 ducks are better eating after they flown from grain field to grain field. Up here they are muddy tasting.

Red squirrels....not really squirrels. See BEAVER.

Hares....not my favorite. Better than starving and they are reasonably plentiful.

I've left out some of the exotica like walrus and whale... I've only eaten them as a guest and couldn't say much about it otherwise.

 

[DrMike]

Hodgeman, you are correct to include bison. It has to be as good or better than moose. Only shot a couple, but they were superb. Jamila, come on by any time. Coffee is always on. I imagine we can scrounge some moose about any time. I may have to beg some from Gil the way my hunting has gone the past couple of years, but I'm not above begging!

 

[Thankful Otter]

Hodgeman summed it up pretty darn well, Bison, muskox, moose all make excellent table fare and they are accessible. A young Dall is as good as the aforementioned three, in my opinion, but not as assessable, at least not to us. I agree with Dr Mike, Bear and hodgeman about bear meat.

 

[Blkram]

Since moose has been our family staple most of my life (while not on our grandparents farm with homegrown beef), a two year old moose, bull or cow, is the best flavoured meat there is, and you can cut it with a fork! Just got my moose home this evening from the meat cutters, so freezer is full, and gave Dad a couple of boxes of meat too...he's a happy camper tonight!

While bigger or older moose is not as tender, if handled properly (as mentioned above by DrMike) is still very good. The only bad moose meat I ever ate was at a friend's and I would swear that they left it all day in the heat before gutting it, and then dragged it through the fresh scrape by atv back to the truck, and then hung it with the skin on for a week before cutting and wrappings! Only moose steak I ever ate that required a skilsaw to cut and was absolutely terrible!

Bison is very good, but must be cooked slowly over low heat.

Elk is very good, and the closest game we have to beef. Bull or cow, again, very important on how the animal is taken care of, but best is young, dry cow. Have never eaten bad elk.

Whitetail is typically better than mule deer, but must admit the best deer I ever ate was a hybrid taken off an alfalfa field. Delicious!

Caribou is good, and closely resembles mule deer. Have only taken young bulls to date.

Mountain sheep, bighorn or stone, is very, very good. Only meat you do not require fat in the pan to cook, nor salt. My wife's favourite!

Mountain goat is good, but is definitely tougher.

Pronghorn is very tasty, and friends are still asking if I have any sausage hidden away! But have only taken bucks on farmland so far, so have not had the "sage" taste that I have been told about yet.

Bear is good, both grizzly and black bear, with the blackberry being better eating, and more tender. I have not taken a carrion, fishy or garbage dump bear. Not my favourite, but good. My wife loves black bear roast.

Mountain lion is very good, but is rich. Unfortunately, I did not think to eat my Lynx, but will be trying the next one! Thanks for that tip hodgeman!

Ruffed grouse are definitely the best tasting grouse! I let Noah have the spruce hens and sharptails! The blues are good, but those big roosters can be a bit chewy.

Hares are tasty, but are much better in the spring and summer.

Beaver and muskrat, I cannot recall, but know we ate lots when I was a toddler, as that was what was available most of the winter from the trap line.

Looking forward to trying muskox sometime soon. Still not excited about walrus...but who knows, it could be better than I've been told, but think I would try seal first. Whale could be interesting.

Looking forward to trying axis deer and blackbuck, as I have heard and read that it is amongst the best venison on the planet. Also looking forward to trying some of the African game. Sounds like some is very good!

By all means, if anyone is travelling through, drop us a line, and I'm sure we can find you something delicious to eat!

 

[Europe]

Excellent responses, very detailed, excellent fellows

I admit the first time they wanted me to shoot and then eat a zebra I was reluctant, since I had, had horses all my life-------------but, I have to admit they are delicious, but so are a lot of the plains animals.

The absolute best--tough one. Granted I also enjoy dining on Dall sheep, but the Tahr is just as good in my opinion. I prefer moose meat over Elk, but I would never turn down an Elk dinner.

If I had to choose one it probably would be Coues Deer.

Gil, Dr Mike, Cheyenne, hodgeman--tell us about the polar bear. I read so many conflicting reports ?

 

[truck driver]

I have had farm raised Bison and Elk since there are farms in PA and NY where they are raised and sold. And really like Bison a lot but have not been able to obtain a lot of Elk. I grew up off what I could catch or kill and gray squirrel was a always on the table when in season and loved it cooked anyway my mother would fix it, one of my favorites was gray squirrel slippery pot pie and my mother could make slippery pot pie out of anything that was available Mourning Dove and wild pigeon was also high on the list for making pot pie.
As far as White Tail Deer the best I have ate was button buck that I killed during antler less season which is very mild tender and tasty.
Most hunters only use one knife to dress and skin deer which is a big mistake and they also let the deer hang with the hide on for several days before skinning and cut into the scent glands on the back legs or handle the glands with their hands and get it on the meat while skinning which is another big mistake made by novice hunters and then they claim the meat is bad or the friends who they serve it to claim it is gamey and bad tasting all because of miss handling when they dress it. I haven't killed a white tail deer that I didn't enjoy eating and the first thing cooked the day of the kill was the the two strips of fish located just under the loin. Butter flied and lightly flowered with salt and a touch of black pepper is causing my mouth to water just thinking about it.

 

[joelkdouglas]

I agree with Scotty, a young elk is a top contender for best tasting game.

I also really like rabbit.

 

[Thankful Otter]

April, we feel the best cuts are from the back/shoulder blade area. We prepare them in a stew, with whatever we have, but preferably with potatoes, carrots, etc. the paws are considered a delicacy, but we just don't have the time that it takes to prepare them, but have and they are tasty ( somewhat like pork ). Like the Grizzly, the taste and texture vary from animal to animal and they are no where close to the best tasting wild game in my opinion, but Gil, Dr Mike and Hodgeman may disagree with me

 

[DrMike]

Grizzly ... are no where close to the best tasting wild game in my opinion, but Gil, Dr Mike and Hodgeman may disagree with me

Grizzly is tolerable, but the meat tends to be more coarse than black bear. Flavour wise, it is palatable.

 

[FOTIS]

Cane rat ????

 

[Europe]

Cane rat ????

LOL Actually they are so popular in some areas that people raise them like we do chickens and sell them in markets--open air markets--not piggly wiggle's

However, Jamila.s mother also loves deep fried termites and other weird stuff, so what can one say

fotis, what is your vote for best tasting wild game. some say antelope and you can probably hunt them from your back porch