Favourite Big Game...for food!

rasterman77 · 01-28-2008, 06:39 PM

What's your favourite big game animal to eat?
Why?
How do you cook it?

SwedeSteve · 01-29-2008, 02:21 AM

Def caribou! Marinate in half a bottle of good red wine. Drink the other half while grilling.Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill it and serve with a onion/pepper/garlic relish on the side. Oh ya, and lots of potatos.

ezearln · 01-29-2008, 12:43 PM

Wel I like wild game of any type fit for eating, I think though my favorite of all is a lil exotic we have here in Texas. Axis Deer, I think it tastes better than whitetail or mule deer and seems at least to me to have a better texture as well as being a little more forgiving of over cooking. I like thick Axis steaks as well as Axis chili!!

rasterman77 · 01-29-2008, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ezearln

Wel I like wild game of any type fit for eating, I think though my favorite of all is a lil exotic we have here in Texas. Axis Deer, I think it tastes better than whitetail or mule deer and seems at least to me to have a better texture as well as being a little more forgiving of over cooking. I like thick Axis steaks as well as Axis chili!!

Had to look those deer up, neat looking animal, would love to try it.

Swede, sounds delicious! even if it wasn't it probably would taste just fine considering the 1/2 bottle of wine I just drank ..

ArkansasHunter · 01-29-2008, 03:27 PM

DEER.

rasterman77 · 01-29-2008, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ArkansasHunter

DEER.

Wife hates the "gaminess", what do you suggest?

lefty o · 01-29-2008, 04:58 PM

alot of gaminess is not getting them cleaned fast enough. mine are gutted within 5minutes of hitting the ground. also corn fed deer taste better than deer that live in swamps or pine forrests. make sure to cut off what little fat there is, and marinate. it will never taste like beef, but it doesnt have to taste gamey either. the key to cooking venison is to not overcook it. i dont like bloody meat, but if you overcook it, its going to be like chewing on leather.

ezearln · 01-29-2008, 05:03 PM

Field dressing and cooling the meat as soon as humanly possible goes a long way towards eliminating the so called gaminess of any and all wild meat!

rasterman77 · 01-29-2008, 05:11 PM

Thanks guys, our deer are all mountain deer, we have little or no praire type areas thusly no praire crops.
I have been eating game for 30 years no prob, but my wife doesn't want to cook deer.. says she won't enjoy it anyway, so the task is up to me, the cooking then getting her to try it... hopefully I can make it tasty.
I field dress it immediatly and since our mountain air is pretty damn chilly in the fall (0-35*F), I don't think that is going to be a problem. I also shove snow in its cavity till I get home and hang it.. sound right to you boys?
What about marinades, types and length?

billy · 01-29-2008, 05:46 PM

caribou 1st then elk or cattle

i like meat that doesnt need the flavor hidden by marinades.
thats why i dont like venison.

rasterman77 · 01-30-2008, 02:08 PM

Way more votes for deer than I thought, are the deer votes coming from people that have not tried the others?, just curious. To be honest, I think moose and elk are about the closest to heaven you can get eating meat!

Rye-man · 01-30-2008, 07:43 PM

I prefer Mule deer to elk (but it is real close). Haven't tried the bottom four choices yet. We have always found that in addition to the tips suggested above about cleaning them good and keeping them cool that how you cut them up (process them) makes a difference in the taste. We cut out all the fat and anything that isn't red meat that we can. It takes longer but is well worth the effort in my opinion. My favorite way to cook it is to roll it in flour and just fry it. We butterfly the steaks so that they are fairly thin. Fix some mashed taters and gravy (made in the same skillet you just cooked the meat in) and ohhh ya. Good stuff.

Magnumsrule · 01-30-2008, 09:15 PM

Ya i found that strange that so many people like deer the most. Moose has to be the best but elk is not far behind depending on the animal. Just put some montreal steak spice on em while bbqin. Thye are delicous.

Mooseman684 · 01-30-2008, 09:43 PM

Well, since you didnt list Dall sheep or Buffalo, Has to be Moose.
As far as Gamey goes Most hunters do not hang and age the Meat. It will always be gamey if the Meat is fresh killed and butchered or if the Animal is running and scared when shot due to the adrenaline in the meat...I hang My Moose for a Month, letting it mold all over the outside,The enzymes have to go thru the meat, when trimmed and cut , it will be moist, tender ,Juicy, and have No gamey flavor...Prime as real aged beef, which if you never experienced Real Aged beef, you don't know what you are missing.Mold on Meat outside does Not hurt a thing, It gets trimmed during butchering, like cutting off a rind...
Rich

billy · 01-30-2008, 09:49 PM

the deer around here live on sage.
and thats what it tastes like.
nah no thanks.

Magnumsrule · 01-30-2008, 09:49 PM

For all the butchering we do and how much work it is along with the mess i cannot even begine to emagine what a horrible job it must be to butcher an animal covered in mold!

billy · 01-30-2008, 09:50 PM

wheres the boxes to check for skunk/possum/nutria/porkeepine?

chime in A.H.!

Mooseman684 · 01-30-2008, 09:52 PM

Billy, if the deer tastes like sage, add Hot pepper flakes, salt , pepper, some brown sugar, and some pork fat...Grind it in to Breakfast sausage...YUM.

Deersniper · 01-30-2008, 10:02 PM

I love deer, and you can pre-soak the meat in a little vinegar and water to reduce the gaminess taste. It has really helped me recover from CHF. What I would really love is some buffalo [Bison]. It's low in cholesterol, and high in protein. I tried some deer steaks on the grill but they came out tough, guess I cooked them too long. Going to find some Bison. Can't hunt them in Texas.

rasterman77 · 01-31-2008, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mooseman684

Well, since you didnt list Dall sheep or Buffalo, Has to be Moose.
As far as Gamey goes Most hunters do not hang and age the Meat. It will always be gamey if the Meat is fresh killed and butchered or if the Animal is running and scared when shot due to the adrenaline in the meat...I hang My Moose for a Month, letting it mold all over the outside,The enzymes have to go thru the meat, when trimmed and cut , it will be moist, tender ,Juicy, and have No gamey flavor...Prime as real aged beef, which if you never experienced Real Aged beef, you don't know what you are missing.Mold on Meat outside does Not hurt a thing, It gets trimmed during butchering, like cutting off a rind...
Rich

Sh*t, I knew I forgot some of the popular big game, a friend of mine just (Dec.) brought back a nice buffalo from Pink Mtn. , off the highway that leads to you Mooseman. I love bison/buffalo meat but I don't hunt for it so it slipped my mind. Dall sheep too, man what a brain fart.
We age our deer, but not every time, in the early season (Sept. 10 is the start) it is still so bloody hot here (15-25*celsius) the deer usually go straight to the shop. The late season deer we age and, yes, much better, the moose and elk are so damn tasty they seldom will get the aging process but I want to try it this '08 season.

Billy, I said "big game", don't know about where you live but our skunks and such don't take 'roids.

View Poll Results: Favourite Big game..for food!
Whitetail deer	15	50.00%
Mule deer	2	6.67%
Elk	6	20.00%
Moose	8	26.67%
Caribou	2	6.67%
Bear	0	0%
Big Cats	0	0%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 30. You may not vote on this poll

01-28-2008, 06:39 PM	#1
rasterman77 Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: B.C. Canada Posts: 298	Favourite Big Game...for food! What's your favourite big game animal to eat? Why? How do you cook it? __________________ 2 things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, I'm not sure about the former. Einstein Last edited by rasterman77; 01-28-2008 at 08:43 PM.

01-29-2008, 02:21 AM	#2
SwedeSteve Thor's Hammer Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Alaska Posts: 14,194 Images: 1	Def caribou! Marinate in half a bottle of good red wine. Drink the other half while grilling.Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill it and serve with a onion/pepper/garlic relish on the side. Oh ya, and lots of potatos. __________________ Thank God we don't get as much Government as we pay for! -Will Rogers

01-29-2008, 12:43 PM	#3
ezearln Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Texas Hill Country Posts: 3,175	Wel I like wild game of any type fit for eating, I think though my favorite of all is a lil exotic we have here in Texas. Axis Deer, I think it tastes better than whitetail or mule deer and seems at least to me to have a better texture as well as being a little more forgiving of over cooking. I like thick Axis steaks as well as Axis chili!! __________________ "You can have my Freedom when I'm done with it!"

01-29-2008, 05:03 PM	#8
ezearln Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Texas Hill Country Posts: 3,175	Field dressing and cooling the meat as soon as humanly possible goes a long way towards eliminating the so called gaminess of any and all wild meat! __________________ "You can have my Freedom when I'm done with it!"

01-29-2008, 03:27 PM	#5
ArkansasHunter Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: South Arkansas Posts: 11,274	DEER.

01-29-2008, 04:58 PM	#7
lefty o Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: mn Posts: 5,362	alot of gaminess is not getting them cleaned fast enough. mine are gutted within 5minutes of hitting the ground. also corn fed deer taste better than deer that live in swamps or pine forrests. make sure to cut off what little fat there is, and marinate. it will never taste like beef, but it doesnt have to taste gamey either. the key to cooking venison is to not overcook it. i dont like bloody meat, but if you overcook it, its going to be like chewing on leather.

01-29-2008, 05:11 PM	#9
rasterman77 Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: B.C. Canada Posts: 298	Thanks guys, our deer are all mountain deer, we have little or no praire type areas thusly no praire crops. I have been eating game for 30 years no prob, but my wife doesn't want to cook deer.. says she won't enjoy it anyway, so the task is up to me, the cooking then getting her to try it... hopefully I can make it tasty. I field dress it immediatly and since our mountain air is pretty damn chilly in the fall (0-35*F), I don't think that is going to be a problem. I also shove snow in its cavity till I get home and hang it.. sound right to you boys? What about marinades, types and length? __________________ 2 things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, I'm not sure about the former. Einstein

01-29-2008, 05:46 PM	#10
billy Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: a secret lab on the shores of lake titicaca Posts: 15,825 Images: 10 Blog Entries: 159	caribou 1st then elk or cattle i like meat that doesnt need the flavor hidden by marinades. thats why i dont like venison. __________________ ignint mcnugget... the slug o love sez... remember kids two warning shots to the head for safety! Last edited by billy; 01-29-2008 at 05:47 PM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost

01-30-2008, 02:08 PM	#11
rasterman77 Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: B.C. Canada Posts: 298	Way more votes for deer than I thought, are the deer votes coming from people that have not tried the others?, just curious. To be honest, I think moose and elk are about the closest to heaven you can get eating meat! __________________ 2 things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, I'm not sure about the former. Einstein

01-30-2008, 07:43 PM	#12
Rye-man Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Western Colorado Posts: 109	I prefer Mule deer to elk (but it is real close). Haven't tried the bottom four choices yet. We have always found that in addition to the tips suggested above about cleaning them good and keeping them cool that how you cut them up (process them) makes a difference in the taste. We cut out all the fat and anything that isn't red meat that we can. It takes longer but is well worth the effort in my opinion. My favorite way to cook it is to roll it in flour and just fry it. We butterfly the steaks so that they are fairly thin. Fix some mashed taters and gravy (made in the same skillet you just cooked the meat in) and ohhh ya. Good stuff. __________________ "A free people ought to be armed." - George Washington Last edited by Rye-man; 01-30-2008 at 07:45 PM.

01-30-2008, 09:15 PM	#13
Magnumsrule Senior Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Northern Alberta, Canada Posts: 602 Blog Entries: 2	Ya i found that strange that so many people like deer the most. Moose has to be the best but elk is not far behind depending on the animal. Just put some montreal steak spice on em while bbqin. Thye are delicous. __________________ Cartridge Group Like to discuss cartridges? Join HERE!

01-30-2008, 09:43 PM	#14
Mooseman684 Super Moderator Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Alaska Wilderness...Currently in Holiday, Fla. Posts: 11,027 Images: 2	Well, since you didnt list Dall sheep or Buffalo, Has to be Moose. As far as Gamey goes Most hunters do not hang and age the Meat. It will always be gamey if the Meat is fresh killed and butchered or if the Animal is running and scared when shot due to the adrenaline in the meat...I hang My Moose for a Month, letting it mold all over the outside,The enzymes have to go thru the meat, when trimmed and cut , it will be moist, tender ,Juicy, and have No gamey flavor...Prime as real aged beef, which if you never experienced Real Aged beef, you don't know what you are missing.Mold on Meat outside does Not hurt a thing, It gets trimmed during butchering, like cutting off a rind... Rich __________________ You know you might be facing your doom,when all you get is a click when you're expecting a BOOM!

01-30-2008, 09:49 PM	#15
billy Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: a secret lab on the shores of lake titicaca Posts: 15,825 Images: 10 Blog Entries: 159	the deer around here live on sage. and thats what it tastes like. nah no thanks. __________________ ignint mcnugget... the slug o love sez... remember kids two warning shots to the head for safety!

01-30-2008, 09:50 PM	#17
billy Moderator Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: a secret lab on the shores of lake titicaca Posts: 15,825 Images: 10 Blog Entries: 159	wheres the boxes to check for skunk/possum/nutria/porkeepine? chime in A.H.! __________________ ignint mcnugget... the slug o love sez... remember kids two warning shots to the head for safety! Last edited by billy; 01-30-2008 at 09:51 PM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost

01-30-2008, 09:52 PM	#18
Mooseman684 Super Moderator Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Alaska Wilderness...Currently in Holiday, Fla. Posts: 11,027 Images: 2	Billy, if the deer tastes like sage, add Hot pepper flakes, salt , pepper, some brown sugar, and some pork fat...Grind it in to Breakfast sausage...YUM. __________________ You know you might be facing your doom,when all you get is a click when you're expecting a BOOM!

01-30-2008, 10:02 PM	#19
Deersniper Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 2,137	I love deer, and you can pre-soak the meat in a little vinegar and water to reduce the gaminess taste. It has really helped me recover from CHF. What I would really love is some buffalo [Bison]. It's low in cholesterol, and high in protein. I tried some deer steaks on the grill but they came out tough, guess I cooked them too long. Going to find some Bison. Can't hunt them in Texas.