Best Eating Game Animal

[Rubicon_Fan]

I would say Moose. My father and I go hunting up north (Yukon) we hunt Moose, Elk, Caribou and Deer (white tail and mule) If you are cooking on the grill or making a stew Moose by far tastes better than beef to us. If you are making sausages, I like venison. It's a little more gamy and adds an Interesting taste to sausages.

 

[Sangster]

not a "game" animal here in Florida, but a nice 75-125 lb wild hog sow that has been soaked in ice water to get the blood out for 3-5 days and then a shoulder smoked low and slow at 200 degrees for 10-15 hrs with nothing but Everglades seasoning rub.....oh man....soooo good!

Other than that, all I've had is some whitetail steaks...they were ok.

 

[FJR Colorado]

What do you find to be the best eating/ tasty game animal? I do recognize that the cook makes a big difference. For me, Eland is the best I have had and it has been outstanding every time, not just once. I have been very impressed with waterbuck, but it must be handled perfect. Croc was very good, but only had it once. I have taken white-tail deer around apple orchards and they have been great. Tried many other game animals, some not so good. So, what gets your vote?

Regards, SSC

Great topic, Steve.

My vote for land animal would be pheasant; tastes like a very rich turkey to me.

Last January an old buddy from Colorado made a moose roast on a wood stove in a very rustic cabin in Alaska. Man, that was a great experience.

I've had some pretty fair elk in my day too.

As far as all animals go, I'm very partial to Alaskan halibut and salmon. Of course, I also have fond memeories of my days back in Montauk feasting on fresh blue fish and striped bass. Nothing bad about fresh caught lobster and little neck clams too.... And Alaskan razor clams are also fantastic... I guess that goes way outside the bondary of "game animal" though...:ylsmoke:

Interesting that you mention croc... I brought some frozen 'gator back home from N'awlins once and it was the most god awful stuff I ever tasted... but if you say croc is good I'd sure like to try it.

All the best, Steve!

 

[wcdu]

As mentioned earlier, proper care of the meat cannot be over emphasized. I think the reason our pronghorn is so delightful is that our hunt area is only an hour from the butcher in Lander, WY. We keep coolers of block ice ready for that hour drive from camp.

Although no one has precisely pointed it out, I think the work and the joy of harvesting, makes "wild" game extra special.

I bet we all have stories to tell.

Steve

 

[ssc45]

I wanted to thank everyone for posting. Elk was at the top of my list until I started hunting in Africa. I would put it above kudu. I have never tried moose. Great to hear from you Fred. I hope to one day make it to Alaska and try their game.

The croc meat was from the tail and I thought it was scallop's. It was not a huge monster, but not small--11 feet. Don't know if this has anything to do with the taste, plus we had a great cook in that camp. ( interesting hunt, but that's another story)

Cheers, Steve

 

[jluck]

1st.- Oregon mule deer (under 3 year old animal)
2nd- western Oregon ruffled grouse
3rd- elk (spike or young bull)
4th- rattle snake


exotic offerings have been limited but I do love fresh crocodile.

 

[ssssnake529]

Pigs!!!

 

[granitex1]

Elk and pheasant first and formost, followed quickley by Kudu and Spring Buck, and Eland. Hippo I would put a little farther down the list, had the texture of veal but was really salty.

But for me it all comes down to whare you are, what is fresh locally, who is making it, and how hungry you are.

 

[NIVEK_TURK]

Yeah nothing like a fat wild FL boar. Also another plus from being from the space coast is the spicies of the fish. Nothing beats a nice fresh Snook sandwich an hour after being caught and, fresh blackend Redfish. Or better yet, trading a cooler of beer for a cooler of shrimp to the shrimpers stuck out in the middle of the ocean.

 

[HARDTRAILZ]

Elk is great, as is whitetail deer. The deer are better when they have the fields in corn than when they plant beans. Love to eat turtle.
Really liked fresh oysters when I lived in where I could get them hours after harvest.
Have tried most of whats posted, but got a couple new ones to seek out.

 

[john101477]

hmmm Interesting topic. I have been lucky enough to eat "almost" every game animal in north america. Still waiting for some caribou...
Anyways as has been said prep is everything from the field to the stove. when it comes to butchering game not just any butcher can do it and most just cut like they would a sheep, which with muleys or blacktail is wrong IMO. Butchering elk is even tougher to do it right IMO and I usually trust it to just one guy in orland california. The secret with elk is in the cooking process. A big bull elk can be very tough and many have their meat ground into burger or into jerky sticks or even stew meat because they do not know how to deal with it from the start.
In Northern California my family actually prefer to let our Blacktail deer hang in a locker (not a freezer) for up to 14 days and no shorter than 7. We did the same with our idaho Muleys both sage and high timber. As for whitetail i will say that a cornfed doe is much tastier than a monster buck any day, although I prefer my kills to have horns. Now the big one is where the animal comes from. An illinois whitetail is better than a florida whitetail IMO. Not much of a bear eater but I love mountain lion, gator, elk, moose, and most game birds although I have to admit that Dove is my fave bird.

Now fishing is a whole other issue and I have to admit after eating Eagle Lake Trout from eaglke lake in susanville ca I am jaded. Here on the space coast fish is abundant as was stated above but the only fish I have had that comes close to an eagle lake trout is Fresh dolphin. take it to GRILLS at the Cape and let them blacken it for ya. By far the best food I have eaten since I left California.

 

[Hill Bill E.]

Anyways as has been said prep is everything from the field to the stove. when it comes to butchering game not just any butcher can do it and most just cut like they would a sheep, which with muleys or blacktail is wrong IMO..

Yep, that can't be stated enough! Proper wild game prep starts with the shot placement!

I love Elk, but get it rarely here. My family of four easily goes through 4 whitetail deer a year, as well as pheasant, ruffed grouse, salmon and lake trout.

We process all our own game, and I rarely 'age' any of it. I personally think it tastes better when processed as soon as possible, at least with whitetail deer.

This year, my nephew dropped a nice whitetail on opening morning (Saturday) by Sunday afternoon it was skun and quartered, and by Monday it was deboned and wrapped in freezer paper.

So, from 4 legs to wings to fins......

Elk
Pheasant
Salmon (fresh caught, not store bought)

Although I prefer any wildgame over what can be purchased in the store.:coffeedrink:

 

[TRegasaurus]

I hear Jackalope is very good!!

 

[FJR Colorado]

hmmm Interesting topic. I have been lucky enough to eat "almost" every game animal in north america. Still waiting for some caribou...

I haven't eaten a caribou steak or roast; up in Alaska some people love it, some say it is awful.

I have eaten more than my fair share of reindeer (caribou) sausage which is a huge favorite in Alaska. You can pick it up in any store and, man, is it good eating. Nothing better than a reindeer sausage omelet before a day of adventuring.

 

[Quill]

Depends on how hungry I am. There times when squirrel taste as good as a good steak. A bullhead fried on a campfire can beat the best lobster from a fine restaurant.