Best Eating Game Animal

[john101477]

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:

Elk definitly has a flavor of it's own. I really cant say it is my favorite but it is in the top 3.
Salmon... almost like saying venison... just sayin lol. I have been lucky to eat fresh salmon from alaska, the mouth of the klamath, and upper sacramento river. one species with 3 different tastes Also while we discuss fishy stuff. fresh alaskan shrimp... atlantic shrimp, and rock shrimp (which taste great but are a PITA to shell)

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.

you get the same reaction with prong horn. I have heard many different stories about proper field dressing for antelope as well as making sure it is not running when you shoot it. IMO it is just not that great of a meat. I'll eat it but not my fave.
I would love to go caribou hunting. thats on the bucket list.

 

[elefex]

Elk and venison is good but on top of the list, for me, is wild boar and wild boar bacon! Some of my other favorites are quail, squab, and duck. I don't know why people like gator but then again, I had no idea how to cook it.

 

[john101477]

Elk and venison is good but on top of the list, for me, is wild boar and wild boar bacon! Some of my other favorites are quail, squab, and duck. I don't know why people like gator but then again, I had no idea how to cook it.

Gator tail is super tender almost melt in your mouth tender like veil but unlike veil, gator is amazing with lots of seasonings some flour and fried. Recipes are readily available online. Dont just have some at Rj Gators and call it good, or bad. experiment with it like you would chicken or pork. Not bad at all.
I have had both good and bad boar but most of the boar I have had has been the large russians from the east side of the sac river in california. tall, lean monsters that they are the only other boar I have had was here in florida and it was smoked and pulled. It was dang good at that but not a fair comparison

 

[Hill Bill E.]

Salmon... almost like saying venison... just sayin lol.

Very true, different taste depending on where it's from also.

The Silvers I caught in Alaska (near Steward) were awesome, and definitely tasted different from the Silvers we catch in Lake Superior, yet great tasting none the less.

Hmmm, Salmon on soaked cedar planks, done over hot hardwood coals with a bit of shaved Alder bush soaked and smoking.:drool:

 

[NH Moto Expo]

Ruffed Grouse is my all time favorite game bird. Just came back from an 8 day Kansas pheasant trip where I shot 18 roosters and 28 quail. I love the quail and pheasant but for some reason neither compares with Grouse from the NH north woods.

Bear is best when the hunter that took it cools it and skins it quickly. Around here the usual method is to drive around with it in the back of your truck for 2 days while you go show all of your buddies.

Last year I took a 1.5 yr old white tail from up north as well. This deer had never eaten anything man made. Was very tender and tasted wild.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

Having lived in Maine, NC, Germany, Colorado, and now Utah I have eaten many different animals. We also spent a week or two by the water in Nova Scotia each summer growing up. Here is a list:

Furry/small animals-squirrel, raccoon, rabbit, coyote, and even porcupine.

Feathered-dove, pheasant, duck, goose, wild turkey, and grouse.

Large game-whitetail deer, mule deer, moose, black bear, elk, gator, and bison

From the water-freshwater eel, lobster, clams, scallops, mussels, oysters, most varieties of trout and salmon, and many other types of fish I cannot remember

As far as picking a favorite, out here I have to say elk and pheasant, but back in Maine it is tough to beat a pair of lobster caught that morning with a fresh bowl of chowder on the side. And the preparation is indeed the difference between having melt in your mouth heaven or leathery lumps of meat. That being said, in the last 10 days we have made pheasant enchiladas and grilled some elk. The leftover enchiladas tasted better than the night we made them and I used one of the leftover elk steaks to make fajitas a few nights ago. Right now I have about 70lbs of natural beef in the freezer and about 15lbs of deer, elk, and pheasant. We love to cook and it is fun trying different rubs and marinades, but usually love the results!

 

[NEVERENOUGHAZ]

I would have to put elk at the top of the list. I also love eating quail. Growing up in a hunting family I have had more mule deer than I can remember some good some very bad.

 

[john101477]

some good some very bad.

well your not supposed to eat the one with gangrene lol
once when I was really young, my dad put down a nice little 3x3 in California. toughest little buck I ever seen dad hit this buck 3 times (30-06, thought it was down and went to cut the neck when the buck came back to life. This little buck looked to have been riddled with arrows during archery season and even had a broad head lodged in it's horn. half eatin with gangrene it was not even worth packing out of the canyon. Horrible year for putting meat on the table.

 

[gabepari]

A little late to the game, and nothing to add... Just a little bummed, though... Thought the title of the thread read "The best animal eating game"!

 

[rk_az]

Too funny!

 

[mwigant]

Haven't tried moose, but axis deer is very good. In Texas, wild stock is harvested by roving butcher shops and sold to high end restaurants.

 

[HillbillyfromAL]

Rattlesnake....taiste like quality chicken!

JJ

Figures this guy had to be from Texas. If he were asking best tasting exotic meat I'd have to agree.

I like Elk and Bison best myself

 

[COJeeper]

Bacon wrapped antelope screwers.

 

[khronus79]

I'll join my Fl brothers. Wild boar and gator are fantastic, frog legs are good but I didn't care much for the texture of it. The Fl everglades is being overrun by pythons, I wonder how those taste?????

 

[herm]

phesant and elk for me.

i have had bear, duck, goose, goat, mule deer, white tail, rabbit and a few others