Best tasting plains game

I learned one thing from eating African game, that our Venison (white tail) taste like sh*t compared to all the African game I've eaten.

For one thing, the African cooks don't overcook the venison. They also marinate it and put good sauces with it. I bet they could do something with our venison to improve it. I told one lady chef that she could work in the best restaurants I've been to. She liked hearing that. They love making the fancy desserts in Africa.

My first trip to the Eastern Cape with Game-4-Africa, I asked Wik what they use to cook their venison. To my surprise, he said we only use Olive Oil, and that's it. Wik, said that he wanted his clients to taste the venison, and not the condiments, and the differences in taste from the different animals. I was shocked and surprised of that response, and after thinking a bit about it, it made perfect sense to me.

Doug3006 said:

Eland is not only the finest tasting plains game, it is one of the best meats I’ve ever tasted. Eland filets cooked over a charcoal fire with garlic butter….or bone marrow butter if the cook knows how! You can have the rest!

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100% agree with Doug...the best meat I have ever tasted. Last year I took a cull one just so I could eat portions of it four of the 10 days!!!!

Eland with Impala liver appetizers.

Paul

BRICKBURN said:

NEVER BUY PENTAX!

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What's up with Pentax? I've noticed this on all your post. Is there a story behind this?

Eland, Zebra and Ostrich. All very rare over charcoal.

PARA45 said:

I learned one thing from eating African game, that our Venison (white tail) taste like sh*t compared to all the African game I've eaten.

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First off I agree. I was on a deer lease for years and while I loved the (tiny) tenderloins the backstrap was always so-so. A few years back we discovered cold smoking the backstrap and it was a game changer. That and as said here, do no overcook! It’s easy to do with such a lean meat. I wish I’d have known the cheat code of cold smoking years ago!

I was with you until ostrich...

The camp cooks in M'Barangandu Tanzania put a whole Hartebeast in a fire pit for 2 days and it was exceptional. Struggled with the Leopard!!! Of course made all the jokes associated with eating "cat"!!

I will add to the Eland recommendation, my favorite plains game meat.

Eland cow.......cleanly shot, bled and cleaned.
Remove the whole T-bone head and age for 30 -60 days.
Grilled with olive oil and salt....rare.
The best in the bush.

Zebra....mare or young stallion.
Treat carcass well....remove yellow fat.
Second best after eland.

Common reedbuck.......every part is good.
Grill, stew, soups, carpaccio.

Porcupine backskin.......best pancetta outside of Italy.....

Eland and gemsbok are my favorites. Blue wildebeest is very good as well.
On my first hunt, the “chef” was terrible. The eland was tough as shoe leather. He did make an impala shepard’s pie that was so good I had it for breakfast the next day and had him make more.

PARA45 said:

I learned one thing from eating African game, that our Venison (white tail) taste like sh*t compared to all the African game I've eaten.

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The only variety that hangs very close to it...sika deer. First time I tried that I thought they were little filet mignon hors d'oeuvres, only to find out the guy shot it the month before on the Chesapeake.

A Rack of Warthog Ribs are phenomenal

Most African wild game are good to eat, as long as it is cooked properly. Some of the best are eland (as long as bulls are not in the rut) and their steaks rival the finest beef. Kudu is pretty first class as well. Also desert type game like gemsbok and hartebeest are excellent. Sable meat is good also. Of the smaller animals, most are good to eat… particularly impala & reedbuck. Nyala are also good. A lot depends on the condition of the animal, and if it is shot well and not wounded before killing (which tends to produce “Sour” tasting meat due to the release of adrenaline in the animal’s flesh). The marbling of giraffe steaks also makes them a delicacy fit for a king.

My non-Muslim family members & friends are perhaps the most fond of bush pigs which have been shot during their depredations in the corn fields & macadamia nut plantations. I have assisted in the butchering & cooking of countless of these animals. The meat is akin to Berkshire pork in terms of quality.

My favorite African wild game offal dish, is actually flame grilled Impala liver. Among game birds, I absolutely find a bowl of guinea fowl potjie to be heaven on earth.

The only African game which I absolutely disgust... are spurwing goose & waterbuck. A waterbuck, particularly an old one, has a very oily substance that gets in the hairs of the skin. When skinning the animal, great care must be taken to avoid getting the hair or oil on the meat. An old trophy bull does taste a bit strong, but a young waterbuck tastes quite fine. The only palatable way to prepare the meat, is to make a strongly spiced vindaloo out of it. Or a Tikka Masala with lots of heavy cream.

Cape buffalo is coarser than bison and tougher. However, the tenderloin (or fillet) are excellent when seasoned simply with coarse grained salt and grilled over the open camp fire to a maximum doneness of medium rare with a healthy squeeze of lemon juice on top. Especially with an ice cold African Castle Lager to wash it all down with. I never did like Cape buffalo tail unlike one camp cook in Tanzania prepared a dish with it which was fit for a king. The underbelly of a hippopotamus is quite delectable when ground up and prepared as a ragout for use with pastas. Elephant trunk makes an excellent component in a stew if prepared correctly. Elephant fat is also excellent and may be spread over slices of bread, like butter. It is quite white and may be prepared like sheep tail fat. However, their meat is quite coarse & tough.

One observation about impala. The venison of a younger meat ram (with small horns) tastes absolutely first class (like baby camel). But the venison of an older trophy ram, can be rather tough.

Most of our African venison is delicious, depending on a couple of factors.
- Carcass is treated correctly.
- Age of the animal.
- Sex of the animal and time of year. (E.g In the rut or not)
- Cooked the right way.

In general, grazing species tend to be less “gamey” than browsers.
To me, no single species stands out significantly above the others.
I’ve had fantastic meals that range from Lechwe neck stew to cold smoked gemsbok backstraps and almost everything in between.

Do yourself a favour and buy the From the Veld cookbook on the link below.

I struggle with eating predators as they have a very off-putting smell/taste. Mountain lion was ok...very light colored like pork. I joked about cooking a piece of hyena and the trackers didn't even want to help load the dead hyena. Superstitions, etc. I have eaten alligator but I wouldn't touch a plate of croc.

I think Nyala tenderloin is even better than Eland. I hear that zebra is the best of the best too.