What's the best and worst African tasting game meat?

Eland / kudu tongue boiled with a sweet mustard sauce

I loved caribou, don't care for moose too dry, elk of course is super. Thought eland was very good too. And I ate some of my mountain lion years ago thought it was good too.

eland nuts thinly sliced and fried in garlic butter

spike.t said:

eland nuts thinly sliced and fried in garlic butter

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I'll try anything once Mike

Leopards Valley Safaris said:

I'll try anything once Mike

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.....its ok dave what happens in vegas stays in vegas............

Wild Sable fillets-best.
Old warthog or bushpig boar-worst

Generally most species which contain "beest" and including blesbuck are better suited for biltong, dry wors and wors.

Eland, Gemsbuck, Springbuck are great. Young males or females are more tender and tasty than old males.

On our list for this years meat hunting trips are Eland and Kudu cows. Bushpig and warthog for salami and cabanossi.

I've thrown in my answers to these questions previously but the more I go to Africa, the more varied the opinions become. So instead of being general, let me be pretty specific.

Impala from the Zimbabwe/Botswana border of both sexes, quantity 9, were excellent as steaks and also as mince jaffals. I sincerely believe Impala is better than Kudu but Kudu gets more credit because its a more "noble" beast.

Cape Buffalo Dugga Boy from the Zambezi Valley - Had oxtail and other dishes that tasted just as they would in America using the same ingredients. I think Cape Buffalo tastes like spent dairy cow. Not super tender. Tastes like beef. Its just fine. The marrow is where the good stuff is!

Giraffe, an old stink bull taken from the Zimbabwe/Botswana border. Inedible as it was too tough even after tenderizing to be anything but chewy. We're talking about chewing for 60 seconds per bite! The "stink" of the giraffe was in the meat just like a sheep has a stink that gives lamb and mutton its taste. While an odd taste, Giraffe has the makings of good eating if you were hunting young females or culls I suspect. Just stay away from stink bulls.

Waterbuck, known by one and all in Africa to be putrid, disgusting, musky, and to be avoided. The Waterbuck trophy bulls, quantity two, that I ate in the Zambezi Valley for many, many meals were some of the finest game I've ever tasted. One such occasion certainly made my "top-20" meals of all time. I'm a total food snob, take the compliment as high as it is intended.

Hippo. Several friends say its the best meals they've ever, ever had. Hippo steak is supposed to be fantastic with one friend having ate I believe 6-8 of them in one sitting. My hippo was tough but not an unpleasant meal.

Bushbuck. We ate bushbuck marrow in brown gravy over buttered, toasted garlic bread. This was another top-20 memorable meals of my life. The steaks and all other portions were also 8 out of 10.

Kudu. It's fine. It's way over hyped. I eat it gladly but I would not wax poetical about the very young bull I harvested at the Zim/Bots border that should have been perfection, nor was the trophy bull from the Zambezi Valley something I would blather on about extensively. Its a solid 7 out of 10 meat, its just not made with the tears of angels.

Zebra. I love this stuff! Zebra is horse meat (or donkey meat) and has a very, very strange taste. If you love the "weirdness" of mutton and goat, you'll probably like Zebra as its equally strange in its flavor profile in a different direction. With piri piri (chili sauce) it is just fantastic cooked medium rare. Also as fried fritters, its pretty amazing stuff. Every trip to Africa I beg for Zebra on the menu for at least appetizers.

Tilapia. Known by anyone, anywhere with a modicum of taste buds to be absolutely disgusting filth. American sold Tilapia tastes like potting soil (because they are in tanks eating the *$&% of fish in higher farm tanks above them). They live in currentless farms in American and the flesh is mushy and just disgusting. It has no flavor other than dirt and needs lots of sauce at some crappy Fridays/Chilis/Bennigans/RubyTuesday to choke it down. Now contrast this to REAL tilapia in Africa: Lives in rivers with strong currents so it is plump, meaty and not mushy due to muscle content. Doesn't eat the excrement of other fish in a tank so it doesn't taste like dirt. A truly marvelous meal in the wild state that is reminiscent of excellent blue gills from the North Woods.

Tiger Fish: Bony, but delicious. It is just like Northern Pike. So if you hate bones and hate pike, you'll hate Tigers. If you know what you're doing and know pike are one of the best eating fish in America, you'll know that Tigers are just the same way. Bony, but delicious if filleted properly or made into fish dip.

Duiker / Steenbok - Just fine. See Impala.

Doves/Pigeons/Sand Grouse/ Francolin/ Guinea Fowl - All awesome just like game birds everywhere.

In conclusion, while there are many opinions, there are many experiences. Do not rely solely on what is known to be "amazing" or "terrible" because it depends. See waterbuck above...best meals in Africa is my opinion but we must have had amazing good fortune killing the right bulls on the right diet near the right water. Happy eating!!!

My sons and I hunted with Cruiser Safaris and took 10 different species of plains game. I thought that they were all delicious. Maybe not gourmet but excellent table fare. I also think that Del Marie the cook could make sweet tea out of swamp water and not use sugar!

Thanks, rookhawk, for that broad and detailed summary. I had a slice of ancient puku in Zambia that was very tender and tasty after being marinated for a day.

Rookhawk makes some spoton comments.

Waterbuck is indeed delicious, as long as it was skinned correctly and the meat not taunted by the oily secretion from the hair.
Likewise Zebra if done correctly(get rid of the yellow fat) is great.

Just a note on duiker, in the bush far away from any settlements no problem, but close to any african settlements, I would be weary, they eat anything including excrement so keep that in mind.

Marrow bones, one of my favorites. Best ones are from Eland. Next time you shoot one get them to saw them in half, cover with tinfoil and cook them slowly in the coles standing up- mouth watering stuff!

Good hunting and eating to all!

#1 Eland
#2 Springbok
#3 Most all other plains game
I had hippo thinly sliced and fried and it was ok. Elephant is tough, zebra is fairly good.
The problem in Africa is lack of refrigeration. All meat needs to hang in a cooler for a week to naturally tenderize. If they have a walk in cooler and use it their meat will be better that the alternative.
I don't mean to be too critical but I'm in the meat business!
Regards
Philip

Kudu, sable, and buffalo tenderloins.

I've shot 16 PG animals.... eaten/tasted most if not all..... all were superb..... equivalent of stateside beef.

BWH said:

I've shot 16 PG animals.... eaten/tasted most if not all..... all were superb..... equivalent of stateside beef.

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I agree with you BWH much of the game does taste like beef. I do like sable cooked up as country fried steak with mushroom gravy.

The only meat I had that was second rate was a very large waterbuck bull, he didn't taste bad but he was tougher than shoe leather. A big bushbuck was killed the same day and given the same treatment and marinate and both had the tender loins grilled the same way and the same evening. The bushbuck was super but the waterbuck to tough to chew.

Since I'm about to head out on my first safari, I'll have to comment when I return, but I believe Theodore Roosevelt stated that Eland were his preferred animals for meat. At a time when culinary arts were limited, and pure meat with a few spices was the norm, I think his input into just the meat taste is invaluable.

"Marula worms; nothing to write home about! They're an acceptable excuse to cleanse the palate with a Castle or Windhoek."

Sure as hell do'nt want to be wise ass but those are Mopane worm.

In my opinion any of the Plains game prepared correctly,( not over cooked) is wonderful. My favorites though are Black Wildebeest or Kudu filets as rare as possible. Also, I cooked some Kudu liver over the open fire pit with just a garlic powder, salt, and black pepper rub, drizzled with olive oil. That is our new favorite starter! Kevin

I had at least 6 different kinds of plains game and they were all good. Let's face it. You are getting the prime cuts so it's hard to screw them up. The worst you can do is overcook it.

Not a big fan of turtle (I had it in the Cayman Islands).
My favorites are probably eland, Kudu and Impala but I was shocked at how delicious Cape Buffalo is. African plains game seems much better than venison, bison, or elk in the US. Part of that may be the preparation but I'm convinced the African antelope species just taste better.
Wish I could have Cape Buffalo for dinner tonight!