African food, game meats

[CBH Australia]

NO LIVER for me! No organs or Offal for me!

Generally people done eat Feral Pigs in Australia as they eat carrion and are considered to have worms. Agricultural and health departments warn against it Some people eat them. Thorough cooking probably negates any problem but I like my pork as Bacon or Ham. Some people catch small ones and fatten them saying feeding them on grain cleans them out. Because they are deemed wild there is a law in my state that deems it illegal to transport live Feral Pigs, or keep them. Feeding meat and meat products any pig is swill feeding and illegal as pigs pose the biggest threat to the spread of foot and mouth disease if we ever had an out break.

We hunt, trap and poison Feral Pigs as they do damage on farm lands or can prey on young lambs etc. the are introduced and adapt to many areas.

There was a time when they used to buy Feral Pigs for export to Germany. The organs were left attached for testing but the story was the Germans like wild boar. Bigger was better. Western NSW didn’t sustain the quality, quantity to make it viable. They might still do it in Queensland???

The game meats is interesting and seems to be some common likes.
I’m not excited by game meat, I’ve tried Kangaroo, Venison, Buffalo, Camel as Jerky, wild duck. Goat.

I will try game meat in Africa and my wife is open to trying it. My thing is If they tell me before I try it I’m happy. I will try it while I’m there as you could not even buy those meats in Australia.

I remember trying Alpacca in Metwurst. That was different. It came on a cheese board and they told us before preparing it. The bar owner had excess alpaca so they sent them to slaughter and had them processed.

I will be happy to try sausage etc. I like small goods. I told my son I’m going to have Beer and Biltong in South Africa. The Biltong we can buy would be made in Australia and is probably beef. There would be a few licensed smallgoods makers and artisanal butchers making it for specialty shops.

I will try Real African Biltong.

None has mentioned if the Warthog or Bushpig is made into Ham or Bacon. I think Warthog look cool, they are just so unique!

 

[Red Leg]

Anyone here eat hunters breakfast? i.e. fresh liver (impala or wildebeest) cooked in a gravy with pap?

I don't eat organs - don't care who is serving them. Not being judgmental - at least not too much - But never saw much need to pick through the guts with a fine backstrap a few inches away. And some of these Boers will try to serve you an occasional interesting processed part or two.

Different areas prefer different game - in Namibia, I have never been offered warthog - though Namibian leopards seem to be very fond of them. Eland is probably the highest praised game animal, with springbok a close second. That said, I suspect more oryx finds its way to Namibian ranch and outfitters' tables than all other game animals combined.

The primary table game in the Zambezi Delta is the ubiquitous reed buck. They are everywhere, and wonderful however prepared. Did try bushpig backstrap there and was singularly underwhelmed.

I have had plenty of opportunity to eat old buffalo bull and suspect it tastes a lot like old Angus bull - were I ever so desperate to try an old Angus bull. Given an option, I reach for the chicken.

 

[GeoffB]

Chris,
You will be surprised how good the food will be in Africa. I have found it to be exceptional and full of flavor.
The game meats are not strong and even my wife who is often fussy when it comes to meat ate everything that was served up to us.
Eland, Kudu, Springbok, bushbuck, impala, Gemsbuck and wildebeest in that order would be my favorites.
We did not try warthog but of the PH's I spoke to and some old Afrikaan farmer I spoke to said it was not their favorite.

 

[Ridgewalker]

Hmmm...sorry you guys don’t like liver. I grew up eating fried liver and onions slathered with either a dark gravy or catsup. Cheapest cut we could get. Next cheapest was catfish I caught trotline fishing until my mom told me not to bring any more home!
Some exotics I’ve tried include cats (not house cat) such as lion at an SCI, bobcat (fine grained much like veal), alligator, rattlesnake, snapping turtle, most of what I’ve shot or trapped. But I’ll admit I can’t bring myself to try prairie dog (usually not enough left after a shot) nor coyote.
I’ve tried everything they put on my plate or lunch pail in Africa. Everything seemed at least palletable, but eland is still my favorite. I do absolutely hate jackrabbit! I have never been able to get them tender!
Oh, my chewers are getting a bit old, so biltong isn’t one of my favorites to naugh on. Maybe back in my youth they were a bit better on hard dried stuff.

 

[Bwana Bob]

It depends on the cut of the meat. Impala loin on the grill was fantastic, Impala roast wasn’t too great. My favorite was Zebra loin on the grill. Zebra has a sweet flavor that I haven’t found in any other meat. I also had a fantastic Kudu stew. Blesbuck steak was tough, most Blesbuck I ate was breakfast sausage.

While in Namibia my wife and I had the opportunity to eat a wide variety of game meat. With the exception of duiker, we both thought the food was delicious. I'm wondering if someone can answer a question I have concerning zebra. On my first trip, I shot a burchells zebra but the meat was never served. On my third trip, I shot a Hartman's zebra which we ate and it was some of the tastiest meat I have ever had. Is there a difference between the two as far as taste is concerned. I would look forward to any opinion on this.

 

[Bsto270]

I can say that on my trip there was a young warthog taken specifically for meat the one day. It was cooked in a smoker and pulled, and my wife and I loved it. In addition, there were some dry sausages they made with them that was quite a treat with a beer. Top marks for me go to Kudu, even the liver was good and I don't care for liver generally. Lechwe heart was another shocker of the week. Waterbuck, although they smell to me like a dairy barn, were made into sausage and it was not bad. Side dish wise, Pap and Sauce (spelling on the latter in question) was something I enjoyed. They also served at lunch one day, with waterbuck sausages, scrambled eggs which one would ladle on top a mixture of cooked tomatoes, white beans and I think some onion that was quite good. I can say I stood no chance of losing too much weight on that trip. We had one person in our group who absolutely would not try any game meat, so I feel we got served a bit less than some groups would. I was intrigued by bushpig (very dark meat) but did not get to try it. I missed zebra, as my wife and I came a day earlier and left a few days earlier than the rest of the group. The yellow fat on it was wild to see.

 

[Ragman]

The larger of the antelope species that I have had would be hard for me to choose in order. I really enjoyed Eland, Gemsbok, Kudu and Hartebeest. Never tried the two W's (Warthog and Waterbuck) or Zebra. My biggest surprise came at @KMG Hunting Safaris this past July. The cook, Nicole, cooked Blesbok neck one day and Springbok shanks another day. Both cuts that I always throw in the sausage grind from my deer. She cooked them in the slow cooker with some kind of sauce and they were out of this world, tasty and tender. Marius also grilled burgers from an old cow Buffalo that were awesome. There's no way I can pick a favourite!

 

[Ragman]

I forgot to mention that our tracker Lloyd took the porcupine that I shot I believe.

 

[Spooksar]

While in Namibia my wife and I had the opportunity to eat a wide variety of game meat. With the exception of duiker, we both thought the food was delicious. I'm wondering if someone can answer a question I have concerning zebra. On my first trip, I shot a burchells zebra but the meat was never served. On my third trip, I shot a Hartman's zebra which we ate and it was some of the tastiest meat I have ever had. Is there a difference between the two as far as taste is concerned. I would look forward to any opinion on this.

They both taste good Hartman’s had white fat and Burchells has yellow fat. My first time over I wanted to try Zebra but was told we don’t eat it we feed it to the natives. Last night there we had a Brai and I insisted on them cooking Zebra. They did cook and they tried it and couldn’t believe how good it was, local beliefs was it was no good to eat.

 

[CBH Australia]

Interesting. I am not interested in eating Dogs or Cats, no matter how big they are. Hunting big cats would be an adventure.
I think Australians generally don’t eat exotic game meats. Some hunters and some foodies but I generally think most would eat lamb, beef and chicken. I think we export a lot of goat but it’s not widely available in mainstream stores.
I think I would shy away from any animal I know eats meat. I have never seen them as food. My dislike for fish is not that but it’s not meat either! I’m not keen on the flavour or texture.
Curiosity had me googling bear meat a few months back. It seems Black bear is deemed ok to eat or at least make sausage. I think maybe mountain lion too. I had to read numerous posts to see it was not a joke.
Lucky I didn’t book a a bear hunt. Because a month on here and I offered to take my wife to Africa for our 25th Wedding Anniversary. She’s wrapped and I’m going to Africa!

 

[Ridgewalker]

Black bear can be delicious depending on what they have been eating.
I have been disappointed not getting a mountain lion to try. Reports say they are very good. I’ll just have to keep trying I guess.

 

[Bruce]

Anyone here eat hunters breakfast? i.e. fresh liver (impala or wildebeest) cooked in a gravy with pap?

Every time that I hunt!! I

 

[Red Leg]

I forgot to mention that our tracker Lloyd took the porcupine that I shot I believe.

The locals won't leave a grease spot on the ground.

 

[Ryan]

I have a friend who shot a decent spring black bear sow on Prince of Wales Island. He asked me if I wanted to try and make a ham out of it since I do that sort of thing with all kinds of meat, including a few wild hogs that I and others think turned out great. I brined the bear ham properly and smoked it for most of a day. Not long after that he took it to the Alaska State Archery Association meeting last year and apparently everyone loved it. I'll be honest, I tried it first and wasn't all that impressed. Not bad, but not great either. My hosts for my first hunt in Namibia had some lion meat from one that got on their property and they decided we needed to try it. I recall Selous claiming lion was good way back when he wrote his book, but to me stir fry lion is not to my liking either. To each their own.

 

[Philip Glass]

I'm going in October for ten days and I've been wondering what meats they'll serve us. From the sound of things they'll serve a little bit of just about everything. I'm going with an open mind and open to try almost anything; that being said, I've never been a liver person and think I'll pass on any types of liver.

It will be fun and most of it will be great. Have fun!

 

[Philip Glass]

Most serve lots of game meat because it’s free or basically free. I’ve enjoyed most everything from eland to Springbok and hippo to elephant. Actually elephant was quite tough as is most meat that has not been properly chilled in a cooler for a week. Eland tenderloins were great but that was compared to really tough Gemsbok on that particular hunt. I have really enjoyed Springbok. Fried Hippo is interesting, I’ll leave it at that.
You can’t make bacon from Warthog because there is not enough fat. Warthog can be very good but may depend on the dish. They only eat grass whereas feral swine eat anything. Someone will have to work very hard to get me to eat feral hog again. Sorry but it sucks.
The locals covet porcupine and the ones I shot were picked up for the trackers.
I’m not sure what the strangest thing I’ve eaten in Africa is. Fresh Springbok liver over a fire for lunch with a Tafel Lager I must say is fantastic!
Great discussion and it makes me all the more ready for May to get here!
Philip

 

[jeanes]

I tried mountain lion once that a friend had barbequed. It was good but won't replace ribeye.

 

[CBH Australia]

I would pass on the Mountain Lion and Bear Eating it at least.

I don’t think anyone mentioned Giraffe, that would yield some meat. They are a nice animal and unusual I guess or quite unique.

Having looked more closely at African game I like the look of Gemsbok But they don’t seem to rank highly as trophies or food

 

[spike.t]

Gemsbok meat is great and a nice trophy......this subject has come up on here before, and I think that there are such a variety of different animals in various African countries available for hunting that people will have many different views on what's good to eat....waterbuck if skinned carefully without someone touching the hair then the meat is very good......had leopard as kebabs and fillet was fine..lion kebabs my brother liked but wasn't that keen myself. In some of the French orientated west African countries I believe they cooked lion in a red wine sauce and read people saying it was good. These days with the diseases lions can carry like feline aids I wouldn't be having it again. Buff tail and hippo tail is good cooked same as oxtail stew. The antelope necks shins etc slow cooked as stew is good....sable , bushbuck , reedbuck, puku, eland, kudu.etc etc etc fillets cooked on braai are good......buff fillets can be bit tough but nothing wrong with them , but the inner fillets are usually great.......had fantastic warthog liver pate.....zebra I agree to me it has a sweetness that am not too keen on but if it's there won't say no....so same with most foods people prefer one to another . . ...but one thing that does piss me off is when someone says I don't like it without trying it......and when asked how do you know if you haven't had it.....and you get I just know.......
Oh forgot to say had black bear bolognese at friends house in ojai california once...had thirds I think....so think that shows how good it was

 

[Ryan]

I would pass on the Mountain Lion and Bear Eating it at least.

I don’t think anyone mentioned Giraffe, that would yield some meat. They are a nice animal and unusual I guess or quite unique.

Having looked more closely at African game I like the look of Gemsbok But they don’t seem to rank highly as trophies or food

I took a giraffe in Namibia. I didn't take a huge old "stink bull" because I did want to eat it. Decent, a bit tough, but others are better. My very first animal in Namibia was a gemsbok, which I would personally rank highly and I know I'm not alone. They are smart animals, often challenging to hunt and great eating.