Which is the best game meat?

[Tra3]

@flatwater bill your old mule deer example is perfect! And typically the sun comes out just as that old buck dies kinda hidden, so he can really warm up!

I am really enjoying this thread as it has me thinking about why certain cooking applications work. I think we need a standardized test for comparing meat. I would propose the simplest standard to judge the flavor profile of any meat is just a dusting of salt and pepper and then grilled to rare/medium rare. We would also need to eat the same cut (backstrap) and have a somewhat consistent game harvest.
My point is a good cook can “hug the cactus” and turn @flatwater bill ‘s buck into a delicacy. I don’t think I’ve met a pate I didn’t like, and we know what goes in that!

@rookhawk I suspect the umami flavor profile in the fish sauce/soy sauce really helps the kabobs you describe. Do you think that is the trick?
I also agree that old bucks and various curry powders make a heavenly meal. Rogan Josh has been my favorite lately.

 

[Timbo]

G'day Rookhawk

You are an extremely lucky man, you have definitely made a 1 in a million catch with your spouse, as all those meals look mouth watering, of course the photographer is great too, as the meals are presented superbly.

Regards

Rob

I was wondering if she had a twin?

 

[Saul]

I was wondering if she had a twin?

She does but I think he is married.

 

[rookhawk]

@rookhawk I suspect the umami flavor profile in the fish sauce/soy sauce really helps the kabobs you describe. Do you think that is the trick?
I also agree that old bucks and various curry powders make a heavenly meal. Rogan Josh has been my favorite lately.

absolutely. There is a reason 2 billion people cook with fish sauce every day! Fish sauce died out in Western Europe about 300 years ago with the last one existing being Worchestshire Sauce.

rogan Josh is exactly what you do with a stinky old buck! Great idea.

here’s another ingredient that died out that is amazing for game: game relish! Bitter fruits mixed with gelatin and vinegar. It was created to cover over game that was poorly cared for and refrigerated for a 1000 years. The only two common ones most know about are mint jelly for lamb and cranberry jelly for turkey. There were thousands of them. Whenever I hunt if I find sour fruit like crab apples, wild plums, service berries, etc I always pick them to use for game relish. Bitter fruit and vinegar is so good on a game steak!

 

[rookhawk]

One of my kids picking Chanterelle mushrooms for an oryx steak dinner last July. You can see several “Chants” if you look closely.

Awesome wild mushroom with a peculiar scent: they smell like fresh apricots 2-3 minutes after you pick them. Best part? Picking is easy and way better than paying $35 a pound at a farmer’s market! You can find incredible ingredients every time you hunt or fish! Reach down and pick it up! I remember in Africa finding acres of wild basil, the locals made tea from it and were surprised I used it to flavor tomato salad. It’s all fun and most of the great old game recipes assumed you’d forage as you hunted for extra ingredients. Last month we found wild leeks (ramps) and made a great chimichurri steak sauce to put on a bunch of two year old venison we found hiding in the back of the freezer. The sauce covered over a multitude of problems with that meal!

All this to say what you do with game is what makes it great. There is a technique to bring out the best in all meats.

 

[R.M.C.]

My favorite is wild hog cooked all day over hickory or apple wood. The smaller the pig the better lol

 

[CBH Australia]

Fox?? Are you kidding ????

Dr, I read a recipe on Fox years ago. It used Berries etc in the stew.

I could be wrong I thought it was published Australian shooting magazine, I was young. I did google it some time later maybe in the last 10 years. I found there are a type of fox that were even sold commercially for meat. Not the Red Fox (Vulpes Vulpes) another clean living variety.

I understand your exclamation. Our Foxes have a strong odour evident. They are also scavengers regularly observed eating roadkill. They are not on the menu anywhere I know of.

I was surprised when I learned people eat Bear, mostly Black bear I think being mostly vegetarian diet but still not for me. I would like to hunt a bear for a rug I could easily pass on the meat.

The tracker who came on our daily hunts Said he likes Warthog ribs on the Brai, but when his friends come around he try’s to offer up better cuts of Warthog. Mmm, I like my pork processed Bacon, Ham, Salami, it’s just personal taste

 

[CBH Australia]

No, not kidding. Some Swiss hunters eat it, they call it fuchspfeffer.

Here is a video from Deutsche Jagdzeitung.

Thinking about it to experiment with it this weekend.
If I shoot it I will try to eat it

I could tell they were pissed when I heard the singing. I’m not eating Fox, drunk or not.

I could understand what they were saying I will watch it later

 

[R.M.C.]

Black bear isn't bad but i usually cooked it in the crock pot so its hard mess it up like that. And I only eat bears I kill in the fall . People don't usually eat bears killed in the spring right after waking from hibernation

 

[rookhawk]

Black bear isn't bad but i usually cooked it in the crock pot so its hard mess it up like that. And I only eat bears I kill in the fall . People don't usually eat bears killed in the spring right after waking from hibernation

or in much of the lower 48 States, the bears don’t hibernate so Spring bear can be well into better weather (and diet). But yes, Fall black bear is awesome. Rinella reports grizzly can be just as good if they are remote inland berry eaters, terrible if coastal fish and carrion eaters.

Bear, properly prepared, is one of the finest meals one can eat. I wouldn’t sell my bear meat for $100 a pound!

 

[CBH Australia]

If I could get $100pound that could finance a hunt

Enjoy, it’s just not something I thought was a menu item until it was mentioned recently.

 

[Roller]

Backstrap of mountain zebra lightly grilled over coals . Better than any dry aged steak I have ever eaten in any high end steakhouse anywhere at any price.

 

[rookhawk]

If I could get $100pound that could finance a hunt

Enjoy, it’s just not something I thought was a menu item until it was mentioned recently.

‘yeah, if you’re not from this continent you think bear=carnivore, a logical conclusion being that predator-foul taste. Black bears are omnivores and in the right place and time, herbivores that taste as sweet as the berries and sweet corn they consume.

 

[rookhawk]

Backstrap of mountain zebra .

absolutely. Also, the supposedly horrible plains zebra (Burchell’s) is outstanding if you get the fat off. Zebra Schnitzel is a perennial favorite of mine.

 

[CBH Australia]

absolutely. There is a reason 2 billion people cook with fish sauce every day! Fish sauce died out in Western Europe about 300 years ago with the last one existing being Worchestshire Sauce.

rogan Josh is exactly what you do with a stinky old buck! Great idea.

here’s another ingredient that died out that is amazing for game: game relish! Bitter fruits mixed with gelatin and vinegar. It was created to cover over game that was poorly cared for and refrigerated for a 1000 years. The only two common ones most know about are mint jelly for lamb and cranberry jelly for turkey. There were thousands of them. Whenever I hunt if I find sour fruit like crab apples, wild plums, service berries, etc I always pick them to use for game relish. Bitter fruit and vinegar is so good on a game steak!

You have a way with words,
I’m glad we still have Worchtershire, I try and disassociate it with the Anchovies it’s derived from.
In Africa I asked for Tin Spagehtti on the side with bacon and eggs, they found it a strange request but happily obliged. I found some Worchestiser in a shop as I like that on bacon and eggs. Happy days.
I did not know the origins of bitter fruits, Mint sauce is alive and well in Australia, Best for Lamb roast home made, shop sourced or mint jelly it just goes with a roast.
There are pickles, relish and chutneys all jarred spreads in Australia that possibly all had the same origins, the current ones probably taste better but the vinegar etc makes sense.

 

[JLF]

Cougar ribs or lampalagua to disk.

 

[thriller]

You men should try Squirrel Chile rellenos it is quite amazing.

 

[grsep]

Eland #1

 

[Bert the Turtle]

Horses for courses. Wildebeest makes a fine oxtail stew, zebra is a fantastic steak in my opinion. Oryx schnitzel. I've enjoyed a delightful elk carpaccio. Etc. But a lot comes down to your personal taste. I don't particularly like beef- it is fine but I generally prefer pork. I like fish that is oil and tastes like fish, never understood why waiters always say "it doesn't have a fishy taste" when they mention the entree of the evening. Not really sure why I would order fish if I didn't care the the taste of fish, but to each his own I suppose. Point being, people can tell you what they like and there is some general consensus regarding what animals are tasty and which aren't, but that is painting with a broad brush. You'll mostly have to try things for yourself. Which isn't a bad deal at all!

 

[CBH Australia]

Cougar ribs or lampalagua to disk.

These?