Antelope tastes better in different regions??

[zog]

It's what they eat, first, and how they are taken second. I shoot most of my antelope in MT on ranches where they can eat farmed and wild food. I have pleasantly surprised quite a few people serving antelope hordurves (sinc, I know). They can't believe it's speedgoat! Several of my wife's non-hunting friends ask when I'm bringing more home.

 

[Bob Wright]

All the animals in AZ are born rancid. Never, ever, put in for a nonresident tag in this state!
Thank you for your cooperation.

 

[Cinchy]

The antelope in my profile pic, was taken in New Mexico. They had nothing to feed on except sage brush & grass, best tasting game animal I ever had! I shot a mule deer off the same ranch a year earlier and he was strong as heck, barley editable?? So it ain`t always what they eat!

 

[MaineMike]

All the animals in AZ are born rancid. Never, ever, put in for a nonresident tag in this state!
Thank you for your cooperation.

I see what you did there....yeah, yeah, and all the deer in Maine are rancid, too! And the lobster sucks! Don't come here!

 

[Ol' Red]

They taste horrible in CO, I'd go anywhere else but CO to hunt-- that holds true for all big game in CO

I was going to say that about WY. Now they would see right through it and show up anyway.

 

[RAGGED EDGE]

AND prongies are not subject to CWD.

 

[ATH]

Interesting. I have taken antelope in NW Montana and NE WY. All were mild and non-offending. Pretty much the non-gamiest non-domesticated meat outside grain-fed whitetails. I bone them out on the spot and get them on ice as quickly as possible.

 

[WahooYahoo]

Same here...I hunt mostly in SD's Harding County for antelope but shot one in Pennington County last fall and they've all been delicious. In fact, my wife prefers antelope to venison (whitetail OR mule deer). What I've learned over the years is this:

1: Field dressing/meat care is everything. Get the hide off of it immediately, and get the meat cool. Antelope have some of the thickest fur I've ever seen and it insulates so well it's almost impossible to get it cooled off properly with the hide on it. One of the biggest challenges of hunting antelope in SD is that the season is in October and +80F days can really make it challenging to get your meat cooled down quickly.
2: Don't shoot antelope that have been run hard. As mentioned earlier, the adrenaline and lactic acid will adversely affect the taste of the meat. Antelope aren't hard to kill if you make a decent shot. The vast majority I've shot have dropped in their tracks.
3: Don't overdo the seasoning. The antelope in SD do eat their fair share of sage, but it depends on where you're hunting. Overcooking any game animal is bad, but it seems like antelope in particular needs to be cooked as rare as you care to eat it. It's a unique flavor and has become one of our favorites over the years.

This was one of the backstraps from this year's speed goat. Bacon wrapped, seasoned with salt and pepper, and cooked on the Traeger. It was fantastic!

View attachment 186289

Pass the meat please. Any gravy?

 

[ElkSurgeon]

Me & my crew go "gutless method" on all pronghorn. Small body means small vitals & most likely a bullet fragments & you have internal contamination from intestinal tracts etc. Drop em go gutless & get em in a cooler on ice asap & it's delicious. Pronghorns aren't the most nutritional table fare for meat, similar to rabbit & caribou related to their diet IMOA but dang they're fun to hunt & super delicious. Gutless method prevents meat contamination/gamey taste/rides around in your truck bed with less than ideal temperatures for delicious tasting organic meat in my freezer

 

[rafterP]

I haven't tried any here in MT. I used to guide for a ranch in West Texas and some of the hunters would give us the meat. I've tried soaking it in vinegar, buttermilk, chicken-fried, in chili...never liked it. Very well may be because of the sage they eat there. The first night of the hunt in my avatar, the landowner had a big pot of stew made. Told everyone it was a "surprise"! No surprise to me...I smelled it walking in the lodge and knew what was cooking, lol!

 

[John Klingenberg]

I can attest to that. Every antelope I've ever had harvested in my state (SD) tasted awful. All they do is eat sage and you taste it in the meat. It wasn't until I had one harvested from Wyoming that my brother shot that I changed my tune on eating Antelope.

Sage goats go to breakfast sausage with 20% pork added. Farm goats make jerky and steaks.

 

[nocannons]

I Have been told that antelope from norther states has a strong game taste. However when I went hunting Prongs in NM I had it processed and it was one of the best tasting game meats I have tried! However I have never tasted one from up in the northern states. Can anyone tell me if they have a gamey taste up there? If they do I'll stick with the NM prongs.

2 trips to Wyoming 14 total .my uncle that went on 2nd trip stated he could not believe how good it tasted. Everyone said it was just as good or better than deer.

 

[COmtnman1]

i'd have to agree with cohunt, all of the big game in CO tastes really bad! i wouldn't hunt there ever. we've killed a lot of antelope between my brother, sis in law, nephews, exwife, & they've all been on the eastern plains of CO. never had a bad tasting one, it's almost the best tasting big game i've ever eaten, i'd rank it second & it's probably the tenderest. of the big game i've eaten, i'd rank them as follows. and if you like mountain oysters, those from that Big Horn were excellent!
1. Rocky Mtn. Big Horn Sheep
2. Antelope
3. Elk
4. Mountain Lion
5. Deer
6. Black Bear

 

[ElkSurgeon]

i'd have to agree with cohunt, all of the big game in CO tastes really bad! i wouldn't hunt there ever. we've killed a lot of antelope between my brother, sis in law, nephews, exwife, & they've all been on the eastern plains of CO. never had a bad tasting one, it's almost the best tasting big game i've ever eaten, i'd rank it second & it's probably the tenderest. of the big game i've eaten, i'd rank them as follows. and if you like mountain oysters, those from that Big Horn were excellent!
1. Rocky Mtn. Big Horn Sheep
2. Antelope
3. Elk
4. Mountain Lion
5. Deer
6. Black Bear

Dude....you are hardcore, Mountain Lion better than deer? I just don't see us ever seeing eye 2 eye