Antelope tastes better in different regions??

[COmtnman1]

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

yeah, i thought it was, if i remember right it had more of a texture like pork? i fixed it different ways, fried, grilled, & slow cooked roast & it was pretty tasty. just out of curiosity, have you ever tried it?

 

[chilli42]

I hunt them in Alberta, so north for sure. Honestly, it's my favorite. Makes the best steaks and sausage. No wild or sage taste. Just wish they were bigger so there was more to go around.

 

[Ol' Red]

yeah, i thought it was, if i remember right it had more of a texture like pork? i fixed it different ways, fried, grilled, & slow cooked roast & it was pretty tasty. just out of curiosity, have you ever tried it?

Cat- the other white meat. I love mountain lion. It's probably the best kept secret among lion hunters.

 

[Canhunter35]

Aside from processing, no matter the game, exactly what they're eating affects their taste. For example when game gets into crop or hay stacks always helps reduce the gamey taste

 

[BlakeGipson]

My cousin and I shoot 4-6 antelope between us every year and help family/friends with typically 20+ other antelope here in Wyoming. Never had a bad tasting goat but we get to them as quick as possible once they're down, gut them, and get them hung ASAP so we can get the skin off and get them cooling. Ground into burger with minimal beef fat, people can't tell I'm feeding them antelope and actually prefer it in many cases. Steaks are even better.

 

[zacii]

My first and last antelope was in Southern Utah.

We had it skinned and quartered, gutless style, and on ice within 30 minutes.

It tasted great. I think it helped that he was feeding in alfalfa fields all over in the area.

 

[FEENIX]

They are what they eat. Alfalfa, and grain fed better than others. Clean kills, proper care, good kitchen skills, and they are fine.

Yep! I hunted in AZ and NM and they feed on sagebrush. Where I hunt here in MT, they feed on alfalfa and wheat, much better than AZ/NM harvests. Immediate and proper care from field to table is a must. Most of the time, I can have it at the processing place in less than an hour.

 

[FEENIX]

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.

I prefer the antelope that I harvested here in MT over NM and AZ. If you look at the Cook's Corner (https://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/cooks-corner.62/), I have a few good table fares there.

 

[HARPERC]

....Yep! I hunted in AZ and NM and they feed on sagebrush. Where I hunt here in MT, they feed on alfalfa and wheat, much better than AZ/NM harvests. Immediate and proper care from field to table is a must. Most of the time, I can have it at the processing place in less than an hour..

In Nevada the rut is just warming up, and temperature is still hot. Alberta the rut was mostly over, and temperatures cooler. Only one from Alberta, but it seemed to be grass fed.

Lots of variables, a big one being I'd rather you fix the meal than me. I will do dishes!

 

[FEENIX]

Lots of variables, a big one being I'd rather you fix the meal than me. I will do dishes!

L L!

 

[tmmcampbell]

I hunt them in Oregon when I draw tags. We hunt them in the high desert during August. So hot and in the sage brush. I carry 40 lbs of ice while hunting. When we kill one we rip out the guts and put a bag in the chest and one between the legs. By the time we get to camp they are cold. We hang them skin them cut them up and put them on ice. Best eating animal ever. Much better than elk. Meet is sweeter and less gamey. Only thing I like as well is moose.

 

[FEENIX]

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!

If you make it to Great Falls, PM me and I'll have some for you to take home and try.

 

[rafterP]

Thanks...might have to take you up on it. It could be the difference in their diet. On the ranch when I'd drive up to the skinning shed, the skinners would ask if I had a deer or antelope. If I said antelope, they'd send one of the low men on the totem pole to skin it, lol! I'd write what they actually said, but if the Admin reads Spanish, he'd get me for a Rule Violation!

 

[LVJ76]

I have used the alaskan method to field cool game meat and have never had a bad batch of meat in 25 years. The old BS about hanging the carcass is just that BS. Get the meat temperature down immediately which means getting the hide off so the heat can escape is what is needed. Using the Alaskan method I have not gut an animal in those 25 years.

Even here in AZ we take Javelina with bow and rifle, once down we hang them in the nearest mesquite tree and pull the hide off, debone and carry home a bag of meat in an ice chest. friends and people who would never eat such a critter are dumfounded when they try it.

Gamey taste comes from bone sour or heat in the meat plain and simple. The last bad deer I had was because my guide wanted to take a boatload of pics of the animal and the deer lay there for 2 hours before we opened it up. The meat was sour.

Not to hijack this thread but I asked my wife a couple nights ago if she wanted some deer steaks and she replied yes, then ahe said, better yet, do we still have javelina, I said yes, and she said I'll have that instead and also some grilled ribs. She loves grilled javelina ribs and loins.