Cow Elk Meat!

[mlycrzy]

Replying to ck's post got me thinking about my expierence with cow elk meat. I have eaten meat from 5 or 6 differnt cows and found the meat from a cow with calf was not near as tasty. All these cows were taken from the same area in Nevada and were very well taken care of after the harvest. Anyone else experience this?

 

[mtmuley]

Haven't noticed that in Montana. mtmuley

 

[bigbone]

My 13 yr old daughter shot her 1st elk last fall, a young cow but not a dry cow unfortunately. The meat was good, but there was absolutely no fat on the animal although she had been hitting a hay field all summer.

Then my wife shot her elk another young wet cow as well, again no fat on her, good meat but not excellent, and this was another hay field elk.

Now to contrast that my buddies wife shot a dry cow from same hay field, it had tons of fat and the meat was excellent.

It kinda stands to reason the cow is giving her all to the calf all summer. I ate from all three cows and thought the meat from the wet cows was tougher, a little more gamey, as well as dryer than the meat fat and sassy cow with no obligations. The buddy who's wife shot the dry cow swears thats the only way to go, and we were trying to find the dry ones too but its not always easy when you just wanting them to get it over with.

I am going to be doing my best to help them find the dry cows this year its well worth it, in so many ways.


^BIGBONE^

 

[archerman]

Interesting! Me and my boy have cow tags. I'll have to watch out for that!
Thanks for the info.
Archerman - Archery hunting addict!

 

[NMHUNTNUTT1]

I've shot two cows with my bow on Sept bow hunts , both nice cows , not the biggest and the meat was great.I shot a cow on a January muzzleloader hunt some years back and it seemed like the meat was tougher . She wasn't carrying a calf and wasn't real big either but it seemed the meat was tougher.All the elk came from different areas of NM in different terrain and water sources. The elk I shot last September was in an area that has plenty of water year round and that was the best meat of any elk I've killed , so I bet that not only does the feed play a big part but the water source to elk also helps em...Have a late November cow tag again this year...

 

[junior]

How do you guys care for your meat...do you have it processed right away? With elk I debone and keep the meat in a walk-in for atleast 5 days before processing....It makes a huge difference!...the old rule of thumb is hang one day for every hundred pounds...I would of never beleaved it unitl I tried.

 

[Idahoron]

All my cow hunts are very late. Most of the time I have to hang them in my Garage with a heater to thaw them out. I bone them and grind up almost everything. I do keep the loins for stakes, and i keep some roasts from the rump. Other than that it is hamburger. We love meat loaf, meat balls, you name it. My Cabales #22 grinder chews through a cow in minutes. Then I run it through again and into the plastic freezer bags like at the butcher shop. Tape them with a automatic taper and I am done. I have done 15 elk all total like this, we love it. Ron

 

[bigbone]

Cutting it yourself is the only way to go. We cut and wrap 3 elk a year and some deer, give plenty away because thats alot of meat.

Make lots of burger, some good steaks to be marinaded and grilled, and some for the pressure cooker to put in jars. That jarred meat is awesome in a sandwich or enchaladas, anywhere you can use shredded beef. Put beef bullion cubes in the jar fill with water and pressure cook the long grain chunks for 2 hours at 13-14 pounds pressure...

^BIGBONE^

 

[junior]

Something else....if you guys hang your elk make sure its in a cooler and not a freezer....no need to hang it, if its going to freeze....in a cooler the bacteria starts breaking down the meat, and this makes it tender and gives it flavor...it will not do this if its frozen.