Best Tasting Venison???

What's the best tasting venison?

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Founder

Founder

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In your opinion, what's the best tasting venison? And why? And how have you made it the best?
What's the best part of your favorite venison? Tenderloins? Backstraps???
 
Here in the US, I'd have to rank mine as Axis deer, elk, and whitetail. World-wide, I would put eland above all of them!!
 
Shocking that Antelope is leading the poll....
BUT, the last antelope I killed was absolutely delish!
 
I have eaten a lot of deer, elk and pronghorn. In every case, pronghorn has had the best texture and flavor by far over the others when prepared and cooked right. It's for sure my favorite tasting venison.
 
From the game I’ve harvested so far elk is my favorite.
I prefer to BBQ the Backstrap and loins over a red oak pit.
Here is a piece of backstrap I did for last years opening day of our CA deer season.
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EB0C0A2A-12E7-4FF8-AEE9-A0E7CCF4BAE1.jpeg
 
Doe pronghorn is a delicacy in my household. I haven't had Axis but heard great things about it though. It's on my list to try
 
I believe in many cases the amount of effort to harvest an animal sways ones opinion of its taste. You bust your butt getting a sheep or elk and it’s going to taste better than an antelope where you parked your truck, 500 hundred yard stalk and shoot it.
 
Axis! And they can be hunted year round! My wife, who doesn’t “hunt”, will go shoot an axis of we run out. When I ask her if she gets nervous, she says: “Nope, just grocery shopping”
 
The tenderloin of a 'lope cut into 3/4" thick medallions, breaded with a spicey, 50/50 mix of flour & corn meal and quickly fried in very hot lard can't be beat.

But..I was on a moose hunt in BC. Because of the weather, my Slavey indian guide and I hadn't received the food drop via air by the outfitter that we were supposed to get there three days prior. We were down to two potatoes and some tomato soup. That day, I killed my moose, and the guide cut off a couple ribs and the flap of meat between a front leg & the body.

For dinner that night, he stretched the flap meat on a cross of two twigs and stood it up that way next to a roaring fire. He put the frying pan at the bottom to catch the drippings, which he used to fry the taters in. Other than some of the game I ate in Africa, it was the best eating game meat I've ever had. The next night, we did the ribs the same way, and they were also delicious.
 
My top five in no particular order are Oryx, Moose, Muskox, Elk, and Antelope. I'll take any one of them any time.
 
Here's an incredible recipe from Creme de Colorado cookbook. It is best with antelope or elk tenderloin. Beef tenderloin works well, but not as good a game meat. I use it over pasta such as Pappardelle, Tagliatelle, or Farfalle. If anyone tries it, let me know what you think.
IMG_0937[3887].jpg
 
I voted for elk because that is my go-to when it comes to wild game. But I grew up on blacktail from northern CA. Blacktail backstraps are hard to beat!
 
I'm with Blue Oak, I've been eating Blacktail most of my life, pretty hard to beat. The Whitetail & Mule deer that I've had might be a close 2nd. Antelope would have to be last on my list.
 
I must have been preparing my goats incorrectly since day 1!!!!! Can’t believe all the Antelope reply’s ! Me , elk hands down in about anyway shape or form !
 
For best results with your super speed beef I suggest dragging the carcass to the truck, take your time field dressing them, leave hide on, ride around with the carcass in the back of the truck, they are best eating after being ran around a few miles prior to shooting um, the glands aid in lubing your knife while gutting, a bullet or knife poke to the stomach adds that special sage flavor recommend not rinsing it out right away. Did I miss anything?
 
I’ve taken 3 speed goats. The first was good, the second was absolutely horrible (my dog wouldn’t touch it) the third that I shot last year was really good. All were handled the same.. I don’t know what to say....
 
Tailchaser a step up is to sling em across the hood and drive em home so all the tourist can see. It starts the cooking process and ages the meat.............when I was a kid in Grd. Jct. you would actually see this. LOL
 
Okay, I am officially shocked at the results. Antelope! Seriously? Maybe I just cook it wrong. Please give me good recipes because I would love to enjoy antelope, but right now I think it is horrid.
 
huntingisfun said:
Okay, I am officially shocked at the results. Antelope! Seriously? Maybe I just cook it wrong. Please give me good recipes because I would love to enjoy antelope, but right now I think it is horrid.
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I second that. My antelope are made into jerky. Surprised not to see whitetail ahead in the results
 
Antelope is my #1-Elk#2

We made a whitetail venison roast recently using the Mississippi roast recipe and it was incredible. Best roast I ever had and I have tried many over the last 40 years.
 
huntingisfun said:
Okay, I am officially shocked at the results. Antelope! Seriously? Maybe I just cook it wrong. Please give me good recipes because I would love to enjoy antelope, but right now I think it is horrid.
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nfh said:
I second that. My antelope are made into jerky. Surprised not to see whitetail ahead in the results
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No offense but if you don’t like antelope then you do not know how to cook. That is a fact ?
 
I think that I’ve got a couple packages of antelope backstrap in the freezer. I’ll cook some for dinner tomorrow evening and let you know how it goes ?
 
huntingisfun said:
Slightly Sober, send me a good recipe. I honestly don't know how to cook antelope. I really want to try a good recipe.
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This is what I do:

First I try to age it if I can on the bone in coolers. Usually easy to do since they are smaller animals.

When I want to cook it I keep it simple. I let the steak get close to room temp. Season with a little butter, salt and pepper. Get cast iron frying pan hot and throw on steak (whole). Cook a little bit on each side ( min or two for each side) then take off heat and let it rest for 10 mins. Slice and serve.

I've also cooked them on the traeger and just put a little montreal steak seasoning. Easy peasy.

@nfh crock pot? Dude come on. You're just trying to get me worked up!
 
Ss,

I get antelope once every few years. I went 6 years in a row with a tag. Going 4 years in a row without. This year i most likely wont apply in hopes i draw something that would keep me from antelope hunting
 
I’m sure this would be just as delicious with any other backstab but have only tried it with pronghorn.
Marinate an entire back strap in apple juice and purple grape juice overnight. Put on treager/ smoker low heat for a couple hours. Turn up heat jut enough to get it to medium rare. Sauté sliced portbelo mushrooms. Lay shrooms on top of backstops. Cover shrooms with thinly sliced smoked gauda cheese until it gets melty. Best wild game anything I’ve ever eaten.
 
Hey ss?

Which Unit In Alaska Do You Hunt Lopers?

GEEZUS!


Slightlysober said:
This is what I do:

First I try to age it if I can on the bone in coolers. Usually easy to do since they are smaller animals.

When I want to cook it I keep it simple. I let the steak get close to room temp. Season with a little butter, salt and pepper. Get cast iron frying pan hot and throw on steak (whole). Cook a little bit on each side ( min or two for each side) then take off heat and let it rest for 10 mins. Slice and serve.

I've also cooked them on the traeger and just put a little montreal steak seasoning. Easy peasy.

@nfh crock pot? Dude come on. You're just trying to get me worked up!
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I have probably taken around 20 antelope over the years and my whole family prefer the antelope over other game animals.
I was taught to start field dressing the animal within 5 minutes of it going down and to get the hide off to allow it to cool down.
If you fail to do this, you are going to end up with terrible tasting meat. I have seen other hunters drive around in their pickup or ATV with the antelope on the back and hide still on the animal and the temp is in the 70's or higher and they wonder why the meat is gamey tasting.
My wife is great at cooking game meat as her father was a dedicated hunter and her mother was great at cooking wild game and taught my wife very well.
Also when you defrost wild game meat, there will be some blood on the meat, wash that blood off and pat the meat dry prior to seasoning and cooking. Do not over cook it either.
The best deer venison I have eaten was from a doe that had been feeding in a rancher's alfalfa field for several months prior to me shooting it.

RELH
 
Founder said:
In your opinion, what's the best tasting venison? And why? And how have you made it the best?
What's the best part of your favorite venison? Tenderloins? Backstraps???
Click to expand...
I tagged along on a Whitetail deer hunt in South Dakota a few years back. My bro-in-law killed a 2 year-old 9 point with his muzzleloader. That night we cooked up some liver and backstraps, cooked in nothing more than a frying pan with onions, salt and pepper (we were out in the field after all). I couldn't believe how delicious it all was...

I also love cooking a deer roast in my Instant Pot. The high pressure, quick cook on the deer meat keeps it unbelievably juicy and tender.

No one voted for bear..? LOL- duh.! LOL
 
Here is my order of what I've eaten:
Cow elk (tenderloin is always a no-miss treat.)
Sitka Blacktail
Moose (only had it once.)
Whitetail (chicken fried steak) (only had it once)
Mule deer (this is the most complicated as I've had mulies that will top the list and some that were hard to choke down.)
Antelope (only had it once, it was okay)
Bull elk

Favorite to least cuts:
tenderloin
jerky
backstraps
ribs (slow cooked in apple vinegar then grilled with bbq sauce is hard to beat)
neck (in a slow cooked stew)
roasts
burger
front shoulder

Interesting what people are saying about antelope. I once helped a non hunting neighbor to fill an antelope doe tag. I said I heard it isn't very good and to jerky most of it. He tried a few roasts and said it was excellent and they wished they would have done more roasts.
 
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I cooked some antelope backstrap and elk backstrap for dinner Three different ways: fried, breaded then fried and grilled. All were very tasty. Consensus was that the breaded antelope was best. The elk was a little tougher ( 6pt) but still very good.
 
huntingisfun said:
So can you give me a good recipe for antelope because all I can find to do with it is make it into jerky.
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My 1st antelope after we field dressed it many years ago, we cut it up for packing. We took several filet sized steak and some back strap and took a strip of bacon and wrapped the bacon around the outside of them ,seasoned them with steak seasoning, fired up the grill and cooked them medium rare(you choose your liking)with some melted butter. That was my 1st ever taste of antelope on the grill and has never disappointed since.
 
Antelope shank; EVOO, garlic, kosher salt, pepper, seer all sides in a hot cast iron pan or on a grill. Throw in a crockpot with a little water or other stock along with any other seasonings of your choice for 6 hours.
 
Dall Sheep hands down for me. The first one I was fortunate enough to take was harvested on day 1 of a 10 day hunt (that lasted and extra day due to weather). We ate the entire sheep by the time I left.....lunch and dinner daily. I've had a number of bighorns and while good....I think elk is as good or better.
 
Ya, I voted for “sheep” and you’re correct. While bighorn is good and usually more flavorful and tender than elk, it’s nothing compared to Dall sheep. I’ve been luck to dine on it in the mountains of NWT many times. Oh man, it’s the best.
Like I said earlier, Antelope. Take care of it and cook medium rare and it’s the best meat and it’s always in my freezer because I get to hunt them very regularly. By far my wife’s favorite. When I’m trying to impress, that’s what I fix for her. Why do you think I get to go hunting so much?

Zeke
 
desert ram ribs over a campfire.......pronghorn tenderloins salt pepper on flat iron grill to rare medium rare.......
 
Does anyone eat bear? I mean buck snort did once but I think he is out for anything in the future.
 
Elk, but it's gotta be a cow or calf.
Mule deer, yearling.
Bear, that's been pressure cooked and made into tacos.
Moose, again a younger one.
Mt. Goat is absolutely bottom of the list for me, but the one I shot was aged at 9 years old. I tried to give most of it away but very few people wanted it...made a lot of jerky and it wasn't even very good.
I like to cook a whole backstrap of most any of the above on the smoker with venison rub at low temp to 130* internal temperature. Comes out as moist as prime rib
 
Neverdrawn said:
Elk, but it's gotta be a cow or calf.
Mule deer, yearling.
Bear, that's been pressure cooked and made into tacos.
Moose, again a younger one.
Mt. Goat is absolutely bottom of the list for me, but the one I shot was aged at 9 years old. I tried to give most of it away but very few people wanted it...made a lot of jerky and it wasn't even very good.
I like to cook a whole backstrap of most any of the above on the smoker with venison rub at low temp to 130* internal temperature. Comes out as moist as prime rib
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Dang, Neverdrawn!

Are you a millennial?!

You sound like my daughter!

There’s already enough princesses in this world!

JK?
 
In my reply earlier I forgot to mention how my grandfather (Pop), who was also my hunting partner in the 1960-70s, ate a lot of the game meat we brought home.

My dad owned a service station in Phx for decades, and Pop was the designated opener each day. Then my dad and his mechanic would wander in an hour later. Pop kept a small hot plate at the station with a small circular sheet of metal as his frying pan. He would place his choice of game meat on it, cook it and then put it on crusty Italian roll. Like me, he also preferred antelope over all others.
 
BLooDTRaCKeR said:
Dang, Neverdrawn!

Are you a millennial?!

You sound like my daughter!

There’s already enough princesses in this world!

JK?
Click to expand...
Definitely not a millennial, hell, I have kids who are. I guess I should qualify, I enjoy older venison, but given the choice as table fare, you can't beat the young uns!
 
ahhhh chit elk and antelope are tied. Where's randy newberg and his posse of antelope hunters and 7mm 08 lovers?
 
First two antelope this year, backstraps taste delicious. Hands down, family favorite. However, same animal ground up, tastes and smells like a rank goat. Explain that! Is there something I'm doing wrong? Help!
 
I
Pwrhd said:
First two antelope this year, backstraps taste delicious. Hands down, family favorite. However, same animal ground up, tastes and smells like a rank goat. Explain that! Is there something I'm doing wrong? Help!
Click to expand...
I've never had just ground antelope. We always mix whatever we have, deer, elk, antelope, moose, buffalo (we usually reserve some all buffalo and all moose grinding just to say we're eating moose/buff burgers). Mix all with 5-7% by weight beef suet.
No store-bought burger is better IMHO.
Zeke
 
Zeke said:
I

I've never had just ground antelope. We always mix whatever we have, deer, elk, antelope, moose, buffalo (we usually reserve some all buffalo and all moose grinding just to say we're eating moose/buff burgers). Mix all with 5-7% by weight beef suet.
No store-bought burger is better IMHO.
Zeke
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This was mixed with beef suet. Would the shoulders or hams taste different than the loin? Have never had this experience with muleys, WT or elk. However, this is the first antelope I've had so wondering.
 
If you included any fat or gristle or even silver skin with your grind, I would think that would be a possibility
 

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