About the meat from a safari...

[gizmo]

Zebra is my favorite, and no not the pecker @BWH smart ass

 

[ActionBob]

I voted eland but it ties with springbuck.

Had both and many if not most of the common and not so common meats in Africa. A springbuck stew at a reasteraunt in Cape Town was tender and to die for.

But minced eland over noodles in a stroganoff type gravy at Simon's camp in Mozambique was fantastic, as were the medallions of eland tenderloin, eland steaks, etc. That was Livingston Eland I tho k it may have actually been better than cape eland, but perhaps it was the setting being in that truly remote place.

Elephant tastes good if prepared well. But it takes a while to chew However I'm not sure I could chew even the liver from an old giraffe bull.

As for the statements of meat being an in demand commodity in Africa, biggest understatement possible... My dog guy had wanted the leopard meat to feed his dogs. But by the time he got there, the camp staff had consumed or stashed it all for themselves. We had bait stolen from a tree. Innards, the only thing not consumed from my elephant was the penis, spine, hips, and some of the leg bones. I swear they rinsed out and ate the asshole...

Find some lone Shepard in the hills, hand him a plastic shopping bag full of everything from inside a klipspringer and make his day.

 

[KMG Hunting Safaris]

Gemsbuck

 

[Bruce]

Being local in RSA I always want to take the meat home when hunting within South Africa...most outfits don't allow this OR they charge per kilogram.
We are tied to biltong hunting where we take the meat home, but limited to hunt LESS than trophy sizes...or end up paying the higher trophy price if such an animal is hunted. I have learnt the hard way and now always enquire about who owns the meat of my hunt...generally I do not hunt a local place if I cannot keep the meat.

 

[cpr0312]

Welcome aboard!

Eland is fantastic table fare!

 

[Bruce]

Favorite to eat..kudu.. springbok... Oryx...Impala .....really depends on what it is iI'eating at the time!!!
It's ALL delicious!!!!!

 

[Eventually_Africa_Again]

I've only been over once so my experience is somewhat limited but I have to say that Eland was the best followed closely by Wildebeest! My wife is a very picky eater and was concerned that she wouldn't find anything she liked. When we got there she enjoyed the meat so much that now it's all she talks about and every steak place that I enjoy has gotten the "well, it's good, but it's not Africa good". Ah well, who am I to complain right? I will say I didn't enjoy Zebra very much, too sweet for me, but that's just one minor blip in an ocean of wonderful food.

 

[cls]

mountain reedbuck

 

[Dr Ray]

The meat wouldn’t be allowed out of the country - potential disease etc. basically all meat goes to feed the locals.
If you tried to import raw or cooked meat in Australia you’d be in real trouble. We cannot bring meat back from some of our own islands - deer meat for example.
Seafood is a different matter though.

 

[fourfive8]

Yes, enjoy as much variety of it as you can when you're there. Should be plenty around camp. In most places, as others have posted, it's treated just like domestic livestock here. It's traded, bought and sold at market so even the locals have to buy it by the pound (kilo). I like all the antelope and buffalo. Even Waterbuck biltong is very acceptable if done correctly. Most of the birds and fish are excellent. But I'll pass on ostrich- for whatever reason just doesn't react well with my palate. Elephant has very good flavor with albeit a course texture and the meat of older ones tends to be tough.

And also as others have posted, Africa is a meat hungry continent so none ever goes to waste. Visualize a hunter killed 10,000+ lb elephant carcass reduced to a pile of large bones and a grease spot in the sand in three days by a village of locals all on foot. That "image" appears in Africa hunting literature and I can attest to it being true!

 

[BGHA]

mountain reedbuck

+1 with the mountain reedbuck.
They aren't nearly as widespread or as popular with hunters as kudu, eland, impala, gemsbok, etc., but they are incredibly tasty if you get the opportunity to hunt one.

 

[Bsto270]

I thought kudu went head to head with moose to give it a North American comparison. Impala , blesbok and waterbuck all good when I tried them. Smoked, pulled warthog was a real treat as well.

 

[Red Leg]

In Namibia, Oryx (gemsbok) is likely the most commonly consumed wild game by the various ranchers. They shoot themselves, and are always grateful for a meat animal when hunting their property for a trophy. I have probably shot half a dozen younger bulls that way over three hunts in that country. In the Zambezi Delta of Mozambique, the common reedbuck is the most "common" animal filling the larder. It is a wonderful light venison. There I have eaten everything from cape buffalo (barely ok - it was a really old bull) through nyala to sable. But reedbuck is always first class table fare. And no one ever turns down an eland backstrap wherever it was taken. Had warthog once in Namibia and once in Moz - meh. Bushpig backstrap, on the other hand, was wonderful. And never ever turn down guinea fowl made into a shepherd's pie.

You can't take it home, but you will eat game every day, and not a milligram will go to waste.

 

[wesheltonj]

Hunt 65 Can you please post a little more about your hunting experience and a picture or two? I have noticed just one post from you and no response from you? Sorry to be suspicious but many anti hunting TROLLS lurk around and asking about what happens with meat kinda smells like a little anti to me. Hopefully I am wrong??

Rookie would like to bring meat back! Who wouldn't?

Deep breath, his IP is from the state mentioned.

Troll? Yea or Nay?

I ate everything on my trip. The Gembok was served "cooked" in lemon juice all day, as an appetizer. I though it was ok, wife and daughter hated it. The best meat was the Kudu. Impala is just awful.

 

[sestoppelman]

Oryx is my fav also, followed by eland, reedbuck, kudu, bushpig (tastes like beef!), and all the others. Its all good if properly handled and cared for. Gamy meat is gamy meat wherever it comes from. About the only thing I didn't like is some tough warthog and some gamy springbok cutlets. Meh. Oh and my friend and PH in RSA made a horrible gnu sausage, but don't tell him I said so. No amount of mustard could bring that stuff around.

 

[Erny]

I have had the meat from a bunch of african animals I hunted. They are all good but eland, Kudu, Buffalo and springbok were my favorites. The one I liked the least was giraffe....had a strong gamey taste much like a rutted up Whitetail buck.

 

[ActionBob]

Only took about 8 hours to carry this critter off. I'm told it would feed the village of 1500 for a month. It was certainly a big reason to celebrate late into the night, bonfires burning, dancing etc.

In RSA, some prime cuts are kept for camp meet, the offal went to the staff, and what could be sold was sold by either the outfitter, or I think more often by the landowner. In one case we loaded a zebra, Gemsbok, 3 springbok onto the Hylex and dropped them off at a butchery in town that was very clean and organized and full of game animal carcasses.

But in the CAMPFIRE areas such as where the above elephant was taken, the local villagers get the meat. There was a local government game scout who took possession of the carcass after we had it skinned and trophies collected.

Similarly in other of the wilder parts of Africa...

 

[Tokoloshe Safaris]

I can only speak about "Trophy Meat" taken in Zimbabwe. If taken in a CAMPFIRE area your (Safari Operator) signs a agreement with the local council stating that the majority of unused meat will go to the people of that area. There is no problem with taking a reasonable amount for camp use. You also may be using a portion of the meat and bones for baiting. If you are fortunate enough to take a "large animal" such as elephant or hippo try to watch the entire skinning, meat cutting and distribution of the meat. It will be a memory that you will never forget!

 

[sonnyn913]

My favorite livers are from my reedbuck and the impala liver. I really enjoyed the eland and springbok back straps. I did not like the zebra at all, and I did not try my giraffe. My first safari the meat was mine, and I was able to sell it to a butcher and use the $ for tips and trophy deposit. The other 4 safaris I have been on all sold the meat to a butcher who came out and picked up all of the meat that was not used in camp.

 

[Nyati]

Welcome to AH !

By far, my favorite meat is Eland, backstrap cut into slices, properly marinated and then cooked over the braai. Just delicious !