Which is the best game meat?

[chashardy]

I have to vote for eland tenderloin. Best meat I have ever had. On my three trips to Africa I've had pate of giraffe, and chops or tenderloin of gemsbok, kudu, etc. and all were very tasty. Kudu burgers are also a staple at the camp where I hunted.
I was very surprised at the T-bone (porterhouse) steaks of cape buffalo which were quite tender and a very tasty steak. The chef at our camp in Limpopo also made a really great Bobotie using blesbok or impla or whatever was fresh in camp. He also made an African version of braised ox tail using the tail of my buff and another one shot by another hunter in camp. Very interesting and tasty.

 

[Tanks]

Elephant stew made from backstrap meat was surprisingly good. I asked the cook to make it on multiple days.

 

[Red Leg]

Camel, donkey?

Only place I have eaten camel (baby camel at that) was in Saudi Arabia. I was invited to a dinner in honor of some Saudi General or the other that took place about fifty miles outside of Riyadh in the desert. We all sat around a huge platter of rice in the middle of a tent, and the poor grilled thing was brought in an laid out atop it. It wasn't bad, but would probably have gone down better with a crisp, slightly cooled pinot noir. The perrier mixed with apple juice was at least wet.

 

[Tanks]

Only place I have eaten camel (baby camel at that) was in Saudi Arabia. I was invited to a dinner in honor of some Saudi General or the other that took place about fifty miles outside of Riyadh in the desert. ....

Steamed sheep brains in salad as well as an appetizer?

 

[sestoppelman]

Oryx, eland, kudu, reedbuck, bushpig (taste like beef!), and then most of the rest taste similar. Least fav would be springbuck.

 

[Red Leg]

Steamed sheep brains in salad as well as an appetizer?

LOL. No, but if you are invited to a "goat grab" - same deal but with a goat in the place of honor atop the rice (called kabsa) - your host is likely to pluck out an eyeball and hand it to you as an act of respect. They are slightly crunchy on the outside and gooey on the inside.

 

[Code4]

Best roast I've ever eaten was Gemsbok rump cooked in a traditional Afrikaans way. The best biltong was Elephant from the 1984 Hwange cull.

 

[Tanks]

Some of the tastiest food I have ever had has been in the Middle East and Turkey. My favorite is a kid (goat not human ) or a lamb cooked for hours in a dug up hole (hot coals in the bottom) covered with mud on top. Then they make rice with the juices collected during the process. The meat literally falls of the bone.

 

[BTB Joe]

Really enjoy gemsbok.
Springbok and eland too.

 

[CoElkHunter]

Only place I have eaten camel (baby camel at that) was in Saudi Arabia. I was invited to a dinner in honor of some Saudi General or the other that took place about fifty miles outside of Riyadh in the desert. We all sat around a huge platter of rice in the middle of a tent, and the poor grilled thing was brought in an laid out atop it. It wasn't bad, but would probably have gone down better with a crisp, slightly cooled pinot noir. The perrier mixed with apple juice was at least wet.

Well, as usual I was being my facetious self, but hey, I’d try camel ONCE? No wine (whining), but I’d wash it down with a good dark ale?

 

[John J]

Klipspringer was the best meat I had in Zim. Hippo cut thin was good after the days hunt with sweet chili sauce. The steak at dinner I requested...not so good.

 

[CoElkHunter]

Some of the tastiest food I have ever had has been in the Middle East and Turkey. My favorite is a kid (goat not human ) or a lamb cooked for hours in a dug up hole (hot coals in the bottom) covered with mud on top. Then they make rice with the juices collected during the process. The meat literally falls of the bone.

Sounds good to me! Try a roast of anything, covered in wet burlap and held together with chicken wire. Bury it in the morning with heated river rock from the campfire the night before. It will be done in the afternoon when you come back from hunting/fishing. We’ve done this twice and it works great!

 

[CoElkHunter]

Steamed sheep brains in salad as well as an appetizer?

I’d prefer deep fried vs. steamed?

 

[deepwater]

I have only eaten NA game. My favorite by far was a young Alaskan bull moose harvested purposely for eating. Steaks and especially roasts were outstanding. I had some buffalo tenderloins that were very good. Meat from several black bears was disappointing, until I was at a party and I was throwing all kinds of meats into a turkey fryer. The deep fried bear was tender and tasty! Whitetial is just meat, even when tender and cooked properly. Pronghorn varies significantly from the post kill cooling. I have not had enough to offer a reliable opinion. People like the taste of elk because "it tastes like beef". That is a comparison, but I rather have moose.

 

[Ironhorse375]

In Africa Zebra was our favorite.
In the states
Moose
Wild sheep both Dalls and rocky mountain bighorn
Elk.
Not a huge fan of mule deer.
I hear mountain lion is top notch.
Just have to get one first and then I'll let you know.

 

[sestoppelman]

I don't do organs either side of the Atlantic.

The cook truly makes a difference, but forced to make a choice, I would pick Oryx, Reedbuck, and Eland as my favorites. If you hunt Namibia, oryx is pretty much the most common game animal served, and in Mozambique it would be reedbuck. I have tried buffalo several times and am not impressed. Go shoot a 14 year old angus bull in the back pasture, gut him, drag him home and cook him. The results will not typically be cordon bleu.

I have eaten whitetail my entire life, and I become more convinced every year that it is one of the strongest least appetizing game animals on the planet.

Must concur on the innards! My boy and I were going thru the chow line at the hotel in Windhoek waiting to go to camp next day. There was a big pan of what looked really good, meat, in sauce, tomatoes, peppers etc. Looked really good. Took a big ol dollop of it, sat down, all ready for something really good, took one bite of the meat. S**t!!! Liver!!! Boy says well I need to try it then. One bite, S**t!! Not for him either. LOL.

 

[Dr Ray]

Personally, I think Oryx is the best that I've had and I've eaten 7 or 8 different species. While hunting in Nambia, I asked the outfitter's family what their favorite was and to my surprise they all said Zebra.

That’s a surprise I must say

 

[Mike Van Horn]

I have some mountain lion blackstrap in the freezer. It's good, have to cook it thoroughly like bear meat. Different texture.
Favorite is Moose, than Pronghorn, than Elk
African, l will post when l get there and eat some..

 

[Ironhorse375]

I have some mountain lion blackstrap in the freezer. It's good, have to cook it thoroughly like bear meat. Different texture.
Favorite is Moose, than Pronghorn, than Elk
African, l will post when l get there and eat some..

Mike
I hear mountain lion is a sweeter meat?
Never had bear so I don't have a reference

 

[Tanks]

I have some mountain lion blackstrap in the freezer. It's good, have to cook it thoroughly like bear meat. ...

I have found cooking meats like that "Sous Vide" for 11 hours or so not only takes care of the bacteria, but also make the meat much more tender.