What can you eat?

I've had deer, elk, caribou and moose. All good, but I liked moose the best. It was like very fine, very lean beef. Mild tasting and very tender.

I've never really hunted, but remembering the taste of the moose has me thinking about it.:)
 
I wonder...How many of you have taken the next step in wild game prep/food storage?
I debone, butterfly,grind..all of my wild game. My deer burger gets made into breakfast sausage. My elkburger gets ground w/ beef suet into standard burger. I also stuff elk into italian sausage which are just excellent on my little grill when out fishing,,etc. Tasty brats..
The rest gets made into steaks for pan frying, chicken frying, grilling. Roasts and then thicker steaks for swiss steak. I make jerky also.
My children, wife are avid sausage and chicken fried steak eaters. They don't care for other types anymore.
For anyone who hasn't done it, get a vacuum sealer, they are awesome.
elkman06
I do pay someone to make sticks like slim jims though. Another pocket food for day hikes, etc.
 
In California, since I lived there for nearly 50 years, I suggest starting out with dove, quail and pheasant. For a little more expense (ammo) and travel you can hunt ducks, geese and perhaps turkey, if you find you enjoy it.

For game animals start with wild hogs as they are readily available on public land in the central part of the state and northward, and then you can go for deer.

There's plenty of game in California, but also plenty of people and much of the private land is posted, so bird hunting is easiest to get you started.
 
I don't know for sure on the actual nutrition value of caribou. All I know is that when I was in Alaska the cook used to make Caribou Sausage Biscuits & Gravy and it was amazing. All other forms of Caribou I have tried were just as good.
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Not to hijack this topic..... But I'm amazed that Caribou has been listed as "tasty" by numerous posters. I've never had Caribou but I've always been under the impression that the meat was pretty terrible.

But what do I know, I've also heard that Pronghorn are terrible to eat and they are my favorite large game animal. I do believe that location has a lot to do with how tasty the animal is and I'd guess a Wyoming antelope tastes a little different than a New Mexico one. That being said, those Wyoming Pronghorn are damn tasty.
 
My favorite is Pheasant. Because we have to use a game farm to hunt them, I dont eat it so often.
Next would be dove. But my wife made me quit shooting at the bird feeder.
[/INDENT]I like Rabbit, but my wife has started guarding her cages;)
I love Deer. I had to purchase a deep freeze, when my kids were old enough to hunt. We take no less than 4 White tail a year. There are so many ways to prepare it.
Squirrels I dont care for. I do have several neighbors that cant get out and hunt. So the kids and I donate.
One I am shocked it not mentioned, Crow. It is tasty. The only down side is they are tuff.
Freind of mine said he used to eat Possum. EEWWWW. Back when he was a kid, they were quite poor. He would occasionaly shoot one. His mom figured out how to cook it. Did I say EEWWWWW:barf:.
Ducks, you can have them. Been there done that. Wont go back. Unless they start attacking.:D
I guess I would try anything once. I am a meat and tator guy.
 
Let's see. I personally enjoy duck, dove, quail, turkey, pheasant, deer, wild hog, rabbit, and alligator, and would absolutely love to try just about anything else. If you're in CA then go for turkey, rabbit, and wild hog. There are plenty of folks who love squirrel as well, and I haven't personally had it so I don't know.
 
Snakes & Frogs

Two all time classics I've not seen mentioned are frog legs & rattlesnake. Ever been to a rattle snake roundup? They fry it up and it's very tasty.

If you saw the movie Second Hand Lions, you saw the two old men "Bass Shootin' with their 12 ga SG's
 
My favorites are frog legs and gator........ YUM!!!!!

But I sure don't pass on any deer or wild hogs that happen to stroll by. :D
 
Hunted squirrel a lot when growing up in Wisconsin. I remember it as being my favorite and very good to eat - preferred it to rabbit which is also very good. Pheasant is excellent, though a dry meat that needs basting to keep it moist. Never had wild duck fixed in a manner that I cared for.

Rattlesnake is actually quite tasty. They do a great job of cooking it a some of the rattlesnake round-ups I've been to.
 
"Is this thread a joke? Go to your local book store or library and check out wild game cooking and get ready for an eyeful"

If you have to go to the library that is a shame. Should have a couple in every kitchen.

But most of the 'cookbooks' are more like pollution to game meat. Just roast/fry and enjoy. If you need use garlic, onions, green peppers and the like stick with hotdogs.
 
Barman, you are correct on Pigeons. They are doves, Rock Doves to be precise. I remember reading Ernest Hemingway write that when he was young and poor he lived in New York. he would go down to the park with some birdseed and a baby carriage. He fed the pigeons until they were comfortable with him and came close. He would wring their necks and put them in the baby carriage to take back to his apartment for dinner.
 
Try to avoid Armadillo. Too greasy.

Squirrel and duck are good when mixed in with crawfish, bream and oysters in a good hot gumbo but that means combining hunting and fishing. But you have to make allowances for just how big a batch of gumbo you can make with a mess of squirrels, 20 pounds of crawfish, a duck, a stringer of bream and a few dozen oysters. This means you've got to invite your inlaws to help you eat it so that can be a problem. I don't know, maybe in California you could invite your ex and her new husband and his ex and her inlaws so then they would fight amongst themselves and leave you alone? ;)

For a real treat I like to shoot a Boca early in the morning and clean it, grind it into hamburger and roast it slowly over an open fire for supper. Nothing like a good Boca burger, slathered in onions and its own gravy! :D:D
 
Eat

Grouse is #1. But moose tenderloin is mighty good if you fry it while you are quartering, and carrying out the rest of the moose. Tom.
 
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