Advice: Love hunting; don't like the meat

[Norcal18]

I think it comes down to finding a way you like to eat it. Growing up deer was always done in a mold bath, floured and fried- good but not great. Kinda made me not hunt because I didn’t wanna waste the meat. Now in my 30s I’ve got back into it and love it. Cooked the backstraps on the smoker, delicious. Shot my first bear and had half made into jalapeño cheddar summer sausage. Again great and I give those sticks to neighbors and friends who love it. I also do burger since you can season it and it’s not different. Actually had bear smash burgers and my wife made beef ones. I liked the bear better. Also you can just to jerky, my family loves that. As long as it gets eaten I don’t care how it gets cut or ground up. Just gotta find what you like.

 

[Jesse Jaymes]

@Qmandan You're not alone. Had the same moral dilemma for years. I think most of the game meat sucks. I watched so many kids/dude all through my life from High School to current...."Dude...is that venison....fuk yea.....gimme that"

Think a lot is bravado in kids. I gigged frogs as a kid and ate them. My mom "Baked" in an over every critter I ever shot. Most was horrible.

I take very good care of the game I harvest and process my own. No hair, no questionable quality cuts, dirt etc.

The whole kitchen smells of Goat when I cook. And I simply do the best I can to choke it down.

How many influencers, podcasters, etc preach "High quality, low fat, organic meat".....then tell you "We add 68 pounds of pork fat" or tallow, or beef or whatever else?? You just took a shit in your soup!

I've been a die hard waterfowler. When I met my wife that was her rule (anti Hunter then) "You shoot it....you eat it". Plugging my nose trying to consume an entire limit of mallards and widgeon. Buried in whatever type of red vinegar, Brazilian marinade or what have you...to bury the funk. Pretty shitty.

This is your own moral issue. But as long as you are not wanton waste.....I don't think you're a POS.

 

[HairyScandinavian]

The problem with photography is most people will just end up sitting around RMNP or some other area for pictures. Kinda hard to hike the backcountry for days on end trying to get close to a raghorn when you can easily go take pictures of a pet beast in the park.

I like the suggestion of taking up Wolf hunting. Use your skills to help your fellow hunter with things you don't have to eat.

 

[Blowdowner]

You should bring a really good camera during the season and document all the hoofed animals you can photograph under 500 yards. Bring your rifle. And if you see a rack bigger than your current record, that's the one thing you shoot. The photos are acceptable to share with all types of people and if they're hunters you say "this was 200 yards I could have easily cranked him".

My other suggestion is hunt birds and small game.

 

[Strmchsr3]

I have a buddy who gave me a "venison sandwich" last fall, when I was helping him move. Best damn venison sandwich I've ever had, and would have enjoyed 2 more. It almost felt sinful to be eating venison in a sandwich, given how hard it is to get tags out here in Nevada. It's just a rare gift to get, in any form. But man, was it good.

After enjoying every bite, he asked, "So, you wanna know what meat that really was?"

Now, I've spent a lot of time working overseas, in some really low-down, dirty places. And he's been around the block a time or two himself. So I started completely expecting him to tell me something like, "wokked dog", or "stirfried cat", or something. Maybe even jackrabbit.

Nope.

It was coot.

No sh*t, it was real, actual, marshfed, free-range coot. Just another one of the nasty little oil-slicks out on the duck pond.

And it was the best damned venison sandwich I've ever had in my life.

As a kid, my family tried to cook up coot once or twice, just to see if we could - and it was absolutely inedible, trash-can bad. It turns out, we just didn't know how to cook it. Coot is not duck - but if you prepare it like venison, especially if you brine it in buttermilk or some other things, and get every speck of fat off during the cleaning of it, it can be phenomenal.

The takeaway here, is that if you don't like the elk or deer you're getting...it's only matter of finding the right game care and cooking recipes to make it exceptionally good fare.

Growing up in Nebraska where it is illegal to hunt crane, I had heard they are gross and not worth eating. After moving to Colorado and talking with people they call them the “ribeye of the sky” and while I’ve never had one that was a wild revelation for me to hear. Still having a hard time believing coot was good, but again it’s all about how you prepare it!

 

[Fireflyfishing]

Posting under a new account because I'm almost embarrassed to ask this question.

Really? Weak sauce. Man up.

Sounds like you need to learn how to prepare and cook game meat.

Explain your meat care process when harvesting game. Have you processed game meat on your own, or do you take it to someone to process?

Do you cook game meat until it’s shoe leather? That would be a major issue.

What kind of meat so you like to eat?

 

[douglasfir]

I really just like the meat. Pretty neutral about the hunting lol

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

Take a camera instead of a gun.