Bull meat quality/taste

[trophyhill]

Outside of caribou most meat taste issues are the result of how the meat was cared for in the field and then to the table/freezer.

this right here sums it up.

 

[OBP]

What's the deal with caribou?

 

[Ray]

What's the deal with caribou?

Well, some people say its the best wild game they have ever had, others find that their dog won't eat it. Some bulls in the middle of the rut taste fine, others taste like they might be rotting on the hoof.

There are enough people taking "bad" caribou and whining about it that many folks are afraid to eat them.

The "secret" to not taking a rutty bull is to take young bulls early in the season. The older the bull the earlier they start collecting cows and get headed into the rut.

The other issue is that caribou eat moss mostly and end up eating a lot of dirt. This can put some flavor into the meat. Combine that with some rut hormones and not being cared for and you can end up with some horrible meat.

I've never taken a bad bull. I don't shoot bulls that are mounting cows. I have been given bad meat and learned it was all meat care issues. No amount of spices covered that up.

 

[KMD]

In the book "Alaska's Wolf Man", Frank Glaser described mature caribou & moose meat becoming inedible during the rut because the bulls of both species would acutally drink estrus piss from the cows as part of their mating ritual. That would foul the meat up pretty bad, I'd imagine...

 

[Jason Snyder]

Age of the animal certainly affects the toughness of the meat. The older the critter, the more developed the connective tissue is and the more cross linking there is in the muscle fibers themselves. This makes for tough steaks, and older animals can greatly benefit from hanging for 5-7 days prior to butchering.

The age of the animal should have no bearing on taste, unless the animal is in poor health. I've had a few tough elk, cows and bulls both. The toughest was a lead cow I shot in the Bob Marshall. I aged her at about 10-12 years old, based on her teeth. Even the tenderloins and backstraps were tough. The biggest bull I shot was 4-5 years old and had very little body fat. He was a little chewy, but not bad at all.

As already stated, get it cooled down, keep it clean and keep it dry.