Cooking Moose

[ColeyG]

This is 100% false and I don't blame you for thinking this but the best tasting moose me and my family have ever had (we shoot them ever year) has been my 60in bull that was shot with his dingalang hanging out and he was grunting. Don't let common myths ruin good things.

My experience has been the same. I've killed and eaten bulls in all phases of pre, during, and post rut, and for whatever reason, it doesn't seem like their meat is affected as much by hormones and diet as compared to other critters. Caribou and goats are the worst.

That having been said, regarding moose, you have to take great care to keep the meat away from the hide when butchering because they are nasty bastards on the outside. Piss, mud and muck covered. I will admit, watching a big old rutting, stinking bull drink cow piss by the gallon doesn't make me hungry.

Bone-In Blade Venison Roast

Years ago, my brother Danny perfected this bone-in blade venison roast recipe while working with a moose shoulder. I’ve since used it for everything from whitetail to black bear. As you’ll see, it proves that there’s no need to grind all your big game shoulders into burger meat. Handled properly...

www.themeateater.com

This receipe has been pretty popular for all manner of wild game roasts at our place for a while now. Work just fine for boneless meat.

I go way heavy on the fresh herbs.

 

[AkRyan]

My experience has been the same. I've killed and eaten bulls in all phases of pre, during, and post rut, and for whatever reason, it doesn't seem like their meat is affected as much by hormones and diet as compared to other critters. Caribou and goats are the worst.

That having been said, regarding moose, you have to take great care to keep the meat away from the hide when butchering because they are nasty bastards on the outside. Piss, mud and muck covered. I will admit, watching a big old rutting, stinking bull drink cow piss by the gallon doesn't make me hungry.

Bone-In Blade Venison Roast

Years ago, my brother Danny perfected this bone-in blade venison roast recipe while working with a moose shoulder. I’ve since used it for everything from whitetail to black bear. As you’ll see, it proves that there’s no need to grind all your big game shoulders into burger meat. Handled properly...

www.themeateater.com

This receipe has been pretty popular for all manner of wild game roasts at our place for a while now. Work just fine for boneless meat.

Yes we are very careful in our process, we do not gut animals and ribs/tenders are the last thing to get pulled. Me my wife and daughters typically get a moose broke down and in bags within a hr so meat is cooling fast also.

 

[6mm Remington]

When I got to go on my grizzly bear hunt on the North side of the Brooks Range at the end of my trip I got to spend a couple glorious days in base camp. As I was the only hunter left in camp I got to dictate what was for dinner the next couple of nights. The cook asked me if I wanted ribeye steaks and I said no way. I said moose, sheep, caribou, any local game would be what my heart desired.

First night it was moose ribs and I'm not sure how she cooked them, but they were delicious and tender. Had mashed potatoes and brown gravy on the ribs. OH MY! Next night was caribou backstraps that were sliced into medallions. The were very tender and delicious. Amazing food for sure. Out of the two I could not say which one I liked the best. Both the moose and caribou was fantastic.

I have not drawn a moose tag here in Montana myself but have gotten to eat a bit of moose from friends who get so lucky as to draw a tag. For me I would much rather eat elk and antelope. Mule deer, whitetail, and black bear also rate above the moose. Maybe when it's my own moose I might find it a bit more likable!

 

[Rossi]

Between myself and friends the past several years, I have been able to have meat from several Wyoming Shiras moose between 1.5 and 5.5 years old, bulls and cows. The flavor of the meat has been great, but we all agree that all has been tougher than other types of meat. We treated all of them exactly the same as other antelope, elk, and deer. I notice it most when grilling backstrap/steaks. I even sous vide the moose backstrap steaks for 1.5-2 hours at 125 and then seared. I might try a little longer on the next batch. Obviously not as much difference when braising or other slow cooking methods.

 

[WMR]

Another fun thing to do is share the meat with friends and family. Lots of outdoor folks here (MI) have never had the chance to try moose meat. I typically take the recipient’s experience as a game cook into consideration with this. Anyone can use moose burger. If I’m not sure of their culinary skill, I may might cook the other cuts for them myself.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

moose is ok, but if you want something tasty try beef!

With all the big game meat we eat at our house, we still supplement in a 1/4 to 1/2 beef every year into the freezers.

My kids have grown up on deer and elk and actually both boys prefer elk and deer steaks to beef steaks. They do prefer beef for ground meat dishes.

 

[Elkhy]

Moose meat is lowkey better than deer, no debate!

 

[Catchfish]

I’m always curious when I hear about tough moose meat, I could see possibly shiras moose being tougher than the moose we eat here in Ak. I have not experienced tough moose meat. We do a lot of steaks, sliced backstraps, sirloins, and eye of rounds and all can be cut with a fork. I don’t do anything fancy season and grill.

I do know if you get those big guard hairs on the meat that are up on the next that stink during the rut they sure seam to give some funk to the meat. We are very careful with hair especially on a moose you can smell.

 

[TBossHSauce]

After reading this thread my family did a little test yesterday. I cooked a moose tenderloin, mountain goat tenderloin, and whitetail tenderloin for Christmas dinner. I marinated each in the same concoction for 6 hours and then sous vide for 4 1/2 hours on the dot at 130 degrees, seared, and served.

We went around the table with my family and in-laws and it was interesting to see what was the favorite. All were AMAZING. My wife chose moose, then goat, then the whitetail. My favorites in order were goat, moose, then whitetail. From there, it was a mix of who thought what was the favorite with moose and goat flipflopping around the table. The lowly whitetail was last always. (probably because in Texas we eat more than our weight each year in WT and have become accustomed to it).

All in all, each was extremely tender with the mountain goat being the most tender of all. Not a bad Christmas dinner to say the least and I'd venture to bet there wasn't another table within 1000 miles from our house in Texas having the same smorgasbord!

 

[northernmadman]

After reading this thread my family did a little test yesterday. I cooked a moose tenderloin, mountain goat tenderloin, and whitetail tenderloin for Christmas dinner. I marinated each in the same concoction for 6 hours and then sous vide for 4 1/2 hours on the dot at 130 degrees, seared, and served.

We went around the table with my family and in-laws and it was interesting to see what was the favorite. All were AMAZING. My wife chose moose, then goat, then the whitetail. My favorites in order were goat, moose, then whitetail. From there, it was a mix of who thought what was the favorite with moose and goat flipflopping around the table. The lowly whitetail was last always. (probably because in Texas we eat more than our weight each year in WT and have become accustomed to it).

All in all, each was extremely tender with the mountain goat being the most tender of all. Not a bad Christmas dinner to say the least and I'd venture to bet there wasn't another table within 1000 miles from our house in Texas having the same smorgasbord!

That sounds awesome, I will be there next Christmas

What was your marinade? I am doing a sous vide moose roast this weekend. I usually just have salt, pepper, onions, garlic and a bit of red wine in the bag while it’s cooking. Before putting under the broiler I salt and pepper again. I am open to other suggestions to change it up a bit.

 

[Nickziegler]

It's fantastic. Sausage and backstrap. Souis vide tye backstrap at 132 for an hour and a half woth salt pepper butter ans rosemary. Sear in cast iron

Sent from my SM-S918U using Tapatalk

 

[medvedyt]

I’d had moose in the past but always prepared by somebody else, and it was always very good.

This year I’ve had enough of my own moose meat to form a better opinion on it. It’s my favorite overall wild game meat from rare steak to ground for burger and other ground meat meals.

I’m hosting a taste testing in January and we’ll have about 40 folks over. All the meat will be from my personal 2023 and 2024 seasons and will include….

Alaska Bull Moose
California Mule Deer
California Blacktail Deer
Arizona Mule Deer
Arizona Coues Deer
Arizona Bull Elk
Minnesota Whitetail Deer
Wyoming Whitetail Deer
Wyoming Mule Deer
Wyoming Cow Elk
Wyoming Antelope

These are all wild game animals I’ve personally killed in either 2023 or 2024. All were either dry aged in a cool enough climate or wet aged in a warmer climate.

We will do a medium rare steak bite and a small ground burger slider from each and everyone will vote. All meat will be prepared identical.

Should be fun!

a shame you do not have black bear meat even not medium rare we did a few blind meals and the first meat to be gone was always the black bear one and we had moose, elk, caribou and whitetail, the grizzly has been always the last one ...

 

[medvedyt]

Here's a good place to start. A classic approach to beef tartare that translates well to moose. I've also tried it with round w/ good results.

How to Make a Classic Bistro-Style Steak Tartare at Home

Most of us know it as a restaurant meal. But making it yourself involves zero cooking.

www.newyorker.com

tartar with wild game can be tricky has you can have some worms ... better to be aware of it.

 

[Jim1187]

The only time I've been disappointed with moose I was given some sausages that among other things had all had bacon added. Unfortunately for most too much bacon was added and it overpowered the moose flavor.

Maybe it's just an Eastern Canada thing but does anyone else bottle game meat? Pack mason jars with meat and your favorite pot roast or stew accoutrements(I typically leave out the root vegetables except a handful I make as canned stew or pot roast) load into a pressure canner and enjoy at a later date. Reheated and served over a starch with seasonal vegetables makes for a quick meal and frees up some freezer space. If you have a moose and/or elk, a couple deer, possibly a hog and variety of fowl freezer space can become a premium.

 

[buffybr]

I've eaten several moose.

My first moose was an OLD Shiras bull that I shot in Montana. When we checked him at the FWP roadside check station the boilogist there called him a "gummer" because his teeth were worn down so much. He tasted like a tough willow bush.

The next year I took a friend hunting in the area that I had shot my moose and he shot a B&C bull. He gave me a quarter of it and it tasted somewhere between elk and beef. I think that I ground all of my quarter into burger.

A few years later I shot another bull in that area. He was younger than my first bull, and again he tasted somewhere between elk and beef, and I ground most of him into burger.

In 2023 I shot a bull in Northern Alberta. The head guide cooked some of the tenderloin for dinner that night and I could barely chew it. I brought two large coolers of the meat back home with me and I ground everything into burger. We're having tacos with some of it tonight.

I've just about lived on elk meat since the '70s, and I like it better than beef. To me, a beef hamburger tastes bland compared to an elk hamburger.

In the '80s and '90s I was fortunate enough to have killed a Dall and 3 Bighorn rams. They were some of the very best wild meat that I have ever eaten.

 

[buffybr]

Where do you hunt those?

My ex-MIL once had a herford cow fall and break it's hip, so my ex had me dispatch and process it.