Field care of antelope

[Shane]

Good care of the meat isn't any different than for any other animal. Get it on ice, keep it clean..... But flavor depends a great deal on where you killed the critter and what he ate. If he lived in sage brush, he won't taste as good as his cousin that lived on grass.

 

[Sobrbiker]

Not speedboat specific:
Anybody else use “super ice”? I put a cup of salt in gallon “AZ Iced Tea” bottles (2 liter soda bottles work too) then hard freeze a couple week prior to hunt. Salt water has much lower freezing point and lasts/cools so much better than regular ice.
Don’t put soda in same cooler unless you want burst frozen cans!

 

[Cornie4387]

Great info!

 

[trdonahue7]

We quarter them and get them cooled down asap. They’re delicious if taken care of properly

I'm a huge fan of wild game and headed to CO for my first speed goat in August. My wife has asked what I'll do with the meat, and I do not have a good answer yet. People either love it or hate it from what I hear, so would ground and steak be the best? I cook all my game to 130 internal and love it.

 

[silverbullet555]

I'm a huge fan of wild game and headed to CO for my first speed goat in August. My wife has asked what I'll do with the meat, and I do not have a good answer yet. People either love it or hate it from what I hear, so would ground and steak be the best? I cook all my game to 130 internal and love it.

I process it same as a deer. Roasts, steaks, backstraps, etc. Grind the trim.

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[trdonahue7]

Great answer. In Idaho I shot a beautiful bull and stumbled on a carcus of an antelope. A local said it was disgusting meat but I've had people say that about deer... which is delicious. Assuming I am successful, I'll treat it the same. Thanks!

 

[silverbullet555]

Great answer. In Idaho I shot a beautiful bull and stumbled on a carcus of an antelope. A local said it was disgusting meat but I've had people say that about deer... which is delicious. Assuming I am successful, I'll treat it the same. Thanks!

I've taken 4 antelope. All from Wyoming. Just ate backstraps from a 2017 doe. Phenomenally tender.

The big difference is antelope starts earlier so heat can be an issue. Quarter and get on ice asap.

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[trdonahue7]

Will do. I'll be going in 90degree heat so I'll have it on immediately. Thanks again.

 

[WCB]

as most have said get the skin off and on ice asap of course this varies depending on outside temp...Also, IMO, try not to skin and then touch the meat at the same time. Wash your hands or use gloves to skin and the remove to quarter or bone meat. Their hair is oily and will get into the meat this way. Flavor also has a bunch to do with where the live and what they are feeding on. straight sage brush goats will have a bit of that taste no matter what. Alfalfa and Barley focused goats taste different.

I like antelope 10x better than elk for what its worth.

 

[Jimss]

Make sure that your ice is on the bottom of the cooler. As ice melts be sure to drain the water so the meat doesn't get saturated with water.

If keeping the cape to mount I bring along a 2nd cooler to keep the musky smell off the meat. It's also important to make sure the cape stays dry. I often place something between the bags of ice and the cooler to prevent the hide from getting wet. Drain the melted ice on a regular basis! A wet cape is one of your worse enemies..especially if weather is warm!

 

[Desert Hntr]

Two things, first I think people who say a certain meat is disgusting or they wouldn't waste their time on it are full of crap and should stop hunting if they are leaving the meat in the field for the head. Second all game meat that I have harvested has been delicious including Barbary sheep who a lot of people say is bad and my favorite Pringhorn Antelope. They key is cooling it down as much as you can in the given situation (good advice given above) but also processing the animal is where the taste comes into play. I had to drag an antelope almost 2 miles due to ranch restrictions in northern NM. This took almost 2 hours by myself. But I processed my own meat by letting it age for 7 days in cooler and when processing I make sure and get all sinew off. I think that is the key. When you take meat to a processor they tend to leave a lot more on which affects the taste, that is where the gaminess comes from. I may take a little extra meat in doing so but it gets cooked up, ground and mixed with rice, peas, carrots, etc for dog food so nothing goes to waste. A lot of people are intimidated by processing their own game, but dont be. There are a ton of good resources on youtube and state management websites, etc. And it's well worth time amd energy. A good tip is to use frozen 2 liter bottles instead of ice to minimize moisture and buy shelf separators (little wire shelfs) and place in bottom of cooler to maintain separation. You can use full bags of ice with them as well and not have to worry about the meat getting wet. Drain once a day and rotate quarters.

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[WhiskyTangoFoxtrot]

We field quarter as soon as feasible and have always enjoyed the meat. I've read it's important to get the skin off them as fast as possible but have never left it on long enough to know if it makes a difference.

 

[Hackleback]

As have been mentioned a couple of times, use frozen water bottles in your coolers to keep things dry. A bonus is that you have cold "emergency" water to drink.

 

[Daniel Boone]

Antelope backstrap is my favorite of all big game, very tender. Usually ground up the rest and make great tasting sausage.

 

[JMDavies]

I started hunting antelope in Wyoming 5 years ago and learned quickly that the hide needs to come off asap and cooled. After our first year, we started quartering and caping without gutting the animal at all. It takes a couple of times to get good at it, but we do that with all species now. No more crap, pee or scent gland issues due to small mistakes.