Mule deer beats out whitetail, ha ha

[bz_711]

Elk pushes everything else out of my freezer...still like me some deer...would like to try speedgoat.

 

[Lukem]

I actually think they were pretty close. It's been a while since I've eaten moose but remember it was good. Pronghorn is right up there with elk as well. Pronghorn gets a bad rap because it's often not taken care of well. Let it ride in the back of ur truck on an 80F October day and yeah it'll be bad. I also like MD better than Wt. The single best animal I've eaten was my 6 yo mulie from Wyoming. Granted it was an October buck, but it was outstanding. I know some love sheep, but I've never been a fan and not surprised to see it last. About the only way a Wt would rank higher is if it was a fawn. I live in cornfed country, and it's over rated. All it adds is fat, and I don't want marbled deer steaks.

 

[crzy_cntryby]

The trick with antelope us getting that hide off quick. Preferably within an hour. Makes a huge difference and better eating!

 

[Poser]

Judging from the picture, that meat was WAY overcooked.

 

[NJDiverDan]

I am a firm believer that it really comes down to how the game was handled, cooled and processed that makes it good table fair or not. Then of course is how the meat is prepared / cooked. Many people I talk with here in Idaho say mule deer tastes like sage brush. I have eaten two mule deer bucks (not at one time) and both were as good as any whitetail I had back east. I will agree that elk and moose seem better, but I think that is more from a texture / tenderness standpoint more so than flavor.

-dan

 

[idelkslayer]

I did a similar taste test with my wife a couple years ago. I had killed a spike elk, spike mule deer and spike whitetail in the same year. The whitetail and elk were from the same area the mule deer from a few hundred miles away in sagebrush country. Since all 3 animals were the same age, butchered by the same person using the same methods it may be more scientific. I grilled all three steaks to medium rare and seasoned them with just salt and pepper. My wife wore a blindfold while I gave her samples at random and then we switched. Anyways the results were that both my wife and I could tell the difference between the elk and deer and agreed that the elk was the best. Neither one of us could tell the difference between the whitetail and mule deer or vis versa. Neither of us had a preferrence for the whitetail over the mule deer. None of the animals lived near enough to have agriculture as part of their diet.

 

[MattB]

Interesting list. Based on my experience it is:

1. Sheep (dall)
2. Antelope (Coues and Sitka are close behind)
3. Moose (Caribou is close behind)
4. Elk (Blacktail is close behind)
5. Whitetail
6. Mulie

I'd put black bear in the range of elk and mountain lion maybe a bit higher.

 

[Beendare]

Eats brush vs. Eats corn. Ya just not believing it

Yeah, agreed.... I've had Muleys in the freezer that made my ice cubes taste sagey

 

[Scoot]

They just compared backstrap, right? I like muley and whitetail backstrap about the same- both are great. It's the rest of the deer where I think whitetail is a lot better than muley. Of course, elk and moose beat the tar out of both of them!!!

 

[WRO]

I'd say in this order. .


Calf elk
Sitka bt
Antelope
August caribou
Elk
Blacktail
Wt
Mule deer
Moose
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
October's bull caribou
.
.
.
.

Goose
.
.
.
Bighorn sheep

 

[cuerro viejo]

Which ever eats the most alfalfa and corn wins

 

[Brendan]

Which ever eats the most alfalfa and corn wins

Which means - not the whitetail from Massachusetts. Mostly woods deer and back yard deer with some agriculture, but not like the Midwest.

With that said - I've had some that are pretty damn tasty and not too far off elk, but I'm pretty particular about taking care of them after the shot, and I tend to shoot more younger deer...

 

[robby denning]

Age a mule deer 28 days (or any of 'em) and you'll be surprised how much better they all eat

 

[jtw]

The scientist in me is going nuts by the lack of controls. Was it the same hunter? How was the meat handled post shot? Why allow the different cut? My opinion is everything is palatable in the right hands. So hunt what you can.

 

[Schaaf]

Interesting list for sure. Andrew the author lives About 15 minutes away from me (NE Montana) where a large number of the muleys spend a lot of their time in the fields. I can only imagine that is what slid it up a little higher. I know the rough country muleys I shoot wouldn't be that high on the list haha

 

[geriggs]

No wonder the whitetail did not taste good. From Massachusetts? Probably had that bitter taste of socialism!!!!!

I kid I kid

 

[robby denning]

No wonder the whitetail did not taste good. From Massachusetts? Probably had that bitter taste of socialism!!!!!

I kid I kid

That's funny stuff

 

[Brendan]

No wonder the whitetail did not taste good. From Massachusetts? Probably had that bitter taste of socialism!!!!!

I kid I kid

Yep, even the deer are liberal here....