% of meat intake is wild game?

[Poser]

I was just reading the Paleo thread and admit that I was a bit shocked to read complaints about the cost of protein (i.e. buying meat) on a hunting forum. Out of curiosity, what percent of your meat intake do you estimate is wild game? If it is low, say less than 40%, what do you do with the animals you kill?

This time of year I am flush. 3 freezers are full and I have to repack at least two of them just to make room for a couple of fresh rabbits or duck breasts. On top of that, I have cured wild game meats hanging, jerky, jars of pickled heart.... No good reason to buy meat for the house. Ever.

Total % of consumed meat that is wild game? Probably 80-85%, maybe 90%. Basically, when I eat out, I'm not eating game meat. At the house, I'm eating game meat, guaranteed.

It's healthy, it's full of energy, it is readily available and abundant. Why would I buy meat?

 

[Becca]

No good reason to buy meat for the house. Ever.

Total % of consumed meat that is wild game? Probably 80-85%, maybe 90%. Basically, when I eat out, I'm not eating game meat. At the house, I'm eating game meat, guaranteed.

It's healthy, it's full of energy, it is readily available and abundant. Why would I buy meat?

That's been my philosophy too. I literally will not purchase meat, poultry or fish since our freezers are full of meat I know was well taken care of because we did I ourselves. I would guess somewhere around 95% of my consumption is game meat. We don't eat out that much, and when we do I tend to eat almost vegetarian. I get a 20lb ham for Christmas every year from work, what isn't consumed by our family over the holidays I freeze and enjoy sparingly throughout the year. Maybe twice a year I will need bacon for a recipe, so I will buy some on occasion but that is it. With three freezers full of moose, caribou, dall sheep, black bear, Sitka blacktail, mountain goat, salmon and halibut I can't justify the purchase of animal protein (outside dairy), and I wouldn't want to eat much commercially processed meat anyway so I am thrilled.

 

[Brock A]

Jealous of you guys! I would say I'm 20% maybe. My goal though is to be up near where you two are at.

 

[dreamingbig]

Our house is running at 90% of red meat intake as venison. An elk can last our family 1.5 years if needed as my wife and I are the only real consumers of it so far. As our three kids grow, I am sure it will go a lot faster.

 

[PMcGee]

I'd say 75% in my household. Wish it was higher.

 

[Ross]

Running 75% here as the mrs will only eat chicken and fish leaving all the elk for me

 

[Sierra stalker]

We eat roughly 75% wild, about 20% locally raised pork and the remaining 5% is chicken, fish or other store bought meat. Our total meals are usually 50% -90% wild or home grown food, depending on the time of year. We also do not add any pork or beef to our ground meat.

 

[5MilesBack]

I have no idea what the % is. I like me some fatty beef, so throw one in the freezers when I get one from my rancher relatives. Also love bacon and go through a heck of a lot of it. Just bought 40lbs the other day. The rest of our meat diet is supplemented by elk meat. But with the elk I use more burger than anything.

 

[Xtorminator]

I would guess that we are around 85% wild meat.

 

[jrice]

Probably 80% + wild here. My wife likes a chicken once in awhile. Had some cow steaks recently for the first time in a long time, have to admit they were good, but our bodies are programmed through tens of thousands of years of evolution to crave fat, and cow steaks are definitely fat.

 

[Poser]

I'd say 75% in my household. Wish it was higher.

75% is good. I would say that is higher than the average American hunter, probably by more than 25%. In fact, I bet the % of game meat consumed by the average American hunter is depressingly low.

I did forget to factor in bacon in my %. Sometimes I do cure it myself, which is fairly simple. I'll buy a heritage breed, pasture raised, pork belly for that.
We don't have wild hogs in my general area of the state, but I have friends who kill hogs all the time. I get meat from them from time to time, but they are sloppy butchers. -not like I eat a ton of bacon, but maybe 12 pounds a year is nice to have. While I do use game fats, especially duck fat, I usually keep some high quality pork lard in the freezer, though that could be replaced with bear lard.

 

[ScottP]

90%. It was nearly 100 when I lived back in the midwest and the freezer had more duck, grouse, pheasant, and 4 or 5 species of fish. But now I have more red meat diversity (elk, deer, antelope). My only 'surf' is trout, which I tire of rather quickly. We only occasionally buy turkey to make sandwiches and I buy pork belly locally to make bacon and add fat to homemade sausage.

I tend to feel pretty sick if I eat really fatty beef these days, so tend to avoid it.

 

[ScottR_EHJ]

75 to 80 percent.

 

[Craig Van Arsdale]

Probably 60% or so for me. I eat out more than I should........

 

[Poser]

For you guys running high % of game meat consumption, do you notice increased energy levels? I sure do.

 

[Trig]

I would say 95%++ of what I cook at home is wild game table fair. The exception being restaurants & lunch meat. I typically cook for just myself and go through a Bull Elk and two bucks a year. I usually need to conserve to make it last into the new hunting season. A cool thing I do is setting aside all the silver skin, mold layers and even some light blood shot and after I grind the burger/sausage and before I clean the grinder is run that junk through for my Pup. I take that and all the junk from butchering my familys game and freeze it for the Wolf Boy and he LOVES it!

I do buy some pork for sausage making purposes

This is the feezer after hunting season (with a few chanterelle's and huckle berrys mixed in).

 

[justin davis]

98% for my family. We eat meat with almost every dinner meal. All the meat is game I kill. Once in awhile we will eat some chicken bought from a store, but that's it.

 

[littlebuf]

I have no idea the percent, we eat game 3 to 4 nights a week. But I also eat eggs and lunch meat for sandwiches. So even though we have it often an honest number for percentage of protein in take would likely be under or around 50. I like peanut butter too, all that stuff is protein

 

[InDeep]

Well , that depends on how bad I suck during season.. This year will be buying meat in a few weeks . But we usually eat my game and a days a week of chicken and also a few lunch's of tuna ! . I'm lucky to have friends that fish pretty hard for tuna every year . So that us a good 60 lbs + a year of lunch stuff. I guess we do occasionally eat swine as well but not much.

 

[kamcgraw]

I haven't bought red meat in 3-4 years. All of our red meat in that time frame has been game meat. Something that I take a lot of pride in. I do however buy chicken and even sometimes fish(always organic). I havent seemed to get out small game hunting and fishing as much as I used too. Im working on that though. The more you learn about the food industry and what is actually in the food you buy at the store, makes you all the more proud to be a hunter and actually care about what goes into your body.