- Jul 25, 2014
- 699
- 114
anybody out there got any tricks to make antelope meat taste better?I harvested it quick and immediately cooled the meat,but even at that,have found antelopes unique taste not all that great,,the wife refuses to eat any of it.
how to reduce wild taste of antelope meat?
- Thread starter ore hunter
- Start date
Work2hunt
Veteran member
Steak or ground? You could always add ground pork or beef to your ground. Steak try a marinade or turn it into sausage/ground if you are unhappy with the taste.
Besides mixing in other meat you can soak it in a heavy salt brin for a few days in the fridge before you cook it.
Did you get the hide off right away? Or was there still hide on it when you put it in the cooler?
CrossCreeks
Veteran member
I have prepared Antelope & Mule Deer (steaks and Roast ) a variety of ways and most all of have tasted great to me but I am in the same boat as you my wife does not like and I may never find a way that she finds it tasty. She does like it ground up and seasoned and loves in it turned into bratwurst with cheese and jalapenos. It may sound strange but try soaking it in Apple Juice I have done this for other meats and it gives a different flavor but not overwhelming !
Hilltop
Veteran member
My dad used to soak antelope steaks in milk overnight. You may give that a try?
I personally prefer my antelope mainly made into breakfast and Italian bulk sausage instead of steaks. The wild taste of antelope meat actually compliments the sausage taste in my families opinion. With the backstraps and tenderloins we marinate in zesty Italian and grill. I also like to keep a few packs of stew meat- it makes great south west chili.
I personally prefer my antelope mainly made into breakfast and Italian bulk sausage instead of steaks. The wild taste of antelope meat actually compliments the sausage taste in my families opinion. With the backstraps and tenderloins we marinate in zesty Italian and grill. I also like to keep a few packs of stew meat- it makes great south west chili.
I have taken 3 antelope and never had one taste strong. Then again some people antelope is inedible. Two of mine were taken in sage flats they typically inhabit and the last one was feeding in an alfalfa field and that was the best.
They were all skinned and quartered within the hour and on ice.
I have been told they have a bad taste if they are shot when running scared but I don't know if that is true or not.
To my wife and I antelope meat is only second to cow elk in yummy-ness.
They were all skinned and quartered within the hour and on ice.
I have been told they have a bad taste if they are shot when running scared but I don't know if that is true or not.
To my wife and I antelope meat is only second to cow elk in yummy-ness.
bdan68
Active Member
My wife, daughters, and myself love the steaks from the antelope I got in Wyoming last year. I don't do anything special when I cook them- I mean nothing at all. I fry them up in olive oil, medium rare, add a little salt, and eat.
If the taste was too strong I would have made breakfast sausage out of it.
If the taste was too strong I would have made breakfast sausage out of it.
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Antelope is one of our favorites, have not had a bad one. It is always skinned and on ice with in an hour, unless it is very cold outside. If you have a strong one, recipes for rutty Mulie would be a good place to look. Adding ginger helps too.
My wife hates antelope meat but I think it's alright mainly because it is so tender. I really like tender steaks and to me all cuts of the antelope are like tenderloins. I don't like the flavor of antelope burger at all and I never make any up. If you don't like the taste try crock potting it with different seasonings and veggies.
mntnguide
Very Active Member
My recent goats have hands down been the best meat I've had! i want as many tags as possible for those little buggers...i love elk, but my antelope have blew it away lately in taste
Againstthewind
Very Active Member
I am one who has been a little vocal about the bad antelope taste on here before, but I agree with Hilltop. The burger makes really good chili, and the sausage is really good also. We usually mix both deer and antelope meat for grinding for sausage and burger with pork roast or beef fat or something to blend in some fat so they stick together better and mellow the taste, also like was said above. The taste seems to cover up pretty well with other things. If nothing else you can put tabasco or jalapenos in it so thick that you can't taste anything else.
WapitiBob
Veteran member
The very first one I killed way back 30 years ago tasted bad and smelled worse when cooking. It was cut by a processor.
I now shoot several per year and cut them myself. Same for Elk. The key is to separate every muscle from the bone, following the membrane lines. Then I fillet the outer casing off the muscle when I cut steaks. You will have small steaks, no casing, no fat, and no bone.
When I shoot one, I gutless/quarter it, pack it out and put the game bags on ice in a 120 qt cooler. They stay in there till I cut them up. Nothing really special. I don't worry about hair on it either as I fillet the casing off. If you're eating meat with that casing still on it I suspect that's part of the problem.
I now shoot several per year and cut them myself. Same for Elk. The key is to separate every muscle from the bone, following the membrane lines. Then I fillet the outer casing off the muscle when I cut steaks. You will have small steaks, no casing, no fat, and no bone.
When I shoot one, I gutless/quarter it, pack it out and put the game bags on ice in a 120 qt cooler. They stay in there till I cut them up. Nothing really special. I don't worry about hair on it either as I fillet the casing off. If you're eating meat with that casing still on it I suspect that's part of the problem.
6mm Remington
Very Active Member
Antelope in my mind is one of the best wild meats out there period! Right next to a nice fat cow elk or spike bull. I've shot a lot of antelope and only one was a little "wild" tasting, but he was still very good eating.
Burger: I mix deer, elk, and antelope all into the same batch if I happen to be processing these animals at the same time. I like to use really fatty cheap pork roasts as fat for the mix. It really works well and helps hold burgers together since there is minimal fat in the meat of an antelope and you want that all removed anyway as that is where some of the wild taste comes from.
Another trick with burger is to make some bacon burger also. Besides the fatty pork roasts by a huge package of fatty smoky bacon ends and pieces and mix that in with the grind. Then just cook them up as you always do. It really makes a nice flavor if you like bacon burger.s
Sausage: Antelope and wild game make great sausages. Hi-Country made here in Montana and Hi-Mountain in Wyoming both make some very fine game mixes. I love breakfast sausage, Italian sausage, German sausage, and the list goes on.
Jerky: See above, awesome stuff!
Steaks: Take and put the thawed steaks into glass or plastic container with milk in it covering the meat. Let set for a couple hours. Take out and have a hot pan ready with a some butter in it and a pinch of oi. Put a bunch of flour on a plate and take a steak at a time out and roll it in the flour and toss into the pan. Cook over medium high heat until medium rare with a bit of pink in the middle. Do not cook too done, it ruins it! When one side starts to brown nicely flip the steaks over.
You can vary the flavor by adding flour into a plastic bag or paper bag and put in whatever kind of spices you like to the flour. Shake it so it's mixed up very well. Now take and toss the steaks into the bag holding the flour and twist the top leaving air in the bag so you can shake it and coat all the meat very easily. It dusts them very lightly and just take those as shown above and cook in the same manner.
(my favorite)
Stir up a mixture in a large glass bowl of milk and eggs that are beaten. Put the thawed steaks into the milk/egg mixture and cover. If you have time, but not necessary, cover and let sit in the fridge for a couple hours. While that is taking place and you are just about to cook the steaks, take them out and sit the bowl on the counter. Have a hot pan ready to go. Take one full tube of Ritz Crackers or crackers or cracker crumb mix of your liking, as there are many, and crush them up. It's easier on the Ritz to crush them in the wrapper first and then finish crushing once you have the crumbs placed onto a large glass or ceramic plate. Take a piece of steak and dredged it in the egg mixture and make sure it's covered very well and then quickly roll it in the crumbs you have selected. Then toss into the pan that has butter and some oil in it. Cook until the crumbs are starting to get a nice golden brown on one side and then flip to the other side. Cook the next side the same way. It should be medium rare in the middle and very tender. This REALLY takes out any gamey flavor and I guarantee that you will love it!
Burger: I mix deer, elk, and antelope all into the same batch if I happen to be processing these animals at the same time. I like to use really fatty cheap pork roasts as fat for the mix. It really works well and helps hold burgers together since there is minimal fat in the meat of an antelope and you want that all removed anyway as that is where some of the wild taste comes from.
Another trick with burger is to make some bacon burger also. Besides the fatty pork roasts by a huge package of fatty smoky bacon ends and pieces and mix that in with the grind. Then just cook them up as you always do. It really makes a nice flavor if you like bacon burger.s
Sausage: Antelope and wild game make great sausages. Hi-Country made here in Montana and Hi-Mountain in Wyoming both make some very fine game mixes. I love breakfast sausage, Italian sausage, German sausage, and the list goes on.
Jerky: See above, awesome stuff!
Steaks: Take and put the thawed steaks into glass or plastic container with milk in it covering the meat. Let set for a couple hours. Take out and have a hot pan ready with a some butter in it and a pinch of oi. Put a bunch of flour on a plate and take a steak at a time out and roll it in the flour and toss into the pan. Cook over medium high heat until medium rare with a bit of pink in the middle. Do not cook too done, it ruins it! When one side starts to brown nicely flip the steaks over.
You can vary the flavor by adding flour into a plastic bag or paper bag and put in whatever kind of spices you like to the flour. Shake it so it's mixed up very well. Now take and toss the steaks into the bag holding the flour and twist the top leaving air in the bag so you can shake it and coat all the meat very easily. It dusts them very lightly and just take those as shown above and cook in the same manner.
(my favorite)
Stir up a mixture in a large glass bowl of milk and eggs that are beaten. Put the thawed steaks into the milk/egg mixture and cover. If you have time, but not necessary, cover and let sit in the fridge for a couple hours. While that is taking place and you are just about to cook the steaks, take them out and sit the bowl on the counter. Have a hot pan ready to go. Take one full tube of Ritz Crackers or crackers or cracker crumb mix of your liking, as there are many, and crush them up. It's easier on the Ritz to crush them in the wrapper first and then finish crushing once you have the crumbs placed onto a large glass or ceramic plate. Take a piece of steak and dredged it in the egg mixture and make sure it's covered very well and then quickly roll it in the crumbs you have selected. Then toss into the pan that has butter and some oil in it. Cook until the crumbs are starting to get a nice golden brown on one side and then flip to the other side. Cook the next side the same way. It should be medium rare in the middle and very tender. This REALLY takes out any gamey flavor and I guarantee that you will love it!
Colorado Cowboy
Super Moderator
I found out many years ago (just like you did too), that there is no way you know if you are getting your own meat back from a processor. You could get some that some one did not really take care of it.
Silentstalker
Active Member
This is my method too. To me, any wild taste is associated with the hide, blood, and fat/membranes. For that reason I use the gutless method and immediately on ice. Once home I remove all the fat and membranes. Never had a bad one this way.
libidilatimmy
Veteran member
I can't think of a bad one I've had that I ever shot and/or butchered. However, I've had some that other people had shot and had processed that were borderline terrible. One common thread that most people do in the field that swear by how good antelope meat is, is that they're usually skinned and cooled immediately. I always try my best to keep the hair off of the meat while in the field and if I've touched any of their scent glands, like the black spot on a bucks head or the horns, I will wear rubber surgical gloves when touching any of the meat. Another thing I've always done is hang them to age a bit and let the proteins in the muscles break down. Time length on this stage is completely contingent on ambient temps and there's a trick to knowing when it's ready by how a muscle in the hind quarter rebounds when you press it in, a trick an old rancher taught me who's family eats several antelope per year.
Againstthewind
Very Active Member
Yep, you guys have talked me into trying it again this year with much improved techniques and probably done on my own. Kiddo is in for what I hope is a good area, but we are in leftover country, too so we are pretty set.
- Jul 25, 2014
- 699
- 114
when I got them in Wyoming,i had them skinned and cooling in my freezer I brought with me within an hr.all were shot in calm disposition and not addrenalined up.Ive had it both steaked and ground,,,have tried spices and I think its ok.thanks for the many responses folks,,,Ill give soakings a try,,,problably will never get the wife to eat any though.My Oregon antelope some years back was pretty good tasting?seems as if my Wyoming antelope taste a lot wilder? could it be in what they eat maybe different plants in Wyoming?I would think the sage would not be all that different?