libidilatimmy
Veteran member
Something else I do for prep before cooking is rinse the steaks well and put in a simple brine for an hour or two. I do this with all wild game steaks regardless of how I'm going to prepare it.
how to reduce wild taste of antelope meat?
- Thread starter ore hunter
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laxwyo
Very Active Member
Halo
New Member
I've gotten 3 antelope in Wyoming and 1 in Oregon, all were great but when I pull the trigger on an antelope its a race to the freezer. I get it gutted quick and get bags of ice into the cavity and then race to get it skinned, cut up and frozen. I like to try to keep it under 12 hours from trigger pull to packaged and frozen solid. Antelope meat is unique in that it should not be aged at all, it's as good as it's going to get when you pull the trigger.
packer58
Very Active Member
6mm Remington
Very Active Member
If you try chicken fried antelope as I describe in my favorite recipe above, I guarantee you she will love it!
libidilatimmy
Veteran member
As long as you're happy with the end product using the method you described, then by all means continue to use it. Lord knows I'm a proponent of "If it isn't broke, don't fix it". But the methodology behind aging is as follows:
As soon as blood stops flowing through the animal, the chemical process of Rigor Mortis begins. Over a certain amount of time, depending on the size of the animal, this process runs its course and the natural enzymes that every animal contains starts breaking down the muscle tissue. An animal the size of a slaughter steer takes 3-5 days for the Rigor Mortis to run it course and the aging process to begin, which can take up to 4 weeks in an ideal environment. Now, most of us hunters that process our own game have anything but an "ideal environment", unless of course you're lucky enough to have access to a controlled humidity walk-in cooler, so it's important to know what is happening with the carcass to avoid spoilage. Basically, any off taste or smell in the kitchen is not a by-product of properly aged meat. The process of aging actually increases tenderness and flavor.
For the most part, game processing businesses tend to strive for quantity of animals processed rather than the actual quality of the meat by turning the product around as quickly as possible and not allowing the carcass to properly age. This is probably one of the reasons many of us have had less than good results when having someone else do the butchering for us.
Againstthewind
Very Active Member
I have also heard the same thing about aging the antelope. I don't have a place to do it to try it, but family does age the steer we usually share, and its pretty darn good, way better than the store bought beef.
I'm a firm beleiver in aging all my game meat. I've had one antelope that was cut up and in the freezer within 12 hours and while it tasted good it was pretty tough even the backstrap wasn't very tender. I like to give them a week before cutting up and freezing. It also seems like a lot of blood works itself out during this time and probably helps make better tasting meat.
- Jul 25, 2014
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I wonder if I got it cooled out too quickly?is that even possible?I don't see very many other hunters running around the middle of nowhere with a chest freezer at the ready?I know there are a few people packin freezers like me,but not everybody?,Im kinda thinkin that it might be in what the antelope has been eating,do ya think that the feed could flavor the meat?I know I cant turn antelope into cow elk,,,but they are so fun to hunt,,,keep the options going and ill give them a try///thanks to all.maybe it didn't have time to age properly?
Drhorsepower
Veteran member
libidilatimmy
Veteran member
That's a good write up. It's probably important to note that there's a difference in the natural meat breakdown process between cooling and freezing. When you freeze the meat, you've essentially halted the natural aging process at whatever stage it was in because the fluids in the cells freeze, expand, and burst the cell walls.
buckbull
Veteran member
- Jun 20, 2011
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Lots of great advice here. The one thing I have found that helps tremendously is to vacuum seal your meat as opposed to using freezer paper. Its amazing how much better the meat lasts and taste. Vacuum seal the meat in your favorite marinade is even better.
shootbrownelk
Veteran member
I tried some tougher antelope cuts by putting them in a small pressure cooker along with some water and an envelope of Lipton onion/mushroom soup mix. 25/30 minutes later....wow! It was tender and tasted like dinty moore beef stew meat. Outstanding!
6mm Remington
Very Active Member
I like to cut up my own game if the weather allows as I don't have a game cooler. If it is cool enough I like to let antelope, deer, or elk hang for about 4 days which seems to be long enough for them to hang and start to age. Wild game does not age like beef does and it really doesn't help to hang it much longer than that. Anywhere from 4-6 days seems plenty long and I believe does help with the flavor and the meat does start to settle and break down a bit. AS others have said above, cutting them up right away the meat will typically be tougher than if you even just give it a couple days to let the meat really get cool and for it to sit for just a bit. At least that has been my experience.
- Jul 25, 2014
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6mm rems recipe for chicken fried worked,,,got the wife to not just eat it,but she liked it so much,she took some of it to work with her for lunch today.couldnt believe it.
Againstthewind
Very Active Member
Thanks for the topic. We have some steaks that got pushed to the bottom of the freezer that need used up. I will save that recipe to try.
6mm Remington
Very Active Member
Hoytfanatic
Member
I've had good luck with both breakfast type sausage mainly sage and salt, and ground some for burger, mixed bacon in the grind, the sweet flavor made some of the best chili I've ever had.