tough moose meat

[Rufous]

I get really depressed when I try to eat the meat from an animal that I killed and it is so tough that it is hardly edible. My wife cooked up some of the round steaks from the moose I killed in early October on two occasions and both times they were disappointingly tough. The first time she just fried them in a skillet. The second time she pounded them first and then breaded them and started them on the stove top in a skillet before finishing them in the oven. Again, both times they were really tough. Then I decided to try cooking some of the round steak in a crock pot with onion soup mix and some red wine (afterall I am a winemaker) and taters, parsnips, rosemary, thyme, garlic and water. This turned out very tender and tasty. I was overjoyed. Then my wife did a crockpot with some round steak but she used some bacon too. After cooking she shredded the meat and we added bbq sauce and are eating it on burger buns. It really kicks booty. Tremendously tasty and tender. I encourage you big game hunters to experiment some with cooking the tougher cuts. So far I am finding that the crock pot can do wonders, turning otherwise nearly inedible meat into delectable dishes. Brian.

[robodad]

Yeah, I have had steaks from 3 moose (2 bulls and 1 cow) in various cuts and it is pretty tough stuff, I try to roast every piece of moose in a crock pot or similar and cut it with the grain, then eat the strands as you shread them off the roast, it is the best way to eat it I think, the steaks just seem to be tough for whatever reason !!! 

[Skyvalhunter]

Sounds like you will be eating alot of moose from a crockpot!! That and lots of hamburger

[rasbo]

Yeah, I have had steaks from 3 moose (2 bulls and 1 cow) in various cuts and it is pretty tough stuff, I try to roast every piece of moose in a crock pot or similar and cut it with the grain, then eat the strands as you shread them off the roast, it is the best way to eat it I think, the steaks just seem to be tough for whatever reason !!! 

how long are ya hanging it

[robodad]

Yeah, I have had steaks from 3 moose (2 bulls and 1 cow) in various cuts and it is pretty tough stuff, I try to roast every piece of moose in a crock pot or similar and cut it with the grain, then eat the strands as you shread them off the roast, it is the best way to eat it I think, the steaks just seem to be tough for whatever reason !!! 

how long are ya hanging it

Well that depends on which one, 4 days on the cow and I had to trim off the mold from the bulls, the bulls were from SW Alaska in the tundra and that is how the natives did it while I was there, the cow was from Washington so I don't know !!  all of them died very quickly and had no long chases or anything, just the nature of them I guess !!

[phishisgroovin]

Baking, bbq'ing or whatever cooking preference you like.
Cook meat open on real low heat (220f) for 3 hours, then wrapped in foil for 2 hours then open again for 1 hour at 300+.
this is my key to (pull the rib bones out of porkribs) smoked ribs.

usually at 220 in a smoke pit/BBQ

[rasbo]

I do my bear that way love it,never had moose im suprised the steaks are that tuff.I eat my steaks med rare,sometimes over cooking will really toughen them up.O well you got moose thats awesome

[high country]

did your steaks get cut a bit thin? I try to keep my cuts thick. I will soak the meat in milk, montreal steak seasoning...salt and pepper. they all seem to help. it seems that they really loosen up after 2-3 days in the fridge in the steak seasoning. I do only cook my meat to the point where a good vet might still be able to bring it back.......cooking a steak beyond capacity is a recipie for toughness.

[billythekidrock]

Thaw out those steaks, cut them into 1 inch chunks and pressure can them.

[finnman]

I hear ya Brian! The bull my wife shot is a bit tough as well. The round and sirloin steaks I have cooked and given out have all been tough!!!!! Tasty but the trouble of trying to chew and swallow it takes some joy out of it. Even a pack of Backstraps I cooked up were not real tender. The tenderloins were REAL tender. I hung the bull for 4 days prior to cutting, maybe it is the age of the bull! The 6 pt. bull I shot is real good! Nice and tender, real mild, I think its better than the moose! When hunting elk we fried up a pan of moose tenderloins and a pan of whitetail backstraps and you could not tell the difference!!! Some of the best deer I have ever eaten!!!!

[WAPITIHUNTER]

The key here is to blend your meat with a nice helping of Haggis. Boy after you get a good mouthfull of the Haggis no matter how tough the meat is you will appreciate it. ..................................................................................................i know i am a 

[robb92]

Haggis is good, almost like black pudding or blood sausage. Have you tried soaking yur steaks in a beer or bourbon based marinade for a day or so, I've had red stag steaks that came from an old bull that were soaked in a mixture like that and they were so tender, not over done.

[stumprat]

Thaw out those steaks, cut them into 1 inch chunks and pressure can them.
[/quote

 :drool:mmmmmmmmm.....................canned moose meat.

[Ridgeratt]

After also harvesting my Moose I have learned a intresting fact about Moose. They are tuff!!!
I'm fortunate to have a walk-in cooler and a few commercial pieces (saw's,Grinder's,and hamburger packing)of meat equipment. I hung the Moose for 2 weeks in a controlled environment and when I cut it up I was amazed. When I ground the burger the shank's have a tremendous amount of tendons and sinew in them I had to stop and clean off the 3/8's grind plate after about every 3 pounds because it was clogged up. Took over 5 hours to make the first grind. I was thinking this is really a once in a lifetime deal! LOL the second grind only took about 1 1/2 and then to bag it took even less.The steaks are cut to a 5/8 thickness and the sirloins had what I would call a slight resiliency. The overall flavor is mild with not a wild taste.
To those of you who are still in a quest for the tag after you are successful you need to go spend some time with your butcher. Find out if he likes good Bourbon and perhaps 'gift' him a bottle for the experience!

[skinzner]

This is what i do with tough steak

take the steaks and put them into an eggwash then put in a johnnys seasoning salt and flour mixture then  pan fry in butter until they are browned on each side. Next take them out and put them in a casserole dish and pour your remaining butter from frying pan over the top( not a lot) cover the dish and bake for an hour at 350. This is quite tasty

[Vek]

My '05 AK moose was a pretty old one, and about everything on him was tough.  My wife used a little saucepan-sized pressure cooker to make roasts and things, and we'd add barbecue sauce and pull the meat apart for sandwiches and such.  The big ones do get tough.  This year's moose was just average size and age, and that meat is GREAT. 

[boneaddict]

I have been lucky as hell I guess.  Mine were all good, EXCELLENT taste and tender.  I cut all my own so am pretty selective of how it is done and what I use for what..... I am also blessed that my wife is a damn good cook.  Idabooner shot one in Canada that the dogs wouldn't even eat though.  That thing was nasty.   
I never let my meat hang.  That probably goes against some folks.....  The AK moose did sit in the back of my truck for three days and two in the woods before I could process it. 

[high country]

wow, 5/8 of an inch that is waaaay thin for my liking. I am more like 1 1/4" kind of guy. thick steaks, long hang times, plenty of time to thaw/relax in some montreal steak seasoning. I have eaten critters that smelled like ass, but cooke up like magic. try it. take a 1 1/4 - 1 1/2" steak and let it sit in the fridge for 4 days in season salt, then cook it on a hot grill till it just starts to firm up (6-8 minutes covered) then pull it and let it sit for 5 minutes..........enjoy.

[bucklucky]

For the tough BBQ sized steaks try marinating them in Coke . We will add seasoning to the coke also like johneys and some a-1 , garlic. That coke does help break those tough steaks down a bit. I will marinate for 24 hours at least. I like the flavor also . Its a little different but good. We had a Beef cow that we had butchered one time and had out meat swapped out for an old dairy cow that was so tough you couldnt eat the T-Bone steaks. Thats what we did with them to help tenderize.

[high country]

For the tough BBQ sized steaks try marinating them in Coke . We will add seasoning to the coke also like johneys and some a-1 , garlic. That coke does help break those tough steaks down a bit. I will marinate for 24 hours at least. I like the flavor also . Its a little different but good. We had a Beef cow that we had butchered one time and had out meat swapped out for an old dairy cow that was so tough you couldnt eat the T-Bone steaks. Thats what we did with them to help tenderize.

I was gonna add that but figured I would devalue my whole post......LOL coke is wonderful stuff.

[Sagedawg]

 . Just a little overcooking will cause the meat to turn tough. I cook my deer steaks for about 3 minutes per side and then let them rest under foil befor I serve them up. Coke or buttermilk work wonders due to the acids in them, and I hear that vinegar will do the same but have never tried that one.



   Sage

[burnhamrandr]

I have taken the round staeks from the moose I shot this year and BBQed them and the are great. With or with out maridinating them. I was worried about  the toughness, but so far so good.

[NRA4LIFE]

My only experience with WA moose was in '97.  A buddy drew a tag and I helped him out with it.  After we got done cutting it up we threw some loin steaks on the grill.  Some of THE toughest game meat I have ever tried.  I ended up crock-potting all the cuts of meat that I did not grind into burger.  It was real tasty though, almost indistinguishable from beef.  I'm with Bone too.  No hanging game meat.  I like to get them out of the hide and cooled as quickly as possible.  Have had several butchers tell me that game animals do not have the fat marbling as does beef and hanging doesn't do anything.  Just what I've heard.  Plus, I don't have a big enough cooler to hang at the proper conditions.  Maybe if I did, I would at least try it.  Others swear by it.

I was in a meat locker a couple years ago in Belle Fouche, SD and he showed me a deer a guy brought in.  He had hung it in a shed for 2 or 3 weeks (warm temps to boot).  It had been skinned and the meat was almost jet black and covered with gray mold spots.  The smell was indescribable.  The guy said it was the only way he'd eat them.  To each his own I guess.

[cohoho]

Guess I have been lucky when it came to Moose, all have been tasty, tender and delicious.  Don't hang it either, process it in the garage as soon as I get home. 

Did have a really BAD Caribou once, my fault for going after them in the rut, (Oct). They drink their own urine during that time frame and really taints the meat till it is over....  It was really rancid...

[finnman]

My ex-employer sweared by vinegar water! A mixture of this used to wipe down your game animal as it hung in the garage, making sure it is real clean of course, and not giving it a sponge bath but just a damp cloth and wiping down all parts inside and out, then he said you will walk into your garage one day and YOU WILL KNOW its time to cut! It will not stink but the odor will change, he said as long as there is no green or black mold your fine, white spots are okay, just wipe it down with vinegar and water, and keep smelling it, depending on temp. he would hang his deer a week, and the venison always turned out good.

All kinds of opinions and tests to try on this thread!

[PA BEN]

My moose steaks are tough too. Not like eatting leather and very tasty. The hamburger is to die for. I'm going to try cubing my steaks next. My wife made a stew and it turned out great.

[Intruder]

I found while all the meat was excellent flavored there was a wide degree of variance in tenderness on the moose I killed.  Thanks for the cooking tips Roufus!

[SHANE(WA)]

My buddy got a young bull on Mt spokane years ago and it was some of the toughest meat I have ever eaten, well shouldnt say eaten, couldnt eat it lol, lots of hamburger

[Hornseeker]

My dads bull from a few years ago.... he had a butcher cut it up (I cut up all my own too)... if you grabbed a steak out of the package and through it in the pan, it would be so tough you couldn't eat it.. However...if you took that same steak and separated it into about 5 little steaks, trimming every bit of silver skin from between the muscle groups, it was Delectable and Tender as can be...

Wild game meat, especially elk and moose (the bigger critters) have VERY tough and thick silver skin, basically muscle sheaths...one steak, even backstrap, can be 2 muscles or more (some of the rounds are liek 5muscle groups together...and each of those is surrounded by a tough...TOUGH muscle sheat)... so as you look at that steak and it has those little white lines running through it..you GOTTA cut that stuff out...or it will tighten up and just create havoc with your meat...

When i cut up my elk and deer, I separate every muscle and remove the sheath...have never had a tough piece of meat from anything I cut up...

I dont hang either...

Ernie

[TheHunt]

THe one I shot last year is fantastic...  My steaks were cut to 3/8 inche and the roasts are excellent.  The bull was 57 inches wide.