tough moose meat

[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.