Are blacktails tasty?

[hollymaster]

Only thing I can hunt. Wife won't eat mule deer. 

[Buzz2401]

My preference is Whitetail, elk, mule, then blacktail in that order. I have all but mule deer in my freezer right now and did a test comparison one night.  Prepared exactly the same. 

[Natas5150]

It really depends on your palate. I have spoken to some who say whitetail have that gamey taste and prefer black tail. It will also come down to how you prepare the meat like with anything else. This question is really a loaded question. It would be like me asking what everyone's favorite type of beer is. I would say if you have never had it try and then tell us what you think.

[losdaddy7]

Local blackie, one of the, if not the best, piece of venison ive ever cooked.

I'm drooling.............

[JDHasty]

I was talking to a guy in Scottsdale who had hunted all over the world and he said Roosevelt elk and blacktail deer were at the very top of the list when it came to game meat.  I don't have his range of experiences traveling the world, but I find both to be pretty darn good eats.   

[JimmyHoffa]

I was talking to a guy in Scottsdale who had hunted all over the world and he said Roosevelt elk and blacktail deer were at the very top of the list when it came to game meat.  I don't have his range of experiences traveling the world, but I find both to be pretty darn good eats.

I've heard a few times that Roosevelts taste better because they browse more than graze compared to other elk that will munch on grass for most of their diet.
I can't really tell any difference between blacktail and whitetail, both pretty good.

[AKBowman]

I was talking to a guy in Scottsdale who had hunted all over the world and he said Roosevelt elk and blacktail deer were at the very top of the list when it came to game meat.  I don't have his range of experiences traveling the world, but I find both to be pretty darn good eats.

I've had the liberty of eating a lot of different types of big game meat in my life; Black Bear, Muskox, Caribou, Moose, Rocky Mtn Elk, lots of Dall Sheep, big horn sheep, Mtn Goat, MD, WT, Columbian BT, Roosevelt Elk and Sitka BT and Antelope.

I only say that b/c I have had good and not as good of all species so care of meat is eberything. That being said if I was FORCED to pick a favorite it would probably be Roosevelt Elk. Very similar to Dall Sheep except a hell of a lot more of it! Second would be Dall Sheep and a VERY close third would be Sitka BT. Colombian BT are great too but I've had one rutted old buck that I had to grind. Including the backstraps!

[kball4]

I've ate 3 black tails 1 was really gamey and the other 2 were delicious.  Age of the animal has a lot to do with it in my experience.

[trophyhunt]

Nope!

[Griiz]

If I don't butcher it myself, I don't want to eat it. Blacktail tastes great if you take the time to trim the fat and white attachment tissue from the meat. If you don't remove the white tissues the meat can have a very gamie/nasty taste.

[fireweed]

Eaten lots of bt.  An early season (Sept bow) is best, an non-rut is next best, and a thick neck in-the-rut stinker can range from edible to ick (aka sausage)

[Gentrys]

No, not tasty.  Mule deer and Whitetails taste better, but really depends on what any of them are eating.

[WapitiTalk1]

Not a huge deer cuisine fan but BTs ate by far the worst IMO. I also think RM elk are much better table fare than rooseys. The browse I guess.

[PolarBear]

I'll take a blacktail (taste wise) over a muley any day!  Whitetails are my first choice after dozens of blackmails over the years I have only had one turn out gamey and that is because I had to pack it out 6 miles in 80 degree weather.

[JDHasty]

The only BT I have shot that was not tasty was hit facing me at thirty yards with facing me with a 3" Lightfield slug that exited the rear ham. 

It was a small doe and crap was blown all the way out the entrance wound and was all through the body cavity.   I tried to wash it in a 160 qt cooler and probably should have just ground it into sausage I guess.  We use ground meat mostly and it was not good and the half of it I gave to a guy that uses cuts was all but inedible. 

I am very particular about getting the hide off and the meat hung to cool and dry and this experience i.e. letting that meat sit in ice and water over night after rinsing and changing the water in the cooler many times was maybe not the right move. 

But mostly our BT meat is as good as elk.