Never met an elk I didn’t like.

[Skyvalhunter]

Well you did the honorable thing of not letting him continue to suffer

[Jpmiller]

I had a grouse that I felt we did everything right with but was tougher than tough and hard to eat flavor wise too. I was given half of a deer once that ended up going all into the grinder it tasted so bad. I watched them butcher a deer the next year and realized why. They split the thing up with a sawzall before skinning it and made an absolute mess of keeping the meat clean. Don't hunt with those guys anymore or accept any of the meat they offer.

[lewy]

We pretty much live on wild game as well and I will say some deer/elk are better than others

[trophyhunt]

the elk my wife took this year is the toughest elk I have eaten. It taste good, but even the backstraps are not very tender, I have marinaded them and no help. Bull couldnt of been killed any faster with a .300 to the neck at 40 yards, elk was quartered, de-boned and at camp in 2 hours in 20 deg temps. Then hung overnight in 20 deg temps and into a cooler on way home. My old muley buck this year steaks are far better.

My wife's bull that she shot in sept a couple years ago was terrible, tough as heck, even the back straps like your wife's.  My bull moose this year is also pretty chewy, not impressed, can't wait to put a better elk in the freezer.

[huntnnw]

I will say I have taken 4 mature whitetails in early Sept that were feeding on falfa fields and these deer were by far the best wild game I have ever eaten.

[huntnnw]

the elk my wife took this year is the toughest elk I have eaten. It taste good, but even the backstraps are not very tender, I have marinaded them and no help. Bull couldnt of been killed any faster with a .300 to the neck at 40 yards, elk was quartered, de-boned and at camp in 2 hours in 20 deg temps. Then hung overnight in 20 deg temps and into a cooler on way home. My old muley buck this year steaks are far better.

My wife's bull that she shot in sept a couple years ago was terrible, tough as heck, even the back straps like your wife's.  My bull moose this year is also pretty chewy, not impressed, can't wait to put a better elk in the freezer.

moose are spotty from what I have gathered, I have heard its either tough or tender. My bull moose was unreal. I test cooked alot of cuts before packaging and I steaked as much as I could as everything was tender. My buddy shot a young bull and that was the toughest meat I have ever tried.

[hunterofelk]

Back in the eighties we got a cow elk north of Yellowstone during a late season that was older than the jaw chart the game check station used.  We were butchering her and at noon decided to have tender loin for lunch.  Tough and chewy meat, so we ground all the meat and made salami.  A mature bull I got years later didn't smell appetizing unless I grilled or boiled the meat.

[kball4]

I think alot of the toughness comes from not hanging meat for 3-4 days at 40 degrees.  If its below freezing the whole time protein and the fibers never get a chance to break down.  Same situation for processing the animal right away regard less of temp.  Essentially controlled decomposition.

[Buck Rub Jr]

Did the same with a front shoulder from a blacktail this year. Injected with a brisket injection to keep it juicy and wrapped at 165 internal until it was between 200-205. Turned out great.

[nwwanderer]

It was mentioned but will elaborate.  Every critter should be taste tested before processing to determine best options.  You will find exceptions to every situation, sometimes unexpected.

[The Marquis]

It was mentioned but will elaborate.  Every critter should be taste tested before processing to determine best options.  You will find exceptions to every situation, sometimes unexpected.

Yep, straight up.  Nothing special to it.  Just eat it to figure out what you SHOULD be doing with it.  There is only one way to find out... taste it straight.

[Karl Blanchard]

Half the fun of processing your own meat is taste testing the cast iron and hot butter is as important as a knife, cutting board and whetstone 🤤

I will say though that fresh off the critter meat can be a lot more tough than stuff that has been in the freezer for a bit. I don't even eat the tenderloins fresh. Wrap em and freeze em. For me personally I'd rather let stuff age in the freezer rather than lose meat due to trimming crust off a deer that's hung. All my stuff gets processed ASAP.

[WSU]

I had one bull that smelled strong when cooking. Very strong. The taste was normal though, so not sure what was up.

My dad killed a big old muley buck that was tough as nails. I ended up thawing everything including backstraps and grinding them into burger. The flavor was normal though.

[Bigshooter]

I'm not a believer that all wild game is so great tasting as most on this thread believe.  I have ate tons of deer and elk.  And lot's of times eating it with friends and family they will say "this is the best I've ever had".  While i'm sitting there trying not to puke because I think it tastes horrible. 

[Timberstalker]

Interesting.  I can't say I have ever had game meat make me want to puke.

Hell, my bear from this year is absolutely amazing.  Some of the best meat I have had.