Hunting Washington Forum

Community => Butchering, Cooking, Recipes => Topic started by: chaney on August 31, 2015, 04:19:04 PM

Title: antelope meat?
Post by: chaney on August 31, 2015, 04:19:04 PM: Hey my buddy and I are heading over to Wyoming for a Antelope hunt this year. I've heard they dont taste all that great but I would appreciate any opinions and ways of cooking them. I'm still gonna make some steaks and burger out of it but I was wondering if there is any better way to use the meat?

thank you
Title: Re: antelope meat?
Post by: bobcat on August 31, 2015, 04:22:29 PM: The antelope we got last year were as good as any deer I have ever eaten. The wife and kids loved the antelope steaks. I wouldn't treat it any different than you do your deer meat. Just be sure to get the hide off and get the meat cooled down ASAP.
Title: Re: antelope meat?
Post by: HUNT on August 31, 2015, 04:27:38 PM: Quote from: bobcat on August 31, 2015, 04:22:29 PM
The antelope we got last year were as good as any deer I have ever eaten. The wife and kids loved the antelope steaks. I wouldn't treat it any different than you do your deer meat. Just be sure to get the hide off and get the meat cooled down ASAP.

Getting the hide off right away and cooling it down is the key. We keep a cooler full of ice in the back of the pickup and bone them out as soon as we get back to it. They taste great when cooled right away.
Title: Re: antelope meat?
Post by: DOUBLELUNG on August 31, 2015, 04:27:46 PM: There are two reasons antelope meat gets a bad rap. First, it breaks down much more rapidly than deer or elk. Don't hang it, it does not improve, the meat just gets mealy. Second, the oil on the hair has a strong unpleasant flavor. Either skin it very carefully, rolling back the hide and avoiding/minimizing hair contact - or after skinning, let it hang skinned and air dry, then brush all the hair off (you'll trim away any residual oil).

Properly cared for, antelope is tender, mild flavored and utterly delicious. Treat the meat like fresh fish and your tongue will thank you big time!
Title: Re: antelope meat?
Post by: chaney on August 31, 2015, 06:40:33 PM: ok will do! thank you guys
Title: Re: antelope meat?
Post by: sled on August 31, 2015, 06:46:11 PM: I agree with all above👍
Title: Re: antelope meat?
Post by: runamuk on August 31, 2015, 06:50:47 PM: I was given a bunch of antelope steaks here is what I know. About 4/5 packages are better than steak fricking yummy. 1/5 is a bit gamey but really very edible to me, maybe not the package to persuade the non game eating family cuz it smells a little like mutton.

Antelope is the yummiest next to elk which is my favorite meat ever.
Title: Re: antelope meat?
Post by: KenPCPilot on August 31, 2015, 06:59:43 PM: used to eat it when I lived in Wyoming. People there called it garbage but I really liked it. Stringy but good flavor when barbequed.
Title: Re: antelope meat?
Post by: Forrestrover.02 on August 31, 2015, 07:04:43 PM: I also lived in WY. When I was a kid, my best friends mom made antelope stew a lot. I remember it as being very good. Haven't eaten it since. I'd love to try it again.
Title: Re: antelope meat?
Post by: dewandgin on August 31, 2015, 07:30:09 PM: Grew up in wy on Antelope,deer,elk and fish. Didn't matter if we shot it out of a alfalfa field or in sagebrush we always made pepperoni or sausage or jerky. Some people like the taste of it, me personally..... we ate alot of pepperoni,sausage and jerky. :chuckle:
Title: Re: antelope meat?
Post by: Bigshooter on August 31, 2015, 07:35:14 PM: I had always heard how bad antelope meat was. But after eating a few it is as good as deer or elk. It actually is now my mom's favorite game meat.
Title: Re: antelope meat?
Post by: lokidog on August 31, 2015, 08:50:12 PM: As mentioned above, excellent eating when taken care of.
Title: Re: antelope meat?
Post by: Widgeondeke on August 31, 2015, 09:22:50 PM: Yep, yep and yep again

Gut as soon as tagged. Get the hide off quickly, no more than few hours if above 70. I did it both ways, quartered and on ice same day or if cool enough nights. Let it hang overnight.
We have a chunk of dry ice in with our blocks. The ice I bought in WA survived the entire trip
My family loves it as steak, burger, sausage, etc.
Title: Re: antelope meat?
Post by: runningboard on August 31, 2015, 09:36:30 PM: got my first last year EVERYONE who has eaten says how good it is. shoot to kill right away not scare the crap out of them, scatter them and then shoot one full of adrenaline, gut right away, skin without touching meat with hair oil on hands. tastes great. friend of mine with more experience told me that the meat is hot to the touch like a bird, so I felt it when skinning and it was very hot. get it cooled out asap.
Title: Re: antelope meat?
Post by: Cascade on August 31, 2015, 10:26:28 PM: Bacon wrapped smoked backstrap medallions!

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Title: Re: antelope meat?
Post by: chaney on September 01, 2015, 05:09:08 PM: ok thank you everybody for the tips!
Title: Re: antelope meat?
Post by: lokidog on September 01, 2015, 07:36:04 PM: Mine was great, shot in September about 1:00 pm, gutted on site, hiked to truck, asked rancher if I could drive across his place to access the edge of the BLM land, drove fifty or so miles to my friends house, skinned and butchered, in the freezer by dark. I took no special care regarding hair oils. That thing was good eating and much better than the deer I shot near Lake Shasta later that fall.
Title: Re: antelope meat?
Post by: sled on September 01, 2015, 07:50:10 PM: Quote from: lokidog on September 01, 2015, 07:36:04 PM
Mine was great, shot in September about 1:00 pm, gutted on site, hiked to truck, asked rancher if I could drive across his place to access the edge of the BLM land, drove fifty or so miles to my friends house, skinned and butchered, in the freezer by dark. I took no special care regarding hair oils. That thing was good eating and much better than the deer I shot near Lake Shasta later that fall.
The buck I shot was in rut, a was STANKY! Anything that touched the oil on the hair stunk for days. I remember driving home from Wyoming and smelling it on my hands after several soap and water washes.
Damn he tasted good.
Scent glands are on the cheek and rump. If that oil gets on the meat, I'm sure it would be bad.
Title: Re: antelope meat?
Post by: butcher98951 on September 29, 2015, 07:58:39 AM: Me and my brother hunted Wyoming last year for antelope and the meat was some of the best I have had, as everyone one is saying its all in how you care for it. we shot them gutted them, skinned and deboned right there then into game bags and right on ice when we got back to camp to chill then we ate some or put in the freezer . good luck
Title: Re: antelope meat?
Post by: huntingfool7 on September 29, 2015, 09:55:27 AM: A group of us did a Wyoming antelope hunt a few years back. I didn't fill my third tag because the critters have a very foul musky/sage smell to the hide. Didn't believe it would be good eating. We put an elk in the freezer the same year and the antelope got eaten first!
Good stuff. When I do it again, I'll buy as many doe tags as they'll sell me.

Bring an awning to get out of the sun while skinning/quartering. Pack it all in big coolers on ice and drive like hell to get home. They're small animals, grind it all into burger.
Title: Re: antelope meat?
Post by: bobcat on September 29, 2015, 09:57:49 AM: Grind it all into burger? :yike: Why? You just got done saying you preferred it over elk. I cut as many steaks out of the hind quarters as I can.

This year I came home from Wyoming with two whitetails and two antelope. I didn't even bother keeping the meat separate when I cut and wrapped it. The packages are just labeled "steak."
Title: Re: antelope meat?
Post by: JLS on September 29, 2015, 10:00:37 AM: I've never had a bad antelope. Grinding it all into burger is the equivalent of making pepper sticks out of your tenderloins.
Title: Re: antelope meat?
Post by: washingtonmuley on September 29, 2015, 10:30:39 AM: The bad tasting antelope is because people don't know how to take care of it. Shoot it,skin it and straight in the cooler on ice and you have some very good venison . Do not drive around with it all day in your truck with the hide on!!
Title: Re: antelope meat?
Post by: Curly on September 29, 2015, 10:40:01 AM: I was a little apprehensive about antelope meat because my father in law swore it was terrible and "he wouldn't even feed that #*!$%& to his dog". Well, I got 2 last year and 2 this year and it is excellent tasting meat. My FIL must not have taken very good care of the meat.

BTW - the backstraps are fairly large. You can a lot of steaks off the straps. Tenderloins are small, but still very much worth the effort to get them and fry them up. :drool: I'd get as much steaks as possible out of the lope. Very tasty. :EAT:
Title: Re: antelope meat?
Post by: Stein on September 29, 2015, 11:04:15 AM: Antelope is the family favorite here. I bet 9/10 people that say it sucks have never had a bite.
Title: Re: antelope meat?
Post by: MtnMuley on September 29, 2015, 11:58:37 AM: As far as eating goes: Lope's in the sage, no thanks. Lope's in grasslands/alfalfa, taste great. :twocents:
Title: Re: antelope meat?
Post by: RadSav on September 29, 2015, 12:02:56 PM: Speed goat is always at the front of the freezer around here. Only bad thing about antelope meat is there is never enough :( Love that stuff!!
Title: Re: antelope meat?
Post by: fishingfool on September 29, 2015, 01:24:39 PM: My wife and I were returning from an antelope hunt in Wyoming a few years back. West bound on 90, across montana on a blue-bird day, full sun, low 70's. A suburban blows past us, still along way from home, with 3 speedgoats on top of their wagon with their coats still on--wrapped in black plastic.We surmised they most likely still had the "filling" in them.Now there gentlemen,is some prime eating. fishingfool :hello: :drool: :drool: