Antelope Meat?

[Chuckhunter]

Will be leaving in four days to hunt Antelope in South Dakota, since this is my first antelope hunt, I must ask if the meat is any good to eat or should they be left for the coyotes? I would hope I could at least bring home the loins but I would like to hear from someone who has actually tried one of these praire goats.

 

[baco]

Left for the coyotes are you serious? Ever hear of the wantinwaste law? Lope is excellent eating. Trick is to get the skin off asap.

 

[Bubblehide]

Yep baco is right, it is illegal to not take the meat of any game animal. As for how good it is, it is generally more game-e that deer. So the question would be, do you enjoy game-e meat?

But what I have found, is that I can remove most of the game-e flavor if I remove all the fat, sinew, and muscle sheaths, as this is where the vast majority of game-e flavor is; however, as with most meats, it is also where the vast majority of flavor is too. So, when cooking, you may want to use a good marinade, spice it well.... to induce some flavor, otherwise the meat is rather bland. On occasion I will use some beef fat.

If you don't want the meat, you can always donate it; but the hunter is always responsible for removing the meat in good condition.

Best of luck.

 

[jerryt]

It could possibly be better than elk. It is outstanding meat. Especially if you skin it quickly. Where you are going it probably does not matter as much since it should be pretty cold weather.

 

[Chuckhunter]

Thanks guys, I'm thrilled to hear that it's good eating. We are taking two large coolers to bring the meat home in and I'm looking forward to trying it. About the only game animal that I've eaten that I didn't care for was a Montana Muley that fed on basically sage. It was just not good. I practically live year round on Pa whitetails and I really enjoy the meat. My favorite is Caribou but the cost of a hunt is now out of my reach. I have checked with the wildlife division of South Dakota and they gave me two places that will process the meat for free, should we decide to leave it in S.D. It's hunters against hunger and the meat would go to local, low income families, so if I'm fortunate enough to get one, I have two options and it sounds like they are both win, win. Thanks again.

 

[boutdoors4]

Just got back from Wyoming with Antelope meat (doe) and had most of it proccessed into Summer Sausage, also got steaks and chops included for a total of 30 lbs of meat that I brought home. The steaks were very good not gamey at all and the sausage was fantastic. so don't discard the meat or give it away as you would miss out on some good eating.
Robert

 

[Common Sense]

Brought back a couple from Montana a few years ago. We butchered them before returning and packed the wrapped meat in boxes with dry ice.

Never smelled a critter that stank as much as those "goats" when we cut them up. Best wild game I have ever eatten.

 

[Atwater]

I absolutely agree that Antelope is as good as deer or elk if field dressed, skinned, and butchered promptly. I killed my first last week, and have enjoyed an excellent roast, backstraps twice, and many more to come, and steaks that were nearly as tender as the straps. I'm impressed with the meat, more so than my only D7 buck, a tender young forky. Nothing gamey about a scrap of this goat. But it does take time to remove all of the silver skin, muscle sheaths, and fat...but well worth it.

 

[BigSurArcher]

It's awesome. I would say it falls somewhere between a good venison steak and a good elk steak.

 

[HarryH]

hmm... I never tried antelope meat before. Should go on my todo list.

 

[Chuckhunter]

Was fortunate enough to shoot a nice antelope in S.D. Wife made chili last night from some of the burger. It was excellent. Thanks guys for the advice on bringing home the meat.

 

[Atwater]

Congratulations on a nice buck!

 

[chevy_dog]

Antelope gets a really bad rap for some reason, but I find it delicious. For someone to even think about leaving a game animal for the coyotes leads me to believe that this has been done before or someone else has told him to do so. That will cost you severely.

 

[blainedonnelly]

Sorry but I disagree. We eat elk and deer 4-5 times a week and I know how to cook it all up right, but Antelope, IMO, is just to strong. I won't eat it. I have had it cooked many times with my buddies and some of them love it, but to me, quite literally its disgusting.

 

[jls456]

Its way better than venison,but thats good too!

 

[rcrosby]

I spent 6 hours when we got back processing my antelope meat (2 animals). It is delicious. We also took great care to cool the meat and keep hair and dirt off of it. Just like anything else you have to take the time and effort.

 

[asskickink5]

Use some of the ground for some tacos. Quickly became a deer camp favorite with some lightly fried corn tortillas topped with all the fixins. (Don't forget the CHOLULA hot sauce!) Some of the best chili i've ever tasted was a mix of chopped steak and ground goat. Personally i prefer elk but only slightly which i think is saying alot.

 

[Orygun]

There is a difference between afalfa fed antelope and sage fed. The same for deer. Nice Lope there!

 

[tuledude]

This evening a friend and I bbq's some pronghorn steaks and had a great feast. It was is first taste and now he wants to go bag an antelope. My office co-workers relished the jerky I brought in and encouraged me to bring more in. None of them hunt and it was also their first taste of wild game. I think pronghorn is tastier than any beef and does not have the wild taste of venison. Lots of recipes can be found online. You can also use any steak recipe, just reduce the cooking time. One of my favorite ways to cook pronghorn is steak Diane. Last week I broiled some backstrap I still had and it made for a fantastic supper. During the duck opener we had pronghorn pizza with pepperoni and hot Italian sausage that I made from ground pronghorn. Have a safe hunt and great eats.

 

[sass2924]

I do not care for the taste of antelope meat. But it makes into very good jerky.

Also, if you shoot it you need to use the meat or find someone who will benefit from it. " Leave for the coyotes", is unethical and if done gives all hunters a bad rap. If any of the landowners saw that I left a antelope it would be the last time they would let me hunt on their land.