Yum, moose meat!

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Originally Posted by Sam Menard

In the case of this moose, I think that the way it was killed and handled afterwards had a lot to do with the taste. I shot it just after 11:00 on day 2 (Sunday) and because it was quartering away, I managed to hit it in the heart without breaking any bones (very lucky shot). It died pretty quickly and also bled out into the chest cavity. We had fresh snow and the temperature was just above freezing so getting it back to camp went really well. We got it home later that day and hung it up outside. Because of the shot angle, the bullet went through the ponch (not the intestines) which resulted in some of the stomach contents spilling into the abdominal cavity. We wiped down the entire cavity with a water/vinegar mix to remove blood, hair and debris. Afterwards we wiped out any dampness with clean paper towels. The next day (Monday), we skinned, quartered, and did a general clean up and then re-hung it in a garage where it would be protected and allowed to cool further. The quarters were butchered on Wednesday afternoon, 3 days after being shot. The butcher said it was the one of the cleanest moose that he had ever seen.

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How the animal is handled after the shot is paramount. I once saw a nice bull on a flatbed trailer, crossing into I- Falls, in 50 degree heat, hide on with a couple four wheelers parked on top ... they were headed to Iowa !!!
I bet that meat was good !! Lol

As many above stated- gamey or off taste depends on : shot placement -luckiness of the hit,what adrenalin stress and physical damage the hit puts on the animal,how long took the animal to expire, and meat handling afterwards.
I have no experience with game food versus taste of the meat,because i harvesetd all my deer here in south,harvesetd all my moose and bear "up"north.So-hard for me to tell the difference.
I had game hanging for few days quartered, in hide before processing..........or skinned ,then in game bag for few days..............or whole field dressed moose in its hide -then on truck -then processed here 4 days after the kill.
Butchered many deer the next day or the following day(my preferred method) .Field dress,hang head up,water rinse then water/vinegar wipe,then salt,and leave in the hide till processing.
Never lost meat,and never was off tasting or gamey.

My general feeling is-the stress ,the time to the animal to expire and the meat processing will have the most impact.

Definitely removing most of the fat is very important.

I also do water/vinegar rinse and wipe with dry rag afterwards,as Sam said-and firm believer in it. Kills"everything"if there is anything.
Most of the time i also rub into the exposed meat ,and body cavity 1-2 kg of household salt ,right after the vinegar rinse-so to pull out any blood which would not come out.........nothing wrong with the salt on the meat.
Only my garage floor suffers from salt drippings eating it away.
If i have bloody meat while cutting the game up,soak it in cold water in a fridge for a day,then use it or package it away.Will make the meat "white"but will have zero impact on taste.

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Originally Posted by old243

We gut, skin and hang right away. If the weather is hot or if the carcass will freeze, we bone it out on the hook , right away. Trim up cuts, remove most of the fat. Store in a cool spot till it cools out Then process usually in a day or so. No frozen or sour meat this way.
old243

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One of the local guys that was in the Moose Group up in Long Lac was very fastidious about his meat. The moment it was gutted it was wrapped, loaded and on the way back home. He would stop and throw Gas station ice over it to keep it cool tru the journey (14 hrs) straight to the butcher. Funny guy about his food, rarely ate meals in the Deer Camp.

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Originally Posted by MikePal

One of the local guys that was in the Moose Group up in Long Lac was very fastidious about his meat. The moment it was gutted it was wrapped, loaded and on the way back home. He would stop and throw Gas station ice over it to keep it cool tru the journey (14 hrs) straight to the butcher. Funny guy about his food, rarely in the Deer Camp.

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Our moose were gutted, loaded into a trailer and whistled to Emo and delivered to the butcher....

In 2019 we shot a young cow and her calf.

Upon getting them back from the butcher we found some of the roasts and steaks to be as tough as shoe leather. As the butcher didn't label which animal was which, we don't know which it was. Neither of them should have been tough.

They were shot and died on the spot, gutted within 30 minutes, and hung on the pole within 2 hours. They went to the butchers the next morning as it was too warm to hang any longer.

I can't figure it out. It doesn't make any sense

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Originally Posted by blasted_saber

In 2019 we shot a young cow and her calf.

Upon getting them back from the butcher we found some of the roasts and steaks to be as tough as shoe leather. As the butcher didn't label which animal was which, we don't know which it was. Neither of them should have been tough.

They were shot and died on the spot, gutted within 30 minutes, and hung on the pole within 2 hours. They went to the butchers the next morning as it was too warm to hang any longer.

I can't figure it out. It doesn't make any sense

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Sounds strange, unless you got someone else’s meat !

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Originally Posted by rick_iles

Sounds strange, unless you got someone else’s meat !

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I have thought of that. But I trust this butcher. We've used him for over 20 years and have had no complaints.

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Originally Posted by blasted_saber

In 2019 we shot a young cow and her calf.

Upon getting them back from the butcher we found some of the roasts and steaks to be as tough as shoe leather. As the butcher didn't label which animal was which, we don't know which it was. Neither of them should have been tough.

They were shot and died on the spot, gutted within 30 minutes, and hung on the pole within 2 hours. They went to the butchers the next morning as it was too warm to hang any longer.

I can't figure it out. It doesn't make any sense

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This is why I process my own meat. Once you hand it over to a butcher you get what you get!! No thanks!!!

You might think you know the butcher but....