I never have been hunting for these birds , just want to know something . Don't want to sound stupid here . I know when you hunt duck and geese or dove or quail I hunt for the food and sport . Now Turkey hunting is one thing only needing a turkey for TG . But when you kill a Sandhill Crane what do you do with them , do you eat them ? Never seen anything of how they are cooked .

Sandhills are awesome meat. Cook them any way you want but we always breast them out and grill them like steak. Make sure and keep them medium. We referred to them as the ribeye of the skye. I much prefer them over ducks and geese. Snadhills on the other hand are not enjoyable in my experience...

Yep, they are good smoked, grilled, chicken fried, etc. To me they taste like a cross between dark meat turkey and feral hog.

If you dont mind spikes,..they are the best..even stewed.

Well thank y'all very much! I asked this question on a different forum about 15 years ago and all I got was "Rib eye in the sky!!!" "Best eating bird ever!!!" "You'll slap your mama good!!!" But not one...single....cooking....tip. Even when I asked, "OK, so how does one cook said Ribeye in the sky?" I just got more of the same drivel.

The last one I had I breasted, sprinkled seasoning/Worcestershire on it, grilled it medium. Otherwise, I'd say pound flat and then just chicken fry it.

It's good enough that there's not really a wrong way, unless you overcook. Last I had, we cut into chunks and chicken fried, rolled in hot wing sauce. Dayyuuuum good.

I use Mrs Dash salt free seasoning liberally on the breast and freeze.
Just thaw them when needed and sprinkle salt and garlic powder.and put them on the grill.
Or just shallow fry.. yuuuuuummmy.

Ok thanks everyone for your replies . Maybe someday i'll get a chance to go hunting for these birds .

You will never regret doing so..
But will always regret Not doing so earlier.

RIBEYE IN THE SKY!!!!

Marinade in Italian dressing, salt and pepper and grill medium. It is awesome.

My ole lady makes spicy & citrus marinade, cubes them up for skewers in the fondue pot.

Unfortunately, the limit for sandhills in Arizona is 3 per year.. Hopefully I can make a trip back home over the holidays and fill the freezer.

Have smoked all the ones I have had, tried it on the first one and liked it so much haven't wanted to try it another way.