We went sandhill crane hunting last year and had a great hunt and shot plenty of birds.
We had some mixed reviews on how they taste, we had never had them before.
Some people told us that they are the ribeye of the sky.
Some told us they are tough and nasty and unfit to eat.
I always like to try things for myself and form my own opinion.
The ones that told us that they were good eating said to grill them till they were rare to medium/rare at most.
I wrapped some in roasted green Chile and bacon and smoked them.
I also grilled some with just olive oil,salt,pepper, and garlic.
Man were they some good eating!
As good as any wild game I have ever had.
Gonna have to try to get some more this year.

You should stone anyone who doesnt like Sandhill.. You cooked it perfectly.. med rare...well done on your cooking!! That looks great!!!

Man that looks good. Need to get after those.

That looks so dang good. My little lunch I got planned pales in comparison.

'Looks amazing! Gotta do one of those hunts at least once.

Had an old man tell me I could hunt all the sandhills I wanted on his place. I never did it.

Looks great

Grilled correctly, they are the "Ribeyes of the sky."

I am convinced those who claim "x" game is unfit to eat simply have no cooking skills or creativity. Sandhill is delicious and it appears you nailed the recipe.

Id eat that for sure

Shot my first Sandhill in 1960 or 61, yes this was before there was a season in Texas or at least this part of Texas. One of the professors at the local college received a grant to study Sandhills and was also permitted to take 50 birds for this study, his name was Paul Ausmus. He heard through the grapevine that my father was the man to see. Pop contacted Roy Wilkerson of the Wilkerson ranch west of town. Roy had several salt lakes on his ranch and the crane were roosting there every night. We set up about a mile from the lakes and caught them coming and going to the lakes. We went through a case of the old solid brass cased 00 buck with little sucsess, then we switched to the paper cased BB's and changed out tactic's by only hunting when the wind was blowing heavily out of the west. This brings the birds down and in range, doing this filled his needs in short order.

Mom couldn't stand cooking cranes but she did come up with a couple of recipes. She would fry sliced sections of the breast like chicken and she would also bake sliced sections in the oven. Both were delicious. Later I switched to Shake and bake for chicken and it turned out surprisingly like what Mom made. Slice across the grain to about an inch thick and just shake and bake. Were I to eat them again I would try a bacon wrapped breast stuffed with green chilies and cheese.

Never had them but sure going to when I get a chance, looks fantasti

Nice job! Making my mouth water....I already finished the crane I got from last season, cannot wait for this season!

When is the season in TX?

Zone A October 27- January 27

Zone B November 23 - January 27

Zone C December 25 - January 20

Love sadhill crane, one of the best birds to eat. When I was in school at Tech, we used to drive around and find fields where the cranes were and knock on the farmers doors. 75% of them would tell us to kill as many as we could, just pick up your shells. Favorite preparation is still grilled medium rare.

Always heard it was fine fare but never had the opp to try it. Your cooking looks great and the meat looks tender!

Who ever told you they were unfit to eat just can't cook! They are as good as anything I have had, axis, elk, etc... We do a hunt every year with Muddy Water outfitters just for the feast we have when we are done.

Hunting and eating cranes is on my bucket list. They sure look tasty.

I grew up hunting and eating crane. To this day it’s still one of my favorite animals to hunt.
As far as eating goes, my taste has changed......I guess.

Fried crane with biscuits and gravy was awesome back in the day, Today not so much!

The best way, in my opinion to eat it is fried. Eat it right when you take it out of the pan. When it’s so hot it burns your mouth, and you can’t taste it!

The picture of the grilled crane makes me want to try it grilled, it looks really good!!

Give it a cool name, and make it look good, it’s got to be good!???