What is your favorite game meat?

I recall Nilgai being the best but it's been a long time since I had any. I hear oryx is really good as well. I thought Axis was very good as was black buck. I like whitetail. The only deer that was meh was the old arse mule deer I shot in West Texas. He was ancient and tasted like it.

I haven’t had many different ones. Elk, moose, blackbuck, wt, mule deer, pronghorn. Of those elk was the winner.

My top 5.

1) Young grass/wheat fed elk.
2) Nilgai, even chased down and shot in the heat.
3) Oryx. Some of the absolute best meat on the planet.
4) Axis, especially does.
5) Feral Pork, especially once you learn what to do with the big ones.

There are many others that I love, including whitetail, dove, and cottontail rabbits. I guess the main reason why I love these so much is because every time I sit down with a plate of that, I think about some of the most important people in my life that are no longer here and the times we shared together when I was a pup. They never knew it back then, but those were some of the best days of my life.

Trying to pass that on........

Axis does or elk for me. Never tried Nilgai or Oryx.

1- feral pigs
2- ducks
3- rams
4- cotton tails
5- porcupine
6- venison
7- rattle snake


1 that didn’t make that list but the verdict is still out, Crow. Wasn’t terrible, but definitely needs a marinade

I asked a similar question on another thread and it seems elk is near or at the top of just about everyone's list. https://texashuntingforum.com/forum...st-quality-venison-game-meat#Post7915811

I haven't had the privilege of tasting any of the native American species. I would love to try them all - elk in particular.

My top 5 best tasting game animals, not necessarily in order, are:

Eland
Kudu
Gemsbuck
Mountain/common reedbuck
Fallow deer

Worst: Grey rhebuck

My top 5 best tasting gamebirds are:
1. Common quail
2. Young guinea-fowl
3. Francolin (all the species I have tasted have been similarly good - Orange River, Greywing, Redwing, Shelleys, Crested, Coqui)
4. Ducks / teals (yellow-billed duck, whistling duck, red-billed teal)
5. Doves (laughing dove, Cape turtle dove and to a lesser extent red-eyed dove)

Worst: Spurwinged goose

Nilgai
Elk

Axis, wtd, blackbuck in any order

Don't care for fallow

Squirrel is good food.

Elk , Axis , and Antelope are my top picks for game meat .

Nilgai, yum yum

Elk
Antelope
Deer

I forgot about feral hog. It can be really good.

In this order:
Whitetail
Axis
Mule Deer
Pronghorn
Gemsbok
Addax
Quail
Dove
Turkey
Rabbit
Frog legs
Armadillo
Wild hog
Aoudad
Squirrel
Elk

Dimitri,
Have you ever eaten waterbuck? We never had any on my trips over but both my PH's said it was not good.

Elk; nothing even comes in 2nd place

Agree!

Bacon
axis
elk
feral pig
quail
white tail
dove
rabbit
Bacon
Turkey...meh
tried squirrel years ago...swore I'd never eat another but probably didn't cook it right...need to try again
Bacon

with all the exotics roaming TX now, I need to broaden my palate

Hi Txhunter65,

I have shot only 1 waterbuck. A nice mature bull. As you know, all else being equal, young bulls and cows make better table fare than old bulls so one should be cautious about rating the meat of a species based only on having sampled one old male. And yet, all that being said, the meat was actually quite good. It was mainly used in stews, curries and for biltong and we all enjoyed it.

Waterbuck meat gets bad press from many SA hunters / PHs. Some say that the meat "stinks" and is not palatable. I don't agree. Others believe that whether or not the meat is palatable depends on the skinning process. A waterbuck's hide does indeed have a fairly prominent "turpentine-like" smell. The theory is that when you skin the buck, you should not touch any meat if you have touched the skin otherwise the smell is transferred to the meat. I believed this theory since the time I was a young boy and when I shot my waterbuck I made sure that there were 2 skinners - one who worked on the inside of the skin and could touch the meat and one who touched the outside of the skin (when pulling it) and was not allowed to touch the inside. As I mentioned the meat from my waterbuck was good - no turpentine smell at all. Nowadays, most farmers skin waterbuck as described above.

Recently this theory was put to the test in a blind taste test and the conclusion was that there was no difference between the meat that came into contact with the skin and the meat that did not. You can see it here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pnx7F0G5K5Q

All battling for my top spot would be elk and feral hogs. Havent eaten a lot of elk but what i did was really good.

runner up is a multi way tie for white tail, axis, mule deer, prong horn, sika

1. Oryx
2. Qail/Pheasant
3. Elk
4. Axis

I have not had the chance to taste any other meats beside whitetail, wild hogs and axis deer. I have eaten whitetail all my life but I do have to say that axis deer is fantastic. I killed 3 axis deer a few years ago and had all 6 hind quarters cut into steaks and tenderized. Theses steaks could be cut with just a fork and had absolutely no gamey taste. I also had packages of ground axis hamburger with no fat added, just lean axis meat. This was also fantastic.

Of what I have eaten

Oryx
Axis
Elk
Alfalfa feed mule deer
Nilgi
Mountain lion
Whitetail
Ag Pronghorn
Bear
Sage muledeer/Pronghorn, Aoudad, cedar whitetail

Not to brag but I can make it all taste good. My buddy on a game ranch has me come out and cook for his clients. He has all kinds of animals but Cajun Power, A-1, brown sugar and mustard marinade makes it hard to tell the difference between any of it. The only thing we don't marinate is the high dollar wagyu that just gets a dry rub.

Elk

Best in the world? Eland
#2 tied Elk/Kudu/Oryx
#3 Whitetail
#4 Pronghorn and doe Mule Deer, I don't care for buck mule deer at all and give them away.
All the others have certain unique and flavorful qualities, just have to enhance the particular one.

I left out that I had grilled quail at the Cabernet Grill in Fredericksburg some years ago. I'm sure it was pen-raised and marinated, but it was good enough that I still think about it 10+ years later.