I know, everyone refers to them as the ribeye of the sky, but are they really that good? Some guys I've asked say they suck, while others rave about them. What do you say?

I have had them smoked and grilled, both were pretty dang good.

Made mine (1st ones ever) like fajitas and they were really good!! I would say that Quail are the only bird I rate above them. Going back this season for sure!! Really fun to hunt.

Delicious! Do not overcook them. Grill in a skillet.

I think they are like a giant dove, less like an actual ribeye.

Have tried them many ways - definitely not ribeye, i like them made into jerkey

They're a whole lot better than a goose or most ducks, but they're no ribeye.

I've wondered about this myself. Quail and chukars are the gold standard for me.

Can’t speak for chukars, but Quail you cannot compare to waterfowl, that is like comparing chicken and beef.

But sandhill, had it once, friend gave it to me, he had it in the freezer for a while, I cooked it like a steak like bobcat posted, and it tasted like any other puddle duck that has been in the freezer. But what I have learned puddle ducks (mallards preferred…), is to eat it fresh if you want to eat it like a steak. Not nearly as good if it comes out of the freezer. If I freeze it, I’ll cook it some other way, poppers, chicken fried, tacos…

Grilled fresh, medium rare, you’d be hard pressed to find any other wild game that beats it. Quail is the only other game bird I might like better.

If you over cook it like other birds or try and roast it, it’ll suck.

I’ve had people try it who don’t hunt or eat wild game and they genuinely thought it was a lean steak.

If you let it get freezer burned it will give it a twang also like any other meat.

Cook it fresh or quickly after freezing and grill it medium rare, I can’t see how anyone wouldn’t like it.

Bobcat I see blood clots here, circled in blue. You want to clean that out before you cook it, it will give a bad taste. Lots of people complain about waterfowl not tasting good, one reason could be they did not clean blood clots out. Looks good though other than that.

I’m not a quail expert, but I’m pretty sure quail is like chicken, it needs to be fully cooked, you do not want to eat it med rare. And it is good fully cooked. Waterfowl, on the other hand, it is like beef, it is best rare, med rare, but will taste like liver if you fully cook it.

I always marinated for 24 hours and grilled hot on mesquite rare to medium rare. If you freeze them, cook them soon. Done right they are delicious.

I lived in Brownfield years ago , shot quite a few. I cooked them like chicken fried steak. Not quite as good as venison backstrap , but almost,


Mo

My wife likes duck fully cooked, but she also likes liver.

Not to me

Pretty good eating.
Grilled rare t medium rare at most.

It is good but definitely not a Ribeye. Just fyi all your migratory birds are dark meat and all you upland birds are white, so to compare the two would be like comparing chicken to beef like mentioned.

I’d rather eat a grain fed duck 10/10 times over a crane. In my opinion it’s not that good at all.

The term ribeye is way overdone. The admiration of the sandhill stems back from the market hunting days. You have to remember in the realm of wild game the meat is lean, bears were worth more than a deer because they have fat and the body craves and needs fat. A sandhill has a higher fat content than any other wild bird that I know of, but the fat is not marbled into the meat it’s between the meat and the skin. Breasting that bird out and grilling it does not get you any more fat than any other bird.

Medium rare at most is what I'd do, and point taken about freezing for too long. I was thinking it may be frozen for a couple of weeks at most, and I was thinking about freezing it in milk or buttermilk.........what's the consensus on that?

Also of note. They are a lot of fun to hunt so shoot them in the face cook em how you want to and make good memories!

make fajitas out of them. pretty dang tasty!

I never noticed any bad taste. I will watch for it next time. I actually Loved it. Anyone shoot any they don't want, I'm your guy.

All upland birds are n
All upland birds are not white meat. Sharptail grouse are dark meat.