Are antelope good eating?
Pronghorn
How do antelope taste on a scale of 1 to 10? 1 being worst to eat.
Thanks for all of your input. I am going on my first antelope hunt august 2015 with milliron outfitters.
Get the hide off and put some ice on it and it taste pretty darn good. I'd rate it a 9.
Most antelope I've shot it is absolutely fantastic. 9.75
When my dad and I went to WY on a rifle hunt I got greedy and bought two extra doe tags.
We weren't fighting heat and I had the antelope quartered and in a cooler within half an hour of the kill.
Those WY goats were barely edible. In fact I think most of them ended up as bear bait.
I think the gameyness had to do with these were goats on BLM land that never ate a bit of clover.
The antelope I've shot in ND have always been awesome.
I would say its defiantly a 9 or more. Take care of the meat and it will be good. They stink pretty bad but the meat don't.
9. Keep in mind, they are not cows, so don't expect them to taste like one. If you decide it isn't to your taste, donate it to someone else who will eat it, otherwise you might be facing a felony. I've probably eaten dozens and never had a "bad" one.
I love antelope ! Love to hunt them and love to eat them. As said, get it skinned and on ice ASAP !
"As said, get it skinned and on ice ASAP !"
X-3!!!
The first one I ever ate was the first one I shot when I was a sophmore at the University of Wyoming. A friend's family were ranchers near Rawlins and we were out the at daybreak of the late August opener (rifle season). I had one down by 8:30 and we skinned it, iced it, and it was hanging in the locker plant in Laramie by 11:00 am. The meat was awesome!
That's interesting mtoomey, I've killed 3 goats all on BLM with no clover in sight and I thought they were great.
10 Pre-rut, full rut, doe, buck, blm sage, alfalfa and everything in between.
All excellent...
Better than any deer I ever ate.
Mine was BLM and full rut...nothing short of excellent table fare.
Make a good hit so it goes down quickly.
Get it cooled, as stated.
Don't cut through any bones, trim off all the fat and membrane.
Enjoy.
It's not moose, it's not elk, it's better than deer...and I really like eating deer, too.
10 if shot with a bow and skinned within 1/2 hour. 2 if shot with a gun after the opening day.
My favorite! 10. As stated, get the guts out or dress gutless, and the skin off soon. A little time, sun, heat, skin, guts will sour meat very quick.
Kill, pictures, gutless method, in coolers with frozen one gallon jugs within a half hour. All have been excellent.
Taken care of in identical fashion and killed with well placed arrows, 12 out of 14 have tasted great and 2 did not. No real reason for an August antelope not to be fabulous, but not every one was. I skin them ASAP in the shade (truck usually), get them quartered and air cooling, then into the cooler on ice. Great antelope steak off the grill holds it own with the best game meat.
The reason some gun kill speed goats are lousy is because they've fun so far.
The only one I had that was bad, though, was a bow-kill. I hit it poorly and had to physically run it down. (I was much younger then.) By the time I got it pushed into a canyon and killed it I could already smell it was going to be bad.
It was. That's the only big game animal in nearly 40 years that I didn't enjoy eating.
That should go without saying.
Good, clean, quick kills are the first part of having any game you kill be good eating. The next part is what you do with the animal in the first 10 minutes or so after you get to it.
Only been around 10 but all have been great on the plate! David
They almost have a sweet taste. Cool quickly as all have said and you will be fine.
10 !!! One of the finest cuts of meat ever. Antelope has a unique flavor all it's own. Many antelope are ruined/spoiled due to early season /hot weather. Remember to let the meat cool in the shade before placing in a cooler. Other wise your cooler (insulator ),holds heat and gathers condensation. Let meat cool/dry in game bags in the shade over night,then place in cooler or cold storage and you will have some of the finest meat on this planet.
The ones I killed right before or after the rut weren't good (and yes, I killed them fast and processed them quickly). Ones earlier in the year weren't bad.
The only problem with the meat is there is not aenough of it. A buck will yield about 50 pounts max
I am amazed. I shot one in Wyoming in cool weather. Gutted out and taken to the butcher right off. Worst thing I ever had. Threw it out into the snow from the dinner table
one to ten?
MINUS 6
Great stuff, some of the best meat I have ever had.
10...but mine was from grazing country with little to no sagebrush. I do recall though having chops from one shot by a buddy a few years ago. Now and then from the same chop I would get a mouthful of meat that tasted like a bite of sagebrush.
My family loves it.My oldest daughter just asked me the other day when I'm going antelope hunting again.She really likes it and haven't been out for antelope in 3 years Its better then whitetail
Most have been great, but I have had two that were horrible. No discernible difference in prep, but taste was below 0.
Agree with Bou, wish there was more of it. I shot a buck with a rifle, last day of the season in MT. It was better meat than the 1.5 year old cow elk I shot that year, by far.
Excellent table fare.
I rate pronghorn as the best wild fare.
No contest baby...10/10.
Get the meat cooled ASAP and they are a solid 10. some of the best wild game out there.
I am not a fan. When I lived in Wyoming I was around my share of Lopes. It is not my favorite animal, I prefer elk. I won't put in for anymore lope tags because of the taste. They are fun to hunt!
I killed two a few years ago that were very good.
The big old goat I killed 2 years ago absolutely the nastiest meat I've ever tried to process.
I must be the exception. Shot one in Montana that was absolutely terrible. It was the rut and it was on a huge sage flat. It was cold out and we got it to the butcher pretty fast, When you even opened a package the smell of sage was almost overwhelming. A few years later I was hunting deer in Wyoming with a friend and he suggested getting an antelope tag. I asked him why should I you can't eat them. "shot the last one off a sage flat ,didn't you?" The ones we shot in Wyoming were great.
If your antelope or other venison doesn't taste good one of three things happened:
1. You didn't get the meat back from the animal you shot. The meat you got back probably marinated in some nice internal juices.
2. You did something wrong in the handling of the meat.
3. Your animal was really sick or had some other nasty issue.
My guess is #1/#3 are the causes usually with #2 factoring in.
Venison, regardless of big game animal, should NOT be odd tasting to the point you can't eat it (unless it's a species that's deemed inedible). If you handle it right it will be good table fare.
We have eaten a lot of game animals over the years - including a lot of antelope taken from sage flats. Sometimes quick kills sometimes we needed a followed up shot that took while to get.
Never shot an antelope that looked sick, or that I could tell was sick by processing it. Have always done my own processing.
For me that would leave doing something wrong in the handling of the meat. Can't say I did anything different from the good tasting ones to the bad tasting ones.
My theory is different diets. Diet definitely affects bears, can't see why it would be different for other animals as well.
My brother brought one back from Montana that the dog wouldn't even eat. It was awful.
I went to Wyoming and shot one myself, field dressed, cooled quickly, etc. It was great.
I think it's just like any meat, and how you care for it.
I've had antelope from southeastern Colorado that was excellent. They graze on grass and not a lot of sage. I've heard this makes a big difference in the way they taste.
Killed my 1st antelope in Sept. 2014 and Spearhead Ranch in Wy. Best meat I've ever had. I'm going back in 2016; and if opportunity knocks, I will try to get two of them.
When you skin it don't let any hair touch the meat. Antelope have hollow hair that will ruin good meat. Thats what my buddy told me, and him and his friends had 8 females piled up like cord wood to clean. They drove 900 miles just to shoot females for the freezer. Mike
I've killed a LOT of animals. I know how to prepare game.
My pronghorn was dead and into coolers of ice in ... 30 minutes I imagine. I prepared it the way I've done elk, deer and other antelope.
Nastiest meat I've ever tried.
He was exceptionally foul smelling - like OMG billy goat stink. I've never smelled anything quite like it .... a skunk is bad, a mink can be bad .... the low nexk hair on a rutting elk can be a stink pot
but nothing holds a candle to the way this pronghorn smelled
I killed. Acouple in southern Alberta that were eating sage brush nasty.
I've killed three, all stunk in the field but tasted great. The animal stunk, not the meat. I think it's the fur/hide that stinks, even my mounts smell a little bit up close.
All were killed in a winter wheat field, so I'm sure their diet had something to do with it.
Like I said - all my antelope (many of them) were killed on sage brush flats. All great eating.
Stealthy: I wish in situations like that you could bring it into F&G and have them analyze what's wrong with it. Regardless of species an animal should smell so bad that you can't even smell it.
I also wonder if certain plants like sage are similar to how Cilantro is to others. If you don't know basically 50% of the population (me included) thinks Cilantro tastes like soap and the other half it tastes delicious.
Fascinating to think about the why's.
I am glad to see so many guys know how to take care of antelope.
I also have never had a bad one. It is one of my favorites- great flavor and always tender.
The only complaints I hear are from people who don't take care of the meat properly. I agree with getting the skin off asap. I then hang briefly in the shade(better if a little windy) and then cover with tarp etc. I have never put one in a cooler with ice although have heard good results with that.
I'm telling ya'll .... I know how to take care of game meat, to the point I often look back and wish I'd have taken 10 minutes and had better field photo's.
My pronghorn was old, old, OLD. No fat, stinky as all hell ... not many hairs got on the meat, got it cooled as quick as I could ... don't know what else I could have done. That animal was just piss poor to eat, sometimes they are.
Between myself and my family we have killed a good dozen lopes in nevada. All in sagebrush flats and all in August, or early September. Never had any of them taste short of amazing. They all stink when you walk up to them. Did all gutless and put them on ice right away. Left some on ice for a few days and others cut up the same day. I can tell you the sagebrush thing doesn't make them taste bad. Maybe just a real old one or the way it was taken care of by the hunter or maybe even the butcher. I always cut up my own meat.
Every year before I go to Wyoming I ask NY daughter what she would like me to bring her back.Her answer,antelope meat.I love it and rate it a 9.Having some as I type this.And no clover on the Spearhead Ranch that I saw.
Stealthy I don't think he was saying you didn't - I do believe most guys don't know how to take care of an antelope (or other game as well).
Part of me wishes you could take the meat in to have them study to see what's wrong with it.
I killed a coyota once that was so old and tough, I literally couldn't skin him.
I've caught 80 pound blue catfish that was horribly nasty to try and eat because of the fat layers and "blue" skin
velvet mulie - that's what I did, its what I almost always do unless temps are really close to cold ... however, my pronghorn meat was horrible horrible.
I never tasted anything like it and am left only with "he was old and tough"
Even the ground burger was raunchy - I kid you not.
just sayin
Of the 30+ I've harvested, never had one I didn't enjoy. The meat is fine grained like veal. A lot of people back home enjoy the heck out of it. Definitely 9+. I've heard enough from people I trust that there may be an occasional bad one though. Not everyone who posted above about bad taste made a mistake with the meat. Get the meat cooled dow, and do your best to nail it with one shot.
Don't tell any Wyoming residents that you like the taste or they may wise up and there go the leftover tags. Just smile at their 'cook it on a board, then throw away the meat and eat the board' jokes and head home with a full cooler.
I had some antelope steak that a buddy had shot the year before (Southern Alberta). It was amazing, some of the best venison I have ever had.
Last year we both went out in the height of the rut. He shot a very small, young buck and I shot a nice buck. Both of them were pretty brutal. Very strong, basically were only edible if put in sausage and even the spicy ones it was strong. I suspect it had something to do with the rut?
Aug 17th is when I killed mine ... is that peak rut in southern CO ?
In Colorado the rut is towards the end of the season. (End of September).
I've shot bucks in full rut. And they tasted great. I quarter and get meat on ice pretty fast thou.
My family has taken 3 speedies in the past two years and we have 0 complaints about the meat...the kids like it better than elk and deer and the only meat we consider better than antelope is Oryx...
My family's favorite as well.
As with most game: get it down and get it cooling (in most cases with antelope, that means getting it skinned & on ice).
I shot a javelina this spring in arizona, and have never skinned an animal faster in my life. Hung it in a palo verde right there at the kill site and got that nasty smelling hide off as fast as possible - then iced it. I was worried about the reputation javelina have in regards to eating them. We've been enjoying that little sow since january! Most people seem surprised when I tell them how good the meat is...Excellent!
I've killed a dozen or so goats in CO and WY - my favorite meat next to moose and bison. Definitely a 9+ in my book.
But I'm with stealthycat. I couldn't choke down 2 of the animals. Stinky, vile, and repulsive. That's all I can say about those 2. Handled the meat exactly the same as the other 10. Everything everyone is saying....skinned 'em fast, got 'em cool, kept the hair off of them, no gut shot. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. But they were different.
My theories based on my experiences - rut and adrenaline. The nastiest goat was a doe that had been running and was running when I shot her. Will never do that again.
But I'm a big fan. My $.02 -- If you've made yourself a promise you'll never shoot another antelope because they're disgusting....give them another chance. Fun hunting and USUALLY awesome meat....But I heard SD and KS were the best places for NRs to hunt 'em! Haha.
Great eating! A bit more delicate flavor than other big game. Hard to beat!
Don' t let the smell discourage you. They are awful smelling animals. They small like they are tainted or bad on the grill, but they taste feakin' delicious!!! My wife will not let me cook them in the house because the smell ruins the experience for her. Pronghorn blue cheese bacon burgers are my absolute favorite game meal!
I like antelope. The 2 I have eaten were as good or better than deer
I hadn't eaten any for a few years but just had some last week. I was grilling Iowa ribeyes for some friends on a turkey hunt and otcWill whipped out a package of antelope round steaks. Even after devouring those huge beef steaks, we were still able to wolf down that antelope....rare to med rare and tender and as butter. Fantastic!
10.95,
I like the heart and liver too!!!! Very good!!
I'll give it a 2. Just one notch better than road kill possum!
WW, that is a higher rating than I would give it.
You two must be doing something wrong.
They both got old and lost their taste buds. Got to "gum" everything now. :) Paul
thanks JAnders1 ..... wasn't just mine then
guys I've killed a lot of animals .... the 2 pronghorn I killed in SD were very good, the old bugger I got in southern CO was't fit for dog meat and like JAnders1, I know how to care for meat and what to do.
My buddy and I have killed a LOT of goats - not a bad one ever.
We have had them go down in sight and had a few we chased all over kingdom come - none were bad eating.
I would say if you kill one in the rut use 2 knives (one for skinning and one for cleaning). Then power wash them if they get hair on it.
Like I said above - I wonder if antelope have a chemical like Cilantro that if it gets on the meat it makes certain people gag.
I can't touch Cilantro as it taste like you put soap in my meal.
It would explain why guys who have harvested some tasted great and others didn't.
Antelope is top notch in my book. I have had several out of the sandhills of Nebraska and some out of Wyoming and they were all really good.
I don't know how many we have killed but the number is well over a bunch, from late August thru the middle of October and we have never had a bad one...they are indeed one of our favorite...
