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As for birds - Wild turkeys Pheasant Quail Geese Ducks Doves Prairie Chicken

In terms of quality of meat, compared to a lot of what I've eaten in the past, fixed properly I'd rate any of the above a 6 or 7 at the lowest. Duck and goose can rival good venison or beef if handled and cooked the right ways.

Don't count your elk before their killed TBM, but don't be surprised if you have a new favorite meat after you taste those first tenderloins cooked over a campfire, either.

1.) Muskox (shot in Spring, not during rut) 2.) (Tie) Moose and Sheep 4.) Elk/Red Stag 5.) Mountain Lion 6.) Pronghorn Antelope 7.) Bison 8.) Bear 9.) Mountain Goat 10.) (Tie) Caribou and Deer

1-3 are all close in comparison... 4-6 are similar in comparison.... 7-10 are the final grouping.

I have had Venison that was great, and I have had Elk that was so-so.....I have had some awesome Pronghorn Antelope medaillons, while others had a strong sage taste to them.....but after hundreds (if not thousands) of wild game meals, the quality of the meat depends largely on four or five factors....the animals diet, time of year that the animal was killed (i.e. rut can impart a strong taste)), preparation of the meat while afield, proper physical tenderizing of the meat (use a Jaccard meat tenderizer!!), and depending on your personal palate for chemical tenderizing, the use of a marinade (some don't want to "mask" the flavor of the meat, others want to experiment).

I didn't rank birds and small game....but I have a KILLER recipe for any of them.....run some through a meat grinder and make into ground meat. Make into patties. Dip in an egg wash, roll in bread crumbs, and brown each side in a frying pan. Then put into a casserole dish and prepare as a "Parmesan".....I have converted vegetarians with this recipe!!

Tenderness...("tough" for me to evaluate.....because I ALWAYS use a Jaccard)

1.) Muskox 2.) Sheep 3.) Moose 4.) Elk/Red Stag 5.) Bear 6.) Mountain Lion 7.) Pronghorn Antelope 8.) Caribou 9.) Deer 10.) Bison 11.) Mountain Goat

Again, I have had some awesome Bison.....but only when tenderized....I will also submit that the degree of preparation (especially tenderizing with a Jaccard) will have a HUGE impact on how the meat turns out. I will also state that I have had excellent meals of Mountain Goat that were tenderized with a Jaccard (in fact, I ate them with a plastic knife and plastic fork).

I believe that it is important to serve wild game immediately after removing from the heat source....as the meat will continue to cook for a couple minutes even after being being removed from heat....the more wild game is cooked, the chewier it becomes (to me)....I cook wild game to rare/medium rare....then remove from heat. By the time I am done eating, it is medium rare most of the time. I always have all of the other dishes cooked and on the table, before the meat is done cooking.....when it hits the table, we start to eat immediately.

The outcomes can vary dramatically, so it is really difficult to compare objectively.

You can expect well over 200 lbs of meat from a bull.

Mid grade-goose, duck, caribou.

Burger meats-caribou, deer, duck.

Won't eat em but I use for bear bait-jack rabbits, beavers, coyotes.

Caribou and duck can range from OK to burger only.

2. Bear

3. Antelope

4. Whitetail fawns

Moose elk deer. Mostly sausage and burger when have 1-4

Need to get one of those jaccards last years bull elk was so horribly tough

Birds 1. Ruff grouse

Have to find out what marinades and sauces to use that makes game meat better than pork and beef. Anyways wisconsin pork and beef far out ranks any game meat I ever had Generally it's fat that gives meat it's flavor and most game meat has little muscle fat and as game meat fat except for lion and bear generally doent taste to good by itself. Of course most game animals are taken at height of the rut so not fair comparison to the neutered pork and beef

Last time I checked, the three row model was $39.99. The one row model is $19.99.....but I would really rcmd the three row model.....

But seriously, I use mine all the time. I didn't even know they made a single blade version. That plus the marinating box attachment to my Food-Saver and you can make even the toughest cuts tender. I even use it on chicken breasts. All those holes plus the vacuum pulls the marinade all through the meat. It really doesn't even have to sit, although I always let it. Whip it on the grill ... shoot, now I'm hungry for dinner and it's only 7AM!

Tks again MM.

R

A three row Jaccard for the price of the single row Jaccard is a steal of a deal....you won't regret it...

The moose I've had was very very good too. (NYBob is a great cook) But the problem with only having eaten something a few time is you may be eating something that was cooked by someone who can make an old boot delicious. Or could be eating something that wasn't taken care of well and cooked by someone who could screw up a pop-tart. And all else equal, a young female is normally going to be better eating than an old gnarly male anything. Any game overcooked is a tough nasty mess.

Elk is very good and I've eaten a bunch of it so have no problem rating it. Most of the deer I've had were OK. Never had any corn fed whitetail, but the woods whitetail tried was on the par with the muley and blacktail. Edible. If I had plates of other meat on the buffet line I probably wouldn't touch it.

I'm lucky in that my main prey is axis deer, and their reputation for great eating is legendary. I'd rate them and elk right up there, the age, cuts and preparation can give the nod to one or the other, the axis maybe a slight edge overall.

Medium eats, our mountain pigs are good, but lean as can be for the most part. Can't cook it like a person would for most pork. Pheasant I shoot a lot and eat a bunch of it. If prepared right it is pretty good.

Lower end the turkeys I've had from here would go with most of the feral goats near the bottom. Mouflon a step over those, I've had good luck making breakfast sausage links out of em, the oily nature works well there.

But.... in answer to the question..... yes elk is very good, better than most deer, and when you get one you get all the meat you want, or can, handle.

Jaccards work if needed, but not needed for tender meat. It will definately help tough meat. The more important factor is to take the animal best for eating, and handling properly. A good recipe cqn make a poor eating animal taste good. That's why I like the salt & peper method.

Just make sure you don't push too hard or go too fast with jaccard you can ruin the tips. I have worked at a restaurant and guys used to go to fast hard and mess up the tips.

TBM, your device will work, just won't cut like the Jaccard. I'll say just about equal.

Recipes can make a world of difference.

Rice wine vinegar is great in marinade's for venison.

Fallow deer is awesome. Just about any game is better than anything in a store!