Contributors to this thread:
Which do you like better?
Someone send me some moose steaks and I’ll let ya know.
BOTH!! Different textures and taste! Both delicious!
The steaks are plentiful and delicious
The steaks are plentiful and delicious
Prefer moose, but I do need to expand my database to properly qualify my opinion....
Wife shot a cow moose and a cow elk moose has my vote.
Moose, but of course Elk is excellent
I much prefer elk. Not to say moose is bad, though.
Honestly, I can’t tell much difference between the two.
No real preference.....both are good eats. Moose is good, although to my taste buds the flavor is bland, almost flavorless. Of course the proper spices and/or steak sauce can remedy that. Elk has more of a distinct venison flavor, which personally, I like.
From my experience....I'd rank them in this order keeping mind how it's cooked....moose, elk, caribou, muley, antelope, whitetail, hog, bear. Never had sheep or goat.
moose, but only if shot with a bow....
Moose no question They taste amazing. I’ve only eaten one shiras moose that my son killed. Best meat hands down. It would rival the best beef steak in the world! Moose seemed leaner and more tender than elk.
Elk
Although my Bull Moose was like 11 years old
All meat varies. I live on elk. I once brought home 2 caribou bulls from Quebec. Processed them myself. They were way better than any elk or moose I’d ever eaten. The next caribou I ate was given to me by a good friend and it was very disappointing. I’ve eaten some incredible elk and some that wasn’t that great. Moose is no different.
I’ve only shot one moose and even though I took a lot of care with him, he was not that good. I gave away a lot of moose and was not happy about it. Guess I need to shoot another one.
Treeline - "I’ve only shot one moose and even though I took a lot of care with him, he was not that good. I gave away a lot of moose and was not happy about it. Guess I need to shoot another one."
Ditto!....and never been disappointed with elk meat.
Tree line and Pav, why do you think that? Did it stay warm too long, older animal, diet, etc? Never had moose, just curious.
Not that I've ever had hundreds of pounds available for an in depth comparison (:)) but I've had both numerous times in various recipes. Moose is, hands down, the top of my "favorites" list. Elk is solidly second but there is no serious challenge for numero uno.
Killed lots of elk and several moose. Had to donate a lot of my Yukon while in bethel and in given it all over would have paid to get it all home.. moose is the superior wild game meat..
Too many variables to pick, IMO. It all depends on the age/sex of the animal, time of year, forage, how the meat was cared for and aged, etc....And it's still all subjective after that.
The only animals I simply could not eat were all dominant mule deer bucks killed in the middle of the rut. For some reason, they get nasty tasting in late November in my neck of the woods.
I don't care for caribou very much. You couldn't cut the gravy of the one I killed. Way too tough for me, and the flavor wasn't great, either.
Matt
"The only animals I simply could not eat were all dominant mule deer bucks killed in the middle of the rut. For some reason, they get nasty tasting in late November in my neck of the woods.
I don't care for caribou very much. You couldn't cut the gravy of the one I killed. Way too tough for me, and the flavor wasn't great, either. "
Ever try sous vide? I think there's a thread on here somewhere :^)
AK/Yukon moose. Then elk. Then shiras moose.
From my experience....I'd rank them in this order keeping mind how it's cooked....moose, elk, caribou, muley, antelope, whitetail, hog, bear. Never had sheep or goat.
Wow, if whitetail is that far down the list, they both must be amazing. I have had moose hamburgers before and they were absolutely amazing. I've also had caribou steak and it was amazing. I've never had elk.
My moose was a Shiras in the rut. He was chasing a cow around through a small willow patch in the sagebrush. It was about 15-20 degrees that morning and the moose had frost on their backs.
He had one paddle broken that appeared to have bullet mark so he may have been shot at and run a ways.
He was down within about 30 seconds of the arrow hitting his ribs and only walked about 30 yards from the shot. Stood locked up and just stiff-leg fell over dead.
I was lucky he died in the sagebrush within 100 yards of a road. I backed the truck up to him and had him broken down and in the truck quickly. Probably went from live moose to meat in the truck in less than an hour.
I split the hinds and shoulders to the bone to help cool down fast. Went back and broke camp, loaded up the trailer and had the meat in game bags in the open on the trailer to stay cold for the trip home. Neve got above 25 degrees for the 6 hour drive home. Meat was just shy of frozen when I got home. Hung it in my garage like I always have elk for a week and the temps in the garage never got much over freezing.
Cut and wrapped it all over the following week.
That meat sucked.
My wife loves caribou, antelope, whitetail, coues and early season mule deer. I tell her there is still a spot on the wall for a big moose and her response is always, “There may be, but there is no room in any of the freezers for moose meat!”
I prefer elk steaks although moose is also excellent and probably rates slightly higher for burger and soup.
I just got a Tule Elk in California that is about the best meat we've ever had, and that is saying a lot. Can't go wrong with either elk or moose, just take care of it properly and shoot them before the mid to the end of the rut for the best meat. And there is always the exception where a specific animal isn't that great....like Treeline's moose for whatever reason.
Like Treeline, my only bull moose was also a Shiras taken during the rut while tending a cow in sub 20 degree weather and about a foot of snow. Shot was fifteen yards. He ran about 40 yards, tipped over in a willow patch an never moved again. Got all the meat boned out and loaded into coolers the same afternoon. Processed him a week later at home.
Was not impressed with the flavor nor the texture of the meat. Gave the majority of it away. I was a butcher by trade for more than a decade in my younger years. The meat was prime during processing. There was nothing I would have done differently. Always heard how great moose meat tastes....but man was I disappointed.
My Ak-Yukon Bull was shot during the middle of the rut, and he was delicious. You just have to marinade them first!
There you have it.....t-roy marinated his bull moose in the field! Great photo!
So maybe mine would have been less chewy if I marinated him Before boning of the meat!! haha
Classic Pic t-roy
Moose is better in steaks and roasts, burger I cant tell the difference, love them both, hopefully kill one of each again this fall!!!
Cow elk = bull moose. Bull moose > bull elk.
I'm sure I've eaten literally a ton of moose meat from many different moose over the years. A couple bad ones, a couple notably delicious ones and most just good eating. Field care, how quickly it died and rut all have an affect, Get a rut crazed stinky bull, leave the hide on too long then butcher to quick and the meat is poor quality. Getting the hide off and meat cooled is key to large bodied moose. Guys here will throw the quarters into a cold running stream or plastic bag and into a lake with the open end above water line.
Last year my buddy shot a mature caribou on October 14th and I shot a younger bull on the 15th. His was not even edible as pepperoni, tasted like someone mixed wolverine piss into it (no, I've never actually tasted wolverine piss). Mine is delicious and tender, better than moose.
One of the best eating moose I had, I shot with his horns bashing another good sized bull, fighting over a cow standing nearby. I dropped it off at a butcher and said hang as absolutely long as possible. My buddy shot the other bull five days later tending the cow. Both stunk fierce! Butcher cut them both up on the same day. Mine hung thirty days. Fantastic meat!!
I've not eaten much elk, but so far prefer moose. But I'm starting a new chapter as an elk hunter on September 2nd, so hopefully I get to compare more.
Ive not eaten to much elk. Moose and caribou have been table fair weekly for the last couple years. To me, I much prefer the caribou. Then BEEF. followed by moose and elk last. Whitetail deer....dead last.
I grew up eating both. THE most important thing is once the animal is down is taking care of the meat.Skinning it right away ,cleaning it up and getting it cooled immediately.Not much difference between the two when properly cared for.
Young moose better than old elk young elk better than old moose.
After two Moose now, I have to go with it...
Moose. Closest wild game critter I've had that tastes like beef. I'd hunt cows if they would run from me.
Had some outstanding moose tongue tacos in the Yukon! I like both but moose gets my vote.
Interesting. Every bite of moose I've ever eaten, cow or bull, was chewy as heck. Great flavor but made my jaws tired. On one shiras bull even the burger was chewy.
And differing from GG, some of the best deer meat I've eaten was from mature muley bucks killed during the rut. Granted, they were eating winter wheat, sorghum and millet and I age them 10 days. I love Colorado fall bear. And pronghorn that wasn't running, died quick, and cooled down with the hide off right away before aging on the carcass. Caribou is great if properly cared for in the field.
But my favorite is a yearling cow elk.
Never had moose, but had this Elk Loin last week that was phenomenal. Cooked it the old fashioned way!(No sissy vide ;-)
I've lived on moose meat! Elk is (a treat and much...) better in my opinion.
Pete
