do elk from ponderosa forest taste better than from P-J?

[desertyankee]

This may be an odd question, but I've had two people now tell me that an elk from the big forest will taste better than one from piñon-juniper habitat. Never tasted either one before, so I don't know. . . but it seems at least plausible. Any "o-piñons" out there? It might make a difference where I hunt next week. . . Thanks.

[azgutpile]

I've heard this question asked with regards to deer in the Pines/ Junipers vs. deer in the desert; however I've never even thought about it with elk since they mostly graze on grasses.

[azpredator@work]

The best one I ever ate was one I shot in thick cactus country. Of course, he was a youngster compared to others I've killed and I am sure that played more into it than where he lived. I have seen no difference from state to state or different terrain. The biggest difference is how the meat is cleaned and stored before freezing.

 

By the way - I was up in 22 this past weekend. It snowed yesterday. The big bull we've been keeping an eye on was killed by a nice lady and her son who were lost (better lucky than good). She shot it at 75 yards and they thought it was a spike until he ran after the shot! They got turned around pretty bad. I found them after checking cameras and neither had a compass or GPS. That's a bummer for my son and I as we've watched this bull since last December all the way up to last week.

[tontotom]

The taste isn't much different. The biggest problem with bad tasting meat is how it's taken care of after the kill, the size of the animal and how much killing it took to get the animal down.

[308Nut]

The taste isn't much different. The biggest problem with bad tasting meat is how it's taken care of after the kill, the size of the animal and how much killing it took to get the animal down.

 

+1

 

 

Age, how fast it is cooled, how much dirt or piss from the hide touches meat, how much it was pushed after it was shot (clean kill versus lots of adrenaline over time), gut shot, bladder shot, boiler room shot, etc..... all play major factors in how a critter is going to taste. For rutting deer, there is a gland on the hind leg that oozes a nasty oily musk. Get that on your knife or let it touch meat and it will not taste too plesent.

 

M

 

[billrquimby]

The taste isn't much different. The biggest problem with bad tasting meat is how it's taken care of after the kill, the size of the animal and how much killing it took to get the animal down.

 

+1

 

 

Age, how fast it is cooled, how much dirt or piss from the hide touches meat, how much it was pushed after it was shot (clean kill versus lots of adrenaline over time), gut shot, bladder shot, boiler room shot, etc..... all play major factors in how a critter is going to taste. For rutting deer, there is a gland on the hind leg that oozes a nasty oily musk. Get that on your knife or let it touch meat and it will not taste too plesent.

 

M

 

I used to think young animals always would be tastier and tenderer than old ones, but that was before I shot two bulls a week apart.

 

My first elk that year was a 6x6 bull on New Mexico's Jicarilla Reservation. Its antlers were long and wide, but the tines were wimpy and its teeth appeared to be worn, which made us believe it was an old animal on its way downhill.

 

The second was a spike bull that ran past me a mile above my cabin.

 

I personally cared for and butchered both animals exactly the same. We expected the spike to provide better meat than the old guy, but it didn't. There was little difference in their taste, but the spike's meat was tough; the old bull was tender.

 

The only only thing different about the two animals is that the spike was running from other hunters who had shot at it lower on the knoll. The older bull also was pushed to me by someone else, but it wasn't in a panic mode when I shot it.

 

Both dropped within forty yards after I shot.

 

To answer the original question, we've never noticed a difference in the taste of elk meat from juniper and pine areas.

 

However, the deer we used to shoot in the Texas Hill Country definitely were superior than those we've killed in Arizona and elsewhere.

 

We always figured it was because they fed heavily on pellets that ranchers set out as supplemental feed for their cattle and goats, as well as corn from the deer feeders that were everywhere in that country.

 

Whatever the reason, I'm salivating, just remember how those little Hill Country whitetails tasted.

 

Bill Quimby

[hawkeye]

All elk tastes like crap. So when ever you harvest one, give me a call and I will take it off of your hands.

[308Nut]

I used to think young animals always would be tastier and tenderer than old ones, but that was before I shot two bulls a week apart.

 

My first elk that year was a 6x6 bull on New Mexico's Jicarilla Reservation. Its antlers were long and wide, but the tines were wimpy and its teeth appeared to be worn, which made us believe it was an old animal on its way downhill.

 

The second was a spike bull that ran past me a mile above my cabin.

 

I personally cared for and butchered both animals exactly the same. We expected the spike to provide better meat than the old guy, but it didn't. There was little difference in their taste, but the spike's meat was tough; the old bull was tender.

 

The only only thing different about the two animals is that the spike was running from other hunters who had shot at it lower on the knoll. The older bull also was pushed to me by someone else, but it wasn't in a panic mode when I shot it.

 

Both dropped within forty yards after I shot.

 

To answer the original question, we've never noticed a difference in the taste of elk meat from juniper and pine areas.

 

However, the deer we used to shoot in the Texas Hill Country definitely were superior than those we've killed in Arizona and elsewhere.

 

We always figured it was because they fed heavily on pellets that ranchers set out as supplemental feed for their cattle and goats, as well as corn from the deer feeders that were everywhere in that country.

 

Whatever the reason, I'm salivating, just remember how those little Hill Country whitetails tasted.

 

Bill Quimby

 

 

For the most part, I agree with you on the age. Most would agree (including myself) though that the difference between a 10 year old bull elk in the peak of the rut versus a 1-3 year old in the peak of the rut is quite noticable in regards to quality.

[More D]

my brother took a nice mulie from the 'bab' and i swore he put sage, the spice, when he made jerky. i asked him and he says he only put what we always do, salt, pepper, garlic powder and santa cruz brand chile powder.

 

elk, to me, tatse better than deer. id always assumed it was cause elk ate grasses.

 

dont get me wrong i prefer to eat any well cared for game meat than store bought meat. the only exception is a nice marbled rib eye.

 

 

my uncle who used to work at cattle ranch many years ago said the best tasting meat came from cows who ate wild oregano in sonora.

 

 

[Browning'sCustomMeat]

I find that "rutty" bucks and bulls are tougher. So are bucks and bulls ran hard or pushed before killing. If you could imagine holding a handful of coffee stirrer straws and cutting them thats how it feels cutting "rutty" animals. As far as tastes...shot a spike one year that was great...and shot a bigger bull that tasted just as good. Both never ran just fell where they were shot. The spike was in the junipers and pinons...the bigger one came out of some ponderosa filled canyon.

[elkaholic]

90% of any elks diet is grass - now does grass grown in the pines differ from grasses in the pinion - not by much

 

now i have seen elk munchun on juniper berries - now if they are consuming a lot of berries this may very well account for a different flavor of the meat !

 

 

[desertyankee]

Thanks for the thoughts. . . and from my whitetail years I'd agree with all the comments about the taste of stressed animals; that's one reason why I never even bother shooting at a running animal. As for desert beef, last week I helped a friend butcher a steer from the Hopi rez, and I have to say that the flavor was awesome. None of my Hopi friends have much use for desert mulies, but they've all offered to help me get rid of any surplus elk I bring home-- so despite Hawkeye's kind offer, I'm all set.