Whitetail or coues

[Nick Z]

I never hunted coues deer. But ill have my chance next season when I relocate. Im very excited about it after all the reading I been doing on this site. Ive only hunted whitetails here in the northeast.

So. Do they taste the same? or is there a distinct differance?

[billrquimby]

I never hunted coues deer. But ill have my chance next season when I relocate. Im very excited about it after all the reading I been doing on this site. Ive only hunted whitetails here in the northeast. So. Do they taste the same? or is there a distinct differance?

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I doubt that anyone can tell a difference in taste between a mule deer and a whitetail taken from the same area. There is a big difference in taste between deer from different areas, depending on what the animals have been eating.

 

The whitetails I used to shoot in Texas came from an overgrazed ranch where they stood in line to eat supplemental food set out for cattle, and they were "absolutely delicious." They tasted nothing at all like an Arizona whitetail, which are only "very good."

 

In 2004 I shot a mule deer that had been feeding regularly in a maize field and it tasted much better than any other mule deer I've taken anywhere.

 

Age of the animal is supposed to be a factor, too, but I've not found that to be true, at least as far as the taste goes. Skin your deer so it will cool quickly, clean the meat (I wash the carcass with a garden hose) thoroughly, get it chilled as soon as possible, and it will be good. Some say you should let the meat hang for so many days as is done with beef, but I disagree. The fat on a deer does not age well, so I discard it when I butcher my deer, which I do as soon as I get home with it.

 

I cook deer meat as I do any other meat.... with only salt, pepper and garlic as spices.

 

I'm getting hungry thinking about a pot roast of deer haunch, with potatoe halves, chunks of onion and whole carrots (tossed in thirty minutes before serving) served under thickened brown venison gravy.

 

Incidentally, you may be interested in knowing that everywhere in Africa "venison" refers to the meat of any wild animal, including elephant, rhino, buffalo, antelope, warthog, or even a lion or leopard.

 

BillQ

[Guest Ernesto C]

Bill,please allow me to disagree with part or yous post,or I dont know if I'm missunderstanding it. When a coues share the same habitat or area with a mule deer.................you can tell the difference in taste and let me say that a coues will taste a lot better than a mule deer.Nothing wrong with a mule deer but it does taste different. I personally like them both but prefer the coues meat.

My two pesos??

 

Ernesto C

[JVS]

Muley tastes like carp, hence the nickname... Actually, I can't tell the difference. It's all in how the meat is handled, processed, aged and prepared. I've had some piss poor coues that was probably comparable to skunk butt, and muley that was better than any other meat I have ever eaten...Take it or leave it.

[SunDevil]

It has been my experience that mule deer have a stronger flavor than whitetail. I helped a friend take a mule deer once in Oct and then I took a whitetail in Nov. We had a barbeque later on and afterwards the whitetail was gone and there was still quite a bit of mule deer. Both animals were taken care of exactly the same. Granted, this was a mule deer that lived out in the creosote flats but I would say in general, whitetail eat food that correlates into milder meat. Acorns vs creosote? This is not always the case but probably a good general rule. Also, why do antelope have a stronger flavor? Because they eat weeds.

 

Nick Z - you don't want to hunt coues when you move out here. Switch over to mule deer. You will have much more enjoyable hunts. CB

[5yearcoueshunter]

In my experience, I really can't taste much difference between the two species. It just all depends on what the deer have been eating and how well the meat was taken care of. This last year I shot a 3 to 4 year old muley and by buddy shot a 3 to 4 year old Coues. They were both taken care of the exact same way and shot within 1 mile of each other in the same exact country. Both deer are awesome. If anything the Coues has a little bit more flavor. Not strong, but just more flavor to it. The meat also had more of an odor than the mule deer. My muley had no odor what so ever. I have also shot a few young eastern whitetails, and they taste the same as well. But like the Coues, had a little more flavor then most muleys I've ate. From what I've read, whitetails are generally more nervous and cautious animals that might contribute to the meat being a little more flavorful. I have never had a strong Muley. But I also have never shot one on the desert floor, or in cresote. All the muleys I've ate have been in either sagebrush, oakbrush, or mountain mahogony kind of country. So maybe that's why I haven't had a bad one. Anyway, all deer are good. Don't worry about it. LOL

 

Travis

[TREESTANDMAN]

In my experience, Muley meat has always been a little more gamey than whitetail. The whitetail I've eaten has always been very mild. I also knew what I was doing when I field dressed my 2 whitetails and didn't w/ my 2 muleys so I'm guessing that is part of it. I think the way they are field dressed will make a world of difference. I also wonder if aging the meat may have something to do a different taste?

[Nick Z]

Thanks guys, Thats some good input.

Sorry sundevil..Im going to have to give the coues a try...Cant blame you for trying though

 

Hey Billrquim....You made me hungry too. Im going to pull out a roast right now for tomorrow.

 

YUM!

[billrquimby]

Bill,please allow me to disagree with part or yous post,or I dont know if I'm missunderstanding it. When a coues share the same habitat or area with a mule deer.................you can tell the difference in taste and let me say that a coues will taste a lot better than a mule deer.Nothing wrong with a mule deer but it does taste different. I personally like them both but prefer the coues meat.

My two pesos??

 

Ernesto C

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Hi Ernesto:

 

What I said was I can't tell the difference in taste between a Coues deer and a mule deer taken from the same area. The key is "same area." That's just me, of course. Others may be able to tell the difference. The best venison I've eaten, as I said earlier, came from a Texas ranch where the deer had very few natural foods and grew fat on processed pellets for cattle.

 

Second to venison pot roast, I like to butterfly the backstraps 1/2-inch-thick, rinse them in a beaten egg, dip them in flour and pepper, and fry quickly in hot oil. Mmmnmmmm good!

 

BillQ