Meat Mystery Solved

In my not so humble opinion and experience......
I quarter, fillet, and stuff 1/4s (hide ON), loins, backstraps, and trim into game bags and pack 'em out.
Hair is always on some portion of meat.
At processing time, after skinning, the hair is carefully singed off with a propane torch.
After processing many wonderfully tasty lopes, never had a problem with hair affecting the finished product. My favorite wild meat thus far.............

onpoint said:

At processing time, after skinning, the hair is carefully singed off with a propane torch.

Click to expand...

This is how we do it as well. That little torch makes cleaning up stray hair so much easier.

I don’t care for it. I process my own meat and the pronghorns that I’ve shot have always gone from “kickin to quartered” pretty quickly. There’s something about the the distinct taste of their meat that makes for really good summer sausage and breakfast sausage though. It does have a flavor of it’s own and I understand why some like it, and some don’t.

Put me in the don’t like antelope category. I had last year’s deboned in minutes and on ice in a half hour.

Just personal preference, but I’ve never really like meat that is so tender that you can fit it with a fork, weird I know. Antelope blackstrap is a big mushy for me. I made the rest of it into sausage.

So far I love what I have had. Its is very mild and tender. I will say I was a little worried judging by the smell of the hair. It didnt stink it was just a very strong odor and I thought that's what it would taste like but it didn't.

VikingsGuy said:

That was a complete pain in the butt in the field. It was shedding worse than our lab in July.

Click to expand...

Hair does not change the taste of the meat. I bone it out in the field and it goes right on ice. I have brought it home (this year included) with hair all over it. It does not taint anything. Just clean it up and package it. What does make a difference, is what you said about the processing facility in Lusk. What a sh-- show. I get that they do not have room for all of the animals, but I find it disgusting that all that good meat is stacked like cord wood outside.

What bothers me worse, is that people do not just bone the meat and throw it in a cooler. It is so easy and it makes such a large difference-especially with antelope. They are far more sensitive to temperature than deer, or even elk, as far as my experience has showed me.

My wife is one in the category of giving away elk, before antelope. The one that I brought home, is still in the fridge down stairs. It has provided a meal of fantastic chile and we ground some for Lasagna tonight. Next up, BACK STRAP and the tiny little tenderloins that Wyoming makes you harvest.

Just go to Wyoming in October. You dont even have to worry about ice. Packed a cooler full of frozen jugs but didnt need them when the highest temp all week was in the low 50s on the 1st day. BTW, what we have eaten so far is delicious.

406LIFE said:

My favorite and I have never had one that didn't reek when I came up on it. But skinned and cooled, it is by far the best meat I've harvested.

Click to expand...

+1 They are fragrant.

I've been fortunate to take 9 CO pronghorn and every one has been outstanding fare. I call it "the other white meat". Care in the field and in processing is key. We always butcher our own game because we can control sanitation. I will never use a commercial game processor because I've toured several and have seen what they do.

Oh, and with regard to the 'what do you do with your antelope' thread, anyone who would grind it all rather than making steaks should be criminally charged and be denied pronghorn hunting privileges forever.

My worst antelope (inedible) was lung shot, gutted, skinned and on ice with 45 minutes. I’ve stacked in the back of a truck for a day and they were perfect. I talked to a guy who shot a bedded yearling opening morning and had on ice quickly that was inedible.

My conclusion is whatever makes antelope taste bad has nothing to do with handling and more to do with the particular animal.

Hummer said:

+1 They are fragrant.

I've been fortunate to take 9 CO pronghorn and every one has been outstanding fare. I call it "the other white meat". Care in the field and in processing is key. We always butcher our own game because we can control sanitation. I will never use a commercial game processor because I've toured several and have seen what they do.

Oh, and with regard to the 'what do you do with your antelope' thread, anyone who would grind it all rather than making steaks should be criminally charged and be denied pronghorn hunting privileges forever.

Click to expand...

Agreed.

"...….the tiny little tenderloins that Wyoming makes you harvest." sbhooper.

First time I've ever heard somebody whine and snivel about having to "harvest" a piece of delicious wild game...……………………….

My buddy and I shot our first antelopes this year. Like others, we were curious about the taste due to the disparity in opinions on it. He tried his first and said it was delicious, but he shot his as it stood up from being bedded. Mine was chasing a doe around for 10 minutes or so before I had a good shot. It dropped in its tracks, but I have heard that they are terrible to eat if they had been running around. We did the gutless method on both and had them in iced down coolers in 45 minutes. I can tell you both of ours are delicious. My wife said she loves it.

I like to think that I have a pretty discerning palate, and I honestly can't tell any real difference between KS whitetail, and WY Pronghorn, when similarly prepared. Love em both.

I was surprised at how good antelope tasted, and I’m used to corn fed whitetail from the U.P of Michigan. My lope was bedded right before I shot it. Gutted it, took 30 minuets to get it back to camp. We skinned, deboned, and put it in ziploc bags on ice. It got cut up 7 days later at home. As we where cutting I had some of the backstraps marinating. Cast iron pan and butter for 5 minuets, delicious. Here’s my marinade recipe if anyone is interested.

Honestly this can be said about most wild game, i shot 2 antelope this year gutted quartered and on ice right away great meat. In MN you see guys driving down the freeway with deer stacked up in the back of trucks, on top of carts etc. 70 MPH with bugs, dust heat then having them tossed on the carcass pile at the processor, how anyone can eat that meat is beyond me. Learning to process my own game has saved me massive amounts of money and i know what i get back was cared for not driven 90 miles on top of a car.

sbhooper said:

the tiny little tenderloins that Wyoming makes you harvest.

Click to expand...

Ever hunted birds lol

Personally I think all western states should go to AK salvage regs for all game animals. There is more rib meat on a pronghorn than there is total meat on a teal, dove, squirrel, etc.
I also like the rule that the head has to come out of the field last.

There was a joke floating around several years ago that I can't find now. To paraphrase:

In order to settle once and for all the debate as to whether beef or antelope makes better table fare, a rigorously controlled experiment was conducted. A trophy beef bull was selected for the experiment. His breeding was unknown as were his feeding habits, but he sported some truly impressive horns. To recreate field conditions as closely as possible, two researchers were placed in the back of a pickup while a third served as driver. Upon approaching the bull, the researchers in the back of the truck began firing magnum rifles in the general vicinity of the bull, causing him to vacate the location with great haste. At this time, the driver pursued the bull at the top speed he could achieve without ejecting the researchers he was transporting. Several times the vehicle approached the bull and the researchers would take aim from the moving truck. Accurate shot placement was not necessary as the researchers were both equipped with magnum rifles.

Eventually the bull was brought down and congratulations exchanged. Several photographs were taken and the researchers then climbed a small nearby in an attempt to send the photographic evidence to other researchers. Once the experiment was properly documented, the researchers returned to the downed bull and determined that they would need additional assistance in loading it into the back of the research truck. After again climbing the nearby hill, additional researchers were called. After several hours, reinforcements arrived and the team began gutting the animal. At that time, it became apparent that one of the shots had pierced the animal's digestive tract. It was determined by all present that rinsing the body cavity with beer would resolve any issues, as the alcohol would kill any pathogens. Luckily, despite waiting in the sun for help to arrive, the researchers still had a few remaining beers.

After the animal was loaded into the truck, a public outreach program was implemented, with the researchers taking the bull by various gas stations, feed stores, and taverns to let the public know the type of research they were doing and garner support in the community. To generate good will, the researchers consumed numerous beers during the outreach program and elected to wait until the next morning to complete the skinning and cleaning of the animal. Everyone agreed that despite temperatures in the 70s and 80s, the bull would be fine because it was rinsed with beer.

The next morning, the bull was hoisted up for butchering. As the animal was disarticulated, each piece was placed on a make-shift plywood table that had been prepared by rubbing vigorously with a push broom for a few seconds to remove the remnants of last years' experiments. To achieve the greatest number of steaks for the experiment a saw was used to cut each section, without regard for muscle direction or the presence of bone. Using this method, the researchers were able to convert nearly the entire carcass into steaks ranging from 1/3" to 3" thick. Many were tapered, allowing for a variety of thickness for the eater. During the butchering process, every effort was made to prevent the present dogs from licking and/or sampling the carcass. As a result, the animals were only able to taste the bull a few times, that were documented. A charcoal grill was prepared in the customary manner of pouring approximately half a bag of charcoal into the grill, and then covering with one bottle of lighter fluid. Once the flames had receded to a level of 3-4 inches above the top of the grill, the grill grate was positioned. Special care was taken to preserve the "extra flavor" on the grate from previous grilling experiments.

The grill was filled with as many steaks as could possibly fit, in an entirely random order to preserve the integrity of the experiment. A liberal sprinkling of a seasoning blend* developed specifically for this experiment was applied to each steak. After several minutes, the meat was flipped and pressed hard into the grate, to achieve acceptable grill marks. After each time a steak was flipped, some beer was poured over the meat. Though none of the researchers could articulate exactly why this was done, all agreed it was necessary to achieve the best results. About half way through the cooking time, it was discovered that the coals were beginning to die out, and an additional 1/2 bottle of lighter fluid was applied. Finally, when the head researcher determined that it was time to eat, the meat was piled high on the butchering table. Upon tasting their efforts, each researcher agreed, "Yep, tastes just like antelope".

*A heated debate broke out between researchers regarding the use of Tony Chachere's seasoning vs Old Bay. After several anatomical impossibilities were suggested as recreational activities for one researcher's mother, it was determined that the team would blend the two.

onpoint said:

"...….the tiny little tenderloins that Wyoming makes you harvest." sbhooper.

First time I've ever heard somebody whine and snivel about having to "harvest" a piece of delicious wild game...……………………….

Click to expand...

Whining and sniveling?!! Not hardly. Try to start a fight of something relevant. Good grief.

Just got my first antelope. Shot it late morning and after 20 minutes of pictures and phone calls I started in skinning and cutting. About 8 hours later I had it all hiked back out to the vehicle and on ice. High temps were in the low 70s that day. Three days after that i had it cut up and in the freezer. I grilled up the backstraps and they were great. I would say they were slightly milder and finer grained than a Wisconsin whitetail.

NEWHunter said:

Just got my first antelope. Shot it late morning and after 20 minutes of pictures and phone calls I started in skinning and cutting. About 8 hours later I had it all hiked back out to the vehicle and on ice. High temps were in the low 70s that day. Three days after that i had it cut up and in the freezer. I grilled up the backstraps and they were great. I would say they were slightly milder and finer grained than a Wisconsin whitetail.

Click to expand...

Good job. You did it right.