Taste of sheep?

[Totenkopf]

 Recently I took my first pronghorn. We didn't like the taste. Gave the meat to my neighbor. There are sheep running around here everywhere, just haven't been brave enough to try them yet. They are mouflon and bighorn. I take 2 elk, 1 moose, and 3 deer a season to provide meat for the year. Also 1 cow is slaugtered and the rest is a mix of fowl and small game raised or harvested. So in other words we are used to eating wild game, actually prefer it to store bought. I just keep hearing people saying sheep taste muttony or a slightly rancid flavor. I have all the big game harvested this year less one deer, thought I would replace it with a sheep. Should I pass or do they taste good? I live 42 miles from the nearest city and they do not have mutton at the store, so not really an option to buy and try it. The neighbor does not like sheep, he is 15 miles away, next house is another 20 miles, they don't live there in the winter, so no one to give the meat to if it tastes bad.
Thanks

[bobg]

I have tried sheep. Don't ask me why but i did not like it. I ate the heart and gave the rest to my neighbor.
           bobg

[drdougrx]

Hi Tot!

I've shot a bunch of exotic sheep.  I once shot a huge merino, probably close to 200 lbs and big heavy horns.  The butcher called and asked what I wanted to do with it....I said, is it good to eat???  He said do you like lamb???  I said...I love lamb...he said it ain't lamb.  He said do you like mutton???  I said, I donno....I've never eaten mutton...he said...well....if you did, this would taste like OLD mutton.

I went to Texas for another hunt and shot a big Corsican...we loaded it up and went to another ranch to continue our hunt and the owner had a walk in cooler...we hung the carcass in the cooler.  Next morning the owner walked into the lodge and demanded we take that smelly thing out of his cooler....nuff said.

[Graybeard]

I'm a bit surprised you didn't like the pronghorn. I've never eaten any but from all reports I've heard from those who have it is supposed to be one of the better tasting game meats IF properly cooled quickly and not left in the all too common heat too long.

I don't eat sheep period but even tho goats smell as bad or worse I love goat meat. I don't eat white tail deer at all. I've tried it at least a thousand ways and still hate it. Axis and fallow I like and mule deer is OK. Elk is great to me moose not so great.

[AtlLaw]

I don't eat sheep period

Come to my house for Easter lamb.   

I love goat meat.

Caprito!  YUM!   
Come to my house for sinco de mio

I don't eat white tail deer at all. I've tried it at least a thousand ways and still hate it.

   Come to my house for Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year's slow roasted leg of bambi!

Axis and fallow I like

Oh I see...    you like the ferrin stuff!  Good ol' 'merican meat ain't good enuf for your so-fist-tee-kated pallet huh!?

moose not so great.

Is to... 

[bubbadoyle]

Atlaw, is there anything you don't like?  Although I like it all too.

[AtlLaw]

Atlaw, is there anything you don't like?

A nurse asked me that while she was getting me ready for my colonoscopy.  My answer was "yes, strange men playing with my butt when I'm passed out!"      And no, I don't like it when I'm awake either!    

[mrbigtexan]

well, i have never eaten pronghorn antelope that i didn't like. but the key is to not let the hair touch your meat( as little as possible) and to trim out all the fat and all the membrane off of each cut of meat. what they eat also determines how they taste. here they eat crops that the farmers plant, but in new mexico or wyoming they eat nothing but rocks and cactus.

[mcwoodduck]

With any wild game.
I think the taste of the critter has a lot to do with three things.
The first is how you shot it.  Was it spooked.  Adreniline tastes lousey!  Did you knock it strait down or did it run off for a little bit.
the second is how fast you get the guts out and cool down the meat.  The faster it gets cooled down near the bone the better the meat will be. 
third is what it has been eating.  They rotate crops on our farm and corn fed deer is really good.  Soy beans is OK, and swamp deer are a little sour but still makes good stew or swiss steak as long as you sear it first.

[Totenkopf]

 I have a cooler on my place. Actually it is a warmer this time of year. Generally snow on ground all hunting season. The antelope was down within 50 feet or so. I watched him through the binoculars for a minute or so until he quit breathing. Went down and field dressed. Hung for 4 days at 33 deg, with head and front hooves removed facing down to drain. I don't use a band saw because I hate the taste of bone marrow covered meat. The meat was gamier than whitetail. I usually use mulie because whitetail is a bit stronger. He was in and out of an evergreen stand the times I spotted him. Dumb thing might have been eating bark or needles. May give one a try next year. Early in the season they are in the prairies all the time. He was very fat, had an inch or so on back, did not remove, may also have been the problem. The legs were pretty lean though, still bad flavor.
  On the goats I have boers running semi wild, love those fellows smoked. Usually take them a month or so before hunting season when meat is getting low.
I have a buddy from NC who is a trophy hunter. May just get him to come out next year and shoot one. I'll steal a bit of meat off of him. If it's bad it's his problem to find someone who likes it out his way.
Thanks, much appretiated.

[markc]

Have eaten some of those sheep, mouflon, corsican.  We treat the meat the same  as feral hogs, ice it down in the cooler, and each day, drain out the water, add mmore ice.  When the water runs clear, time to butcher and cook it.  Usually 5 or more days, depending on outside temps, and the meat is quite edible.   

Sure makes good smoked sausage...

[emsemt911]

I have eaten all my rams.  An old timer advised my to boil the older one for 30 min to 1 hr depending on the thickness of the meat.  He stated that older rams are good eating, just can get tough.  The boiling will tenderize them.  I thought it was a load of crap at the time.  I thought about it and tried it.  It made the ram very tender and enjoyable to eat.

[tn_junk]

Have eaten Aoudad and Mouflan. Aoudad was interesting, but not something I would want to eat frequently. Mouflan was rather disgusting. Tasted like dirty socks smell.
I love deer, feral hog, groundhog, squirrel, etc. Have eaten most all wild game and like it. Have to say the Mouflan was probably the worst of any I have ever tried, and I like "tame" mutton.

alan

[Totenkopf]

 GB on that wt if you don't like it because it is to strong try soaking in salt water for a few hours to leach the blood out. Then milk over night. Pulls all the gaminess out. The mule deer has less game taste so I usually don't shoot wt.
 We went to a fancy restaurant last night. The wife ordered antelope, we both loved it. So I'm definitely going to try one early in the season next year. Suspect it was the fat and his diet that gave bad flavor. I tried barbados sheep, was very good as well. We requested to the waiter that neither be dressed up we wanted to taste the flavor of the meat not a watered down version, I looked the barbados up, looks like a goat without horns. If worse comes to worse I am going to buy a heard of these and turn loose.
 I contacted a homeless shelter about 100 miles away, said they'd take the meat so going to shoot one of both. Either way I'll give them a donation for helping me out. Wouldn't feel right throwing dirty sock tasting meat on homeless folks. So maybe they can take the money and get them something good. Now if I can just get my courage up to try bear! Tried a buffalo last year, not bad, but raise cows so no point in eating a dryer version.

[Graybeard]

As I said I've done everything humanly possible to make WT eatable and it just is not. I've tried it prepared by dozens of folks who say oh you only don't like it cuz you've not tried it how I fix it. Well I have and I still don't like it and ain't eating it.

[Totenkopf]

 Alright guys thanks for the help here were the results. I took a younger male of each hoping they wouldn't be as gamy.  The mouflon was acceptable, not great, but when dressed up a bit isn't bad either. The bighorn was outstanding, much better than a mule deer. I took a large male this morning as well, now we should have enough meat for the year.
 I went ahead and donated to the homeless shelter with just money. There are a lot of vets there from the gulf war that kind of checked out of society. The Lord has blessed me and I'm able to give pretty freely to good organizations. Not trying to preach to you, but if you have a little extra to give, you may want to consider giving locally. We send billions out to other countries, yet have the same problems here. These people are not necessarily lazy. Often they have a breakdown, not being able to deal with what they had to do and turn to alcohol and next thing you know their family is gone and are unable to hold down a job. Not condoning self pity, but I believe our people need help before the money goes over seas.
Again thank you sincerely for the help.