moose meat

[475cal]

I have my 2nd nh moose permit,the first one was a young bull,tasted very good and tender.
Here is my question,I want to get a BIG one this time but some people say a large bull in the rut is like shoe leather,some say to age it.What experence do you have with your moose meat.Should I go for a cow.

Dave

[drdougrx]

I shot a bull that was in the rut...meat was as expected...tougher than a young cow, but not at all inedible.  I'd try for the big bull any day.

[mrussel]

I have my 2nd nh moose permit,the first one was a young bull,tasted very good and tender.
Here is my question,I want to get a BIG one this time but some people say a large bull in the rut is like shoe leather,some say to age it.What experence do you have with your moose meat.Should I go for a cow.

Dave

 No moose meat for me.  =( Struck out. Maybe next year. Got elk and deer though,hopefully I can bag one or the other.

[rebAL]

I've eaten 4 moose;  2 young bulls, 1 cow, and 1 old trophy bull.  The old bull was very tough and not sweet.  If I had choice, I would go for younger bull or cow.

[Thebear_78]

While the younger ones always taste better you can definately eat the older ones.   One trick is to hang the older ones for a week or so if you have access to a walk in cooler.   My buddies kid shot a large bull a few years ago and we hunt it in a walk in cooler at 34 degrees for a week.  It was very tender when cooked.

[mrussel]

While the younger ones always taste better you can definately eat the older ones.   One trick is to hang the older ones for a week or so if you have access to a walk in cooler.   My buddies kid shot a large bull a few years ago and we hunt it in a walk in cooler at 34 degrees for a week.  It was very tender when cooked.

 Depending on where you live,a walk in cooler might be your garage.

[Dand]

In my part of Alaska the season ends just before the rut really gets under way. Local knowledge says a truly rutty bull can be nearly inedible. Don't know as I  have never had the opportunity to try. When I was real young the seasons were changed for a few years and landed right in the rut. A lot of the villagers were really upset saying the meat was terrible. I'll take their word. I'd do my best to avoid a truly full rut bull moose. Early rut, antler scraping and banging they are fine but when they start fighting, peeing all over themselves and stop eating - well the meat shop photos of the livers alone scare me away.

[Darrell Davis]

I would need to admit that I am a bit short on experience in this area, but my wife and I have both taken our once in a lifetime bull moose here in Ideeeeeeeeeeeeeho.

Mine was taken about the 3rd week of Sept., right during rut and the bull was beat from one end to the other with patches of hair gone.

Meat need to be cooked creatively, - tough - but the taste was excellent.  Would love to do it again!

Wife's bull taken the next year about mid - November.

By this time the bulls were hanging out in groups again, and all the hair was grown back in.

BUT, -------  Same situation with the meat.  Excellent !!!!!!!!!!!! taste but needed a crock pot close by.

However, it was SURE worth bring home and I'd sure like to get my once in a life time cow permit.  No luck this year.

GREAT eat'in for sure!

Keep em coming!

CDOC

[Sourdough]

Older Bulls are OK, they just are not a tender as younger ones.  Never, never, shoot a bull in full rut.  The meat is totally inediable.  Once a bull starts following the cows, they drink the cows urine.  Between the testostarone, and urine this makes the meat smell so bad you can not stand to dress it.  And if you try to cook it, it will stink so bad you can not bring your self to eat it.  Now a cow shot during the rut is mighty fine, but not a bull.

Caribou do the same thing during the rut.  The bulls drink the cows urine and it ruines the meat.  Never heard of it with Whitetails and Mulies, but I do know Bucks shot during the rut are not as good as ones shot before the rut.

[Darrell Davis]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm???

Sourdough,  I expect from your forum name, that you have been there and done that, but ------------

I have already admitted that my moose experience is limited, and and maybe this was a once in a life time thing just like my bull, but there was no urine taste or smell to my bull, taken as I stated during rut.

In fact I watched the bull pee in a hole and do other rut activity before I tripped him.

I also, just to know what I was dealing with and having a less then great nose, have gotten down where I could get a good wiff of the very dark and almost coffee colored urine.

The smell is distinctive to say the least.

However, at least in this one case, the meat was fresh and fine and the taste was some of the finest wild game I have ever tasted.

Having grown up with wild meat, I enjoy the flavor and have never had, like some I have heard of, a poor and un-eatable critter.

Here in Ideeeeeeho, it is a very likely and normal thing to take a whitetail buck during full rut, neck swollen etc.  and the meat is always good.

One thing about the moose is size.  There is at least the difference between a moose and an elk as between a elk and a deer, making the effort to take care of a bull moose, to say the least labor intensive!

When I finally got the neck/hump skinned down, several hours after dropping him, I was very surprised to find the meat very warm to the touch.  Almost hot in fact.

That, plus the size of the critter, head and horns about 75lbs, hide about 75lbs. make for a huge job and I can surely see how the situation could get away from a person if the temps were a bit high.

But, for whatever reason, my bull was just fine as per taste and smell.  In fact, it was no different then the wife's bull taken mid November the next year.

Keep em coming!

CDOC