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The Flavor of Elk
- Thread starter Swede
- Start date
I can find no correlation between quality of meat and ... well, anything else. Some are just bad, most are great.
I think when people say something causes bad meat (running animal, rutting, etc.) they are simply guessing, and they don\'t understand correlation is not causation.
I think when people say something causes bad meat (running animal, rutting, etc.) they are simply guessing, and they don\'t understand correlation is not causation.
I\'ve never really been able to tell.
Used to hunt whitetails near corn and alfalfa, but occasionally in places where there are no such crops for many miles, nor even trees. I couldn\'t tell one bit of difference.
This year I have two young cow elk in the freezer. One shot on a hay field, the other high in the mountains. I can\'t tell one bit of difference. They were shot within a couple weeks of each other in September.
(I will say, however, that the worst antelope I\'ve ever had was a 1.5 year old buck shot off of alfalfa near a corn field. I have no idea why it was \"bad\", but it was. Likewise, the worst whitetail I ever ate was a button buck shot entering a corn field in January, around 20 degrees or so, and died very quickly.)
As a side note, my son and I shot several pronghorns off a ranch in 2013 and again in 2014. The 2013 animals were almost all tough, while the 2014 animals have been fine, including one poorly-hit doe that traveled over a mile after being hit. Conditions were very similar each year. Same ranch, obviously.
Used to hunt whitetails near corn and alfalfa, but occasionally in places where there are no such crops for many miles, nor even trees. I couldn\'t tell one bit of difference.
This year I have two young cow elk in the freezer. One shot on a hay field, the other high in the mountains. I can\'t tell one bit of difference. They were shot within a couple weeks of each other in September.
(I will say, however, that the worst antelope I\'ve ever had was a 1.5 year old buck shot off of alfalfa near a corn field. I have no idea why it was \"bad\", but it was. Likewise, the worst whitetail I ever ate was a button buck shot entering a corn field in January, around 20 degrees or so, and died very quickly.)
As a side note, my son and I shot several pronghorns off a ranch in 2013 and again in 2014. The 2013 animals were almost all tough, while the 2014 animals have been fine, including one poorly-hit doe that traveled over a mile after being hit. Conditions were very similar each year. Same ranch, obviously.
JohnFitzgerald
New member
- Mar 31, 2014
- 1,108
I\'m very generous and usually give away all my elk meat. There\'s many needy family\'s that struggle every day and are happy to receive the donation.
With that said, I eat the straps and tenders every year and can tell a little difference between an older elk and a young one.
With that said, I eat the straps and tenders every year and can tell a little difference between an older elk and a young one.
\"mtnmutt\" said:My former neighbor hunted elk in sage brush during rifle season. He said the meat tasted very bitter. I did not know elk ate large quantities of sage brush.
Yeah, I thought elk ate grass unlike deer that eat sage, leaves from trees and shrubs, acorns, and crops. Elk tastes like beef to me only better. Deer is a bit gamier tasting but still good if prepared right.
Dannyboy21
New member
- Jul 11, 2025
- 14
I can only speak to my own, friends and families' experiences here. Ballpark dataset of 10 elk and countless whitetails. If critters are eating sage brush, they don't taste great... Elk and Whitetail don't eat that stuff where I am at.
1) Meat care is key (hide off asap, hung and cooling), I don't put much stock into aging the meat I know some people swear by it. If it hangs long enough to dry and get a nice purple color, it's good to cut.
2) I have heard horror stories of elk or deer that tasted bitter or were super tough... The only ways I can see that happening are listed below (which they wouldn't admit to). C seems the most likely as some people are not aware of this.
A - The animal was extremely stressed before expiring and possibly was suffering for some time.
B - Meat was not cooled in time and led to spoilage that wasn't found during processing
C - The glands in the hind quarters were not removed and were ground with the meat https://wapititalk.com/Hunting/viewtopic.php?t=12342
1) Meat care is key (hide off asap, hung and cooling), I don't put much stock into aging the meat I know some people swear by it. If it hangs long enough to dry and get a nice purple color, it's good to cut.
2) I have heard horror stories of elk or deer that tasted bitter or were super tough... The only ways I can see that happening are listed below (which they wouldn't admit to). C seems the most likely as some people are not aware of this.
A - The animal was extremely stressed before expiring and possibly was suffering for some time.
B - Meat was not cooled in time and led to spoilage that wasn't found during processing
C - The glands in the hind quarters were not removed and were ground with the meat https://wapititalk.com/Hunting/viewtopic.php?t=12342
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