How long does an average elk generally last you?

[DTP]

Kind of tough to gauge because an average elk in NM may be different from an average elk in ID, but I'm basically just wondering how quickly you go through an elk?

Between my wife, my daughter, and myself we typically have our elk last from Sept to end of May, mid June if I am lucky....

We typically eat 90% of it, but 10% goes into sharing with friends, cooking it for parties or pot lucks, etc.

That's also broken down into about 85% of our elk gets turned into ground and 15% is steaks.




How about you?

 

[BrentLaBere]

This years calf isnt going to last much longer. I have had them last an entire year, but not this one.

 

[wyoelk300+]

This is definitely a circumstantial question.

One elk (mature bull,) WT buck, various fish, birds, gifted/exchanged cuts and bacon/sausage (most wild some locally raised) has lasted from Aug 15th of 2017 through now and should get my younger family of five through this July especially when you figure in BBQ season with friends and family.

I've had years like this in the past too and have come up short on the time frame by 60-90 days for various reasons.

For now this has felt like a good variety good amount. A little long winded but hope it helps.

 

[Bowhunter1]

not long enough.

 

[DTP]

not long enough.

:haha: :haha: :haha: FACT

This is definitely a circumstantial question.

One elk (mature bull,) WT buck, various fish, birds, gifted/exchanged cuts and bacon/sausage (most wild some locally raised) has lasted from Aug 15th of 2017 through now and should get my younger family of five through this July especially when you figure in BBQ season with friends and family.

I've had years like this in the past too and have come up short on the time frame by 60-90 days for various reasons.

For now this has felt like a good variety good amount. A little long winded but hope it helps.

I'm very similar to you and I didn't want to make it overly confusing in the original post. 2017 left me with an elk, two antelope, and 5 WT deer.
Having the variety DEFINITELY prolongs the elk in our freezer. I usually gift the deer before I gift antelope and elk, but I still share that too.

My goal for every year is to shoot enough to last me the full year.
Similar to you though, I think depending on my year I can be 60-90 days off depending on circumstances.

My goal is always to stretch the elk a year.... but we just love eating it too much. ha ha

 

[Ivar88]

Well, for me and my success, I would have starved a LONG time ago  :ill: . Fortunately for me, I kill enough deer and catch enough fish to keep the freezer full. Ask me again in September!

 

[cnelk]

When my typical size elk meat goes into the freezer, Id say its approx 110-120.


That means I have to eat 2+ packages per week to get down to nothing. Add in a couple deer, antelope and they become 'gifts' real quick.


But I dont give any away [unless the kids come home] until I have another elk in the freezer.


Ive had elk meat stay good for 2+ years in the freezer. But rarely do I go that long without killing one

 

[big44a4]

Haven?t harvested an elk yet but depends on how much protein is in your diet. I eat 15-20+ oz of cooked protein daily...


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[cohunter14]

Mine don't last nearly long enough because our group ends up sharing the meat and we have yet to punch everyone's tag in one year. Hoping that changes for this year, or that we at least come close!

 

[Ol Arky]

Mine didn't last very long with the crew we have... But we also kill anywhere from 10 to 12 deer a year also and it does last us the whole year... To clarify we have 6 folks that hunt deer regular in our family... My sons family of 5 and me and my wife enjoy our venison...

 

[cnelk]

Haven?t harvested an elk yet but depends on how much protein is in your diet. I eat 15-20+ oz of cooked protein daily...

When you do get an elk in the freezer, yo're def not gonna want to chew it all up in a 100+ days or so.


Especially when you find out how much work it is!


Savor it

 

[ribo451]

Any elk we shoot gets shared between three families so if we only get one it doesn't last real long. We don't share deer meat so that makes up the other half of my red meat diet. I probably eat wild game 2-3 days a week. I eat a lot of fish which is unfortunately mostly store bought.

 

[big44a4]

Haven?t harvested an elk yet but depends on how much protein is in your diet. I eat 15-20+ oz of cooked protein daily...

When you do get an elk in the freezer, yo're def not gonna want to chew it all up in a 100+ days or so.


Especially when you find out how much work it is!


Savor it

No question. I?ll spread it out as much as I can. I don?t cook more than will get eaten fresh when it comes to wild game. Other protein I have to supplement from the store to hit diet gets cooked in bulk. But add in wife/son and then sharing on top of what I?ll eat, nothing lasts long around here.

Hopefully I can find out this season.


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[patch1010]

We stretch it out as long as we can. If my youngest son is home, all bets are off. He is an eating machine. We may get 3-9 months on a mature elk. It is just my wife and I at home right now.

 

[Bowhunter65]

The bull I shoot this last year is almost gone already. We usually draw a extra cow tag, but did not in 2017. I would say 6 months tops.

 

[Wyo67]

Kind of tough to gauge because an average elk in NM may be different from an average elk in ID, but I'm basically just wondering how quickly you go through an elk?

Between my wife, my daughter, and myself we typically have our elk last from Sept to end of May, mid June if I am lucky....

We typically eat 90% of it, but 10% goes into sharing with friends, cooking it for parties or pot lucks, etc.

That's also broken down into about 85% of our elk gets turned into ground and 15% is steaks.




How about you?

We did pretty much the same thing this year with the cow I got last September.  Steaks are almost gone and but we still have quite a few pounds of burger.  Just the wife and I, but we have 3 growing grandkids who are out at the house most every weekend.

The elk was supplemented with a muley buck and one antelope.  Hope that helps.

 

[Archunt11]

I eat mine way too slow. I've had some left over from almost two years but most gets eaten up yearly. I don't think I've ever had any of it taste bad either. Some might say it loses its flavor the longer it's in the freezer. I guess when I have a bad tasting piece I'll start eating it quickly. But yes the sooner the better for freshness,

 

[Cheybo]

A year and a half to two years.  Allows for horn hunting some years and meat hunting others.

 

[TheKnigit]

The last elk that we shot was split between my parents household and mine, with several packages going to family members and friends. My wife is a vegetarian, so it lasts me quite a while. I think it was about a year before I bought any form of meat from the store.

 

[bcnorth]

10 months. I usually save some to make into jerky for next years hunt.