moving to maine/hunting (trees, population, steaks)

[dmyankee]

Nothing like free range moose!

A friend dropped by with a cooler full of burgers and steaks, while I was out today.

The shrink wrap is a nice touch!

[Maine Writer]

I had a moose burger for lunch.

Did I mention yet that I occasionally sulk because I never get picked in the lottery?

[dmyankee]

Keep plugging at the lottery, I've had two, the wife has had two, my best hunting partner has had two and I've been a sub numerous times. LOL!

My idea is to have everyone who has won, not be allowed to put in for ten years. That might do it!

[mainebrokerman]

moosemeat is tasty!!
having butchered many moose and deer, i'll share a few tips,
the first and most important, is that the butcher or whoever cuts it up..doesn't use a bandsaw.. he "bones" it out, meaning just using a knife and its all boneless, the wild gamey taste of deer and moose comes mostly from the bone and fat, the meat has to be "clean" and clear of exterior fat , membranes, tendons, when the butcher asks, how you want it cut, and you want roasts, tell him you want it boneless, the exception being the neck roast its a ***** to bone out.
and for the burger, dont ask to mix suet in...its ten times better to ask the butcher to mix in some ground beef trimmings, or my favorite, mix in some pork,,at least 25% and use pork butts, they are cheap. this also applies , if you ask them to make sausage.

venison can be very very lean, which tends to be a bit dry and meat from the round (hindquarters) and chuck (forequarter) can be tough, of course thier are many factors, age of the animal, size, feed, overall health of the animal, and secondary factors such as if the animal is in the rut, or has been run hard (deer)
you usually can yield around 55-65% (meat) of the animals total weight. unless of course its been shot 12 times.

someone mentioned how we see hanging moose and deer,(in trees) before we bring to the butcher, this time of year, id bring it straight to the butcher because its over 40 degrees out (danger zone of bacterial growth is 40-140)
the butchers can skin and hang it in thier coolers for a few days to bring the carcass temp down and let it "set" a while.
and someone mentioned the meat being vacuum-sealed, id highly recommend this!!

venison can be delicious,
i make awesome venison meatballs..which i nickname bambi-balls..

elcarim, i'll make you some for a house-warming gift,,lol

[Maine Writer]

Originally Posted by dmyankee

Keep plugging at the lottery, I've had two, the wife has had two, my best hunting partner has had two and I've been a sub numerous times. LOL!

I suppose it would be extremely rude of me to say "Oh bite me!" so I won't. I keep sending in money. One of these years, right? Me, husband, daughter...I don't care as long as I can go.

i make awesome venison meatballs..which i nickname bambi-balls..

That sounds wrong on so many levels! lol

[jenkaye]

We have most of our Elk made into hamburger or sausage. The roast is awsome in a slow cooker, the steaks tend to be tough so we don't have a lot of those cut up. I love Elk it's great if you get drawn and get one and you don't have to buy meat for 6 months or longer!

[bigchuckie]

This year was the first my Dad had ever been picked and he has been putting in since 1980 y brother has been picked 3 times out of the last 5 2 unddr his name and once as a subpermitee the permit holder was his 11 year old son As for me chirp chirp chirp go the crickets

[bigchuckie]

I have had canned Elk meat umm umm goood

[dmyankee]

Most of the processors these days use the vacuum seal method. Well worth the price! Doing your own gets old after a while.

My theory is 1/2 steak and roasts. The rest gets ground with 15-20% beef chuck. Always hold out enough for sausage though. You can do so much with moose burger or deer burger for that matter.

I love Elk, Caribou and Deer. Many people will hunt for meat, however. Some parts of a good eatin' moose, like the backstrap and tenderloin are fork tender! We will even do the tongue. Some of the French folks will even make a loaf of jellied moose jowl. Kind of tasty, reminds me of the pigs feet my mother used to make, however.

[Maine Writer]

I've never had wild elk. When I was in Minnesota two years ago we bought steaks after seeing an elk farm. It was good. I'm not sure how it compares to wild.

Anyone bird hunt? One of my apple trees has partridge under it every day. I haven't picked up the dropped apples in a couple of weeks so they're feasting on them. I'm going to try hunting with dogs. Wiggie was going to take me but he passed over the summer. I think when I try it I'll like.