Got a Moose! (live, eat, health) - City-Data Forum

beauty4ashes · 10-20-2009, 09:06 AM

Hey everyone

So how's this for a story - we moved here last year, my husband entered the moose lottery this year (first time) and won a bull!
Opening day landed on his birthday and the bull moose he got wandered into the middle of the road.

Great looking rack, healthy looking moose and good friends to help him gut it, hoist it and haul it to the butcher.

Ok, so I have some questions for you savvy Maine Moose hunters out there...

The moose only weighed about 800 lbs -does that mean the meat will be more tender than a bigger one might be?

And also...what does moose taste like? We've heard it tastes good, but to be honest, I'm a little squeemish about it tasting "gamey". (

Don't laugh I'm from the city and trying to be brave girl.

)

We got mostly steaks, london broil and ground so...I'm figuring I'll treat it like beef?
It's all vacuumed sealed - how long will it last in the freezer?
Thanks!!

tcrackly · 10-20-2009, 09:24 AM

The moose meat I've had in the past tasted mostly like beefsteak. Although it's true that an animals diet will affect how the muscle tastes( acorn feeding deer has a distinctly somewhat bitter edge) mostly the "gamieness has to do with how the meat is cared for immediately after killing. You have to avoid any contamination from the digestive or waste tracts of the animal as well as environmental debris. Many people say that if you can hang it for several days (in cool weather only) that tenderizes and evens out the taste. Enjoy!

msina · 10-20-2009, 11:12 AM

What moose meat I've had has been extremely lean, it tends to dry out if you're not careful. I like to wrap a roast in bacon strips, and pan fry steaks in bacon fat with onions, peppers and a bit of garlic. It makes a great stew as well.

Congratulations on the moose, if you do find any of it "gamey" tasting try brining it overnight before cooking.

SailorGirl2001 · 10-20-2009, 11:24 AM

LL Bean publishes a great cookbook on game of all varieties. Talks about how to clean, prepare and cook it. Has lots of delicious recipes too.

msina · 10-20-2009, 12:04 PM

Moose Recipes and cooking moose - wildliferecipes.net

kellysmith · 10-20-2009, 12:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by beauty4ashes

And also...what does moose taste like?

Tastes like chicken....

kidding of course..there are many factors involved...how quickly the meat was cooled after the animal was shot, how long it was left to hang and at what temperature...how well the person did cutting the meat...(don't laugh, I've seen plenty of moose meat "butchered" by cutting the wrong way...best if cut directly perpendicular to muscle tissue.)
I've seen large bulls that were delicious and tender...and small cows that were tougher than boiled owl. Another thing that makes meat gamey is what the animal was doing before being shot. This is true especially for deer. If you wound a deer and chase it and finally kill it, there will be much more adrenaline and other hormones flushed into the muscle tissue making it gamey. Best meat comes from a deer or moose that didn't know they were being chased...with all this said, the animals diet also has a lot to do with it. something that's been eating broccoli or grains will taste better than something that's been eating alder or cedar bushes. My advice to the meat cutter is make good steaks or roasts, but marginal meat should be ground into hamburg.

tcrackly · 10-20-2009, 12:42 PM

That's very true. An excited or frightened animal will release adrenaline and cortisone which can taint the meat and make it tough. Although that doesn't happen too much with moose..the lumbering beasts don't fear much!

Maine Writer · 10-20-2009, 03:26 PM

Eight hundred pounds is big. Add in the weight of heart, liver and everything else left behind when it was field dressed and that moose was around 1,000 pounds.

We're having London Broil cut steaks tonight. I'm going to pan fry them in butter, onions and garlic.

Northern Maine Land Man · 10-20-2009, 04:34 PM

In our experience mooseburger was too dry. We used our burger in spaghetti sauce, sloppy moose (sloppy Joes) and mooseloaf (meatloaf). The steaks were fine, but our favorite became moose pot roast. Moose makes great stew.

7th generation · 10-20-2009, 04:46 PM

If I had a choice, all the meat would be ground.

For burgers: 1-2 lbs. of ground moose.
1 x-large egg
1 cup Progresso Italian bread crumbs
Mix by hand, throw on grill or frying pan.
Be careful not to stand too close to burgers,(saliva dripping from face has a bad after taste,

)
Serve with cold beer or wine and bingo, you've got the making of a deelicious meal!