Any difference in taste... Bull Elk vs. Cow Elk

[Uncle Grinch]

Just wondering as I have never had any elk. Understand from comments it's better than venison.

Any difference in taste... Bull Elk vs. Cow Elk

[M-Tecs]

Age and diet effect tastes/tenderness as does if the animal was run hard. I've had a cow that was as tough as shoe leather and a very large 6 X 6 Bull the was very tender. This bull had been living in a corn field all summer and he was fat like corn feed beef.

[runfiverun]

not really different.
what makes a difference is how the animal is treated after it's on the ground.
and yes it tastes better than most beef at least I prefer it.

[nagantguy]

diet and life style just like any animal made of meat, go 4 hours north of me in MI and the deer taste and smell strong, very gamey, cedar is a large winter diet staple and not many corn feilds.

[Djones]

Age and diet effect tastes/tenderness as does if the animal was run hard. I've had a cow that was as tough as shoe leather and a very large 6 X 6 Bull the was very tender. This bull had been living in a corn field all summer and he was fat like corn feed beef.

This got me thinking,

How about the fat on elk. Do you want every little piece of fat trimmed off the elk meat before grinding like a deer?

[Wolfer]

I prefer elk over deer or beef and I like them both. As far as a cow tasting better than a bull I can't say even though I have eaten many of both. I've always thought it would stand to reason that a cow would be better given the same diet as a bull due to the rut ending about the time I went hunting.

Ive always trimmed the fat on elk just like deer. Once again I don't know if it's needed I just did it.

[fast ronnie]

Don't know about cow vs. bull, but I like it WAY better than beef.

[pjames32]

Better than beef. Trim all the fat for burger and add beef or pork fat. Most cows shot are younger and not as lean as bulls. I like both! I'm not a venison fan, but our mule deer eat and taste like sage brush. Midwest grain fed deer are better.
PJ

[horsesoldier]

They taste the same to me as long you take care of the meat correctly

[BrentD]

they are the same to me.

[M-Tecs]

This got me thinking,

How about the fat on elk. Do you want every little piece of fat trimmed off the elk meat before grinding like a deer?

I did. The 6 X 6 was not my elk but I helped butcher it. I was given about 30 pounds chops and steaks. It was the best elk I have ever tasted, but, it was living in a corn field.

[BrentD]

I don't. Meat w/o fat is inedible.

If you had been there, you would agree that this was the finest steak you ever ate. It's a moose cooked with only moose fat for grease. It was perfect.

http://www.public.iastate.edu/~jessie/PPB/Moose/Moose%20in%20a%20pan.jpg

[ChristopherO]

Though the cow elk I shot in Wyoming years ago was good it was not as tasty as our Midwest whitetails. Certain portions were livery tasting. Butchered it myself and I'm good at that task. I liked it but enjoy farmland deer better. Haven't tried a bull.

[elk hunter]

Over the past fifty some years we've taken a lot of elk and a lot depends on how it's handled but, I can tell you the 6x6 bull the wife got last year is a stinker and the meat is gamier compared to the smaller bulls and cows we normally get but, as late as it was he was still rutting. The granddaughter found him by the smell from at least twenty yards. I was considering making sausage out of what is left of him but since neither the wife or I scored this year we may just eat him as is.

The next time you see a video of a bull bugleing look closely at his belly and you will see why he is so fragrant. I'm very careful to use a pair of clean plastic gloves to skin that dark patch off the belly and throw it away and the switch gloves and knives to dress him out and never touch the meat after touching the dark patch of hair.

We live on deer and elk and my wife still prefers to shoot cows when she can draw the right tag. We both believe they taste a bit better.

[sixshot]

Elk & Moose are grazers like cattle, deer are browsers so they can taste quite different. Bull elk & cows can vary in taste depending on what they are eating & when you shoot them. Also getting them cooled out quick is important, elk are big & they can sour in a hurry if they aren't taken care of. Quartering is best if it's anything close to warm weather. If it's really cold you can get by with field dressing them. Good elk meat is very hard to beat, as is moose but shoot a bull in the rut & you can smell them from a block away, eating one is a real chore. Hope this helps.

Dick

[Geezer in NH]

An old guide told me moose and elk don't bounce. Deer and antelope bounce. Animals that bounce do not taste as good as animals that bounce.

IMHO he was right!

[44man]

I have had elk and moose, none I shot but meat given to me, also black bear steaks and bear knuckles in a big pot. I prefer all to deer.
I agree it is diet first and have shot deer eating hemlock in the winter that were still OK but cedar and sage would probably not be good.
I think elk best and I love black bear meat, maybe from all the donuts they eat! :drinks:

[waksupi]

I killed a 6X7 rutting bull years ago. Tough and strong taste. After that, I would wait until a bull got out of the way, so I could shoot a cow when regulations for the area allowed. Spikes aren't bad, but not a lot of flavor, kind of like veal. Rag horns are pretty good eating.
As a matter of course, I generally remove all of the fat where possible. The only exception is the ribs, that have quite a bit of fat on them. I put them in the pressure cooker for awhile, then bake or BBQ them. Most of the fat is cooked out, and it is some of the best eating on an elk, in my opinion.
I MUCH prefer elk to beef.

[ammohead]

Why yes, the cows are quite refined, and always use a napkin or handkerchief when sneezing. The bulls on the other hand are crude, and are known to fart in public.

[44man]

Ribs are good if you boil off the fat. Very good meat. Most meat tastes the same anyway if the deer or so ate good. It is like a cow, used muscle and tenderness. If a cow ran like wild game I don't think they would be any good.
An old squirrel or chuck that climbed trees or dug a long time will be tough. The least used muscles are the back straps and loins. Ribs don't work at all. Darn good meat. Neck meat from a doe is good, not like a buck that bashes trees and other bucks. Carry that head gear and meat gets tough.

[shredder]

Why yes, the cows are quite refined, and always use a napkin or handkerchief when sneezing. The bulls on the other hand are crude, and are known to fart in public.

Now that is funny! Thanks for that.

[TCLouis]

BrentD
Is that fresh killed Moose and Moose fat


Ammohead

Thanx for providing a really good laugh

[runfiverun]

you'll know if you get grass, willow, leaves, whatever feed they can get off the mountain, beef.
it has a distinctive flavor much different than beef off the feed lots.
it's hard to explain the flavor but it isn't really gamey or really beef, almost like mild venison.
it's a bit leaner too.

[MT Gianni]

I don't think you can get any better eating than a young cow. I trim fat on cows, bulls have generally been rutting so hard they have no fat.

[ScotMc]

It depends a lot on age. My buddy dropped a huge herd cow years back. She was close to 1000 lbs hanging weight. Her meat had huge chunks of gristle in it and was tough as leather. Burger tasted bad too. We sectioned a tooth and estimated her to be about 18years old.
I shot a huge 6 point in Canada. He tasted fine but everything below a sirloin was tough as heck. Took all the roasts and steaks and partially thawed them, ground them to burger with 5% beef fat and refroze. Was great burger. He was about 8years old.
Now that I have the trophy stuff out of my brain, I like cows and young bulls.
I prefer Elk over Venison, have learned with venison to bone out, trim fat, hang for only a day to minimize loss to dehydration of meat.
The other thing is they are what they eat. Big difference with a bambi that lives in sagebrush versus a corn or wheat field deer.
As mentioned earlier, especially with Elk, is proper field dressing and get the hide off and get the carcass cooled down as soon as you can. Holds true for Moose also. they can sour up in a hurry in the right conditions.
Hope that helps.

[Ramjet-SS]

Preparation my friend is the key to coaxing the incredible savory taste that elk can offer. Steaks cut thick seasoned properly and medium to medium rare is the key. No matter if it's venison and or Elk I like my steaks and chops no thinner than 1".

A rather her decent marinade if you do not want to use your own is Grill Mates Southwest when I use a marinade that's the one I go for.

Nothing on on this earth is as good as a nice thick elk steak cooked over maple lump charcoal in my Big Green Egg NOTHING....

[44man]

Preparation my friend is the key to coaxing the incredible savory taste that elk can offer. Steaks cut thick seasoned properly and medium to medium rare is the key. No matter if it's venison and or Elk I like my steaks and chops no thinner than 1".

A rather her decent marinade if you do not want to use your own is Grill Mates Southwest when I use a marinade that's the one I go for.

Nothing on on this earth is as good as a nice thick elk steak cooked over maple lump charcoal in my Big Green Egg NOTHING....
YES, never overcook. Carol complains if not cooked through but she cooks her eggs to hockey pucks too. Don't stick them in front of me! She would never eat a soft boiled either.
But she is coming around and eats deer with pink and maybe some blood left. The times I had to put meat back on the grill for her sure gets old.
Ya know, it is why men do the grill! But it is always "Shut yo mouf woman." :drinks:

[michiganmike]

My wife and I once had dinner with two friends who served an elk pot roast. It was the best pot roast I have ever eaten.

[Blackwater]

Fellows, my wife's the chemist in the family. Made an A+ in organic back in college. She told me that milk is one of nature's best and most effective solvents, particularly for any enzymes and other naturally occuring chemicals in meats. She very early on, when she thought "all wild game tastes gamey," soaked our venison overnight or at least for an hour or two before cooking, and indeed, the venison, if it had ANY "gamey" taste in it at all, came out as delectible as any meat I've ever put in my mouth. And it doesn't matter if it's deer or whatever other game you have. Soak it in milk, put it in a hot pan with a little oil - no spices or any other stuff - and sear it on one side. Don't turn it over until it's gone gray up to the center approximately, then turn and do the same on the other side, and when done, take it off. Pour off the fluids as they cook out of the pre-soaked meat as it's cooking. Any gamey or "off" tastes will go out virtually completely with the fluids (mostly milk) that cooks out. When it's done, add more oil and onions, mushrooms or whatever looks like it might be tasty in the fridge, and season to taste. When that's done, and the onions nicely browned, put the cooked and still warm meat back in and toss it around with some sour cream, or worstershire and soy sauce, and .... you'll "slap yer mamma" it's SO good!

But the milk trick to get rid of gamey tastes, if present, is the best way I know of to deal with any gaminess. Vinegar adds bitterness in my experience, and soaking in salt water makes it too salty for me, and toughens it up as well. Milk's the real deal, but remember to pour off the fluids as they cook out. With them will go all the gamey flavor. If it's pretty gamey, let it soak overnight in the fridge for cooking the next day. You'll be pleased, I'm sure.

[M-Tecs]

Buttermilk works best.

[Ramjet-SS]

Used butter milk often for chicken not yet for red meat. I never really had the need like I said I cut it thick and cook it like 44 man says get the pink !

[sixshot]

Wild game is lean, if you cook it well done you've killed the flavor, killed the tenderness & killed moisture because it gets dry in a real hurry.
As I stated above you have to cool them quick, they are big animals but If I can I like to leave the hide on, sometimes you can't do it. But if I can I do because I only like to skin them once! If the weather is warm they can easily sour, usually between the front shoulders where the hide is thick. Let them age 6-8 days, skin them & cut those steaks thick, marinate with your favorite.....everyone has a favorite & grill rare to medium rare. You'll have to trim the fat, elk fat usually isn't very good. Doing a reverse sear isn't a bad idea either if you know how to do it right but it has to stay rare to medium. My favorite, a 2-3 year old cow that's been raiding the hay fields!

Dick

[Texas by God]

IMO Elk is better than venison. Usually the cow to bull difference is tenderness more than taste. Any deer or elk cooked past med rare is less than optimal. Same for duck breast. Now let's go eat! Best, Thomas.

[44man]

Milk works and I soak liver in it over night. I love buttermilk but can't find the real stuff with the golden butter flakes. I swear they pour vinegar into 2% junk.
Real buttermilk is a wonder for pancakes or whatever. Today it is fake.
I remember the old milk with cream on top that I sucked up first. Mom wanted it mixed---TOO bad!
Dad drove for a lot of ice cream companies and brought home a big can of pure cream. Whipped and some I made into butter. Life was good until I spilled some on the floor. Is that stuff hard to clean up.
Sealtest ice cream sucked and Harwill's the best at the time. So much ice cream today is sad. Isaly's had good and good sliders cheap to eat a bunch. I think they made the first chocolate covered bars, still found today. What are they? Klondike or something.
Then the hot dog inn where a dog was smothered in home made chilly for 25 cents. Buy a huge bag for $5 to feed everyone.
But deer family has no fat good at all. Meat gets tough fast. Most fat is like candle wax. Has to be HOT.
Best for deer steak is to cover with a rub. Toss into a smoking cast iron skillet with some oil, Blacken 4 minutes a side and leave it pink in the middle.
Grill a back strap on high heat but never done gray inside. Need juice.

[44man]

I have gotten bad about burger lately, some with no flavor at all. I don't let carol buy low fat junk. Some fast food places are still OK but some suck. Cardboard. Sausage the same, hate the maple stuff. Bacon is life. Carol gripes about fat bacon but it is pig belly. I don't want dry bacon either or cooked to a chip. I want eggs fried in bacon fat or real butter. Deep fry in lard.
I grind deer but add beef fat or pig fat. She makes a lot of stuff with burger but I give most to my dog. I have lost my taste for most. It is hard to taste real meat.

[TCLouis]

AMMOHEAD

I am so glad I did not have a mouth full of any liquid when I read that!

[MostlyLeverGuns]

Haven't had to eat beef since 1980. Elk, antelope, deer and 1 moose have been most of what we eat. A willow fed bull moose may have had the best flavor. Cow elk tends to have a milder flavor than the bigger bulls. Older animals are tougher, but that is true for beef also. Beef seems flavorless compared to the game meats. My wife prefers doe antelope over most of the rest. Careful processing after cleanly killing are very important.

[BrentD]

BrentD
Is that fresh killed Moose and Moose fat


Ammohead

Thanx for providing a really good laugh

Yup. It's the best kind:)