quote:

Originally posted by Die Ou Jagter:
Andrew above I mentioned the best and worst venison I had in Africa which was Mt Reedbuck. The best was a roasted haunch with roasted root vegies and the worst was Mt Reedbuck "potjies". I am sure it was in the prep and maybe ageing.

DOJ,

I'm sure that after hunting and eating what I hunt for about 50 years I can say that 'I know the basics'? The "How to Treat Venison for Optimum Tastiness" will take a long thread all on its own. But IMHO the single biggest factor that adversely affects the taste of venison is wounding the animal! And I'm not even talking of only the tainting that the intestinal contents of a gut-shot animal gives to virtually the whole carcass. Even a shot like a to high neck-shot that merely stuns the animal that gets up and runs away imparts an "adrenalin" taint to the whole carcass. I have experienced this so many times - I can even detect that taste in the biltong (sometimes) - that there is no doubt that good venison starts with a good shot! An instant or near instant killing shot is absolutely essential if you want to get the true - lovely - taste of the venison. Secondary to this, it is quite true that ageing and other aspects of carcass handling also play a role in the eventual taste. But overriding all is not wounding the animal, and most definitely don’t gut-shoot any animal if you want to eat it!

You are quite correct in saying that mountain reedbuck does have an excellent venison! Sometimes even better than springbok? I’m not quite sure which is consistently ‘my’ best, but springbok, mountain reedbok and a few more are contestants for second place. First place? By a long way a bushpig that was properly hunted and killed without knowing what hit it takes the first place in the good taste stakes.


In good hunting and eating.

Andrew McLaren

I will second that Andrew. Anything that has the lights turned off in an instant can be eaten for supper that night. All are good to eat, but my favourites are equally; springbuck, young warthog, kudu, bushbuck, grey duiker, southern mountain reedbuck and if a client dropped a blue duiker, I made damn sure that went to the kichen. An excellent item of fare, although not obtained too often down here, and I will accept them with both hands, hippo fillets [back straps.] Right, with that, I will have to see what is in the freezers.

My favourite game meat is sea food, followed by duck, (preferably wild), followed by francolin, followed by a piece of properly dry aged fillet of cow, and only then comes eland, springbok, hartebeest and the others. I quite enjoy zebra but one has to be extremely careful to remove ALL that yellow fat before cooking)

I've never had a piece of hippo that I could even stomach but it could be that the secret is in the cooking of it.

Alexander Lake had a recipe for smoked hippo where it took several months from kill to plate and maybe reading that rather put me off!

I'll also agree that the most important thing is putting their lights out completely with the first shot..... and add that taking that shot before the animal even becomes aware of anything untoward is equally important.

Guys

The best meat by far is bushpig hunted in cornfield and orange tree.Spitbraai the whole pig or pieces of it.Then second is springbuck or common reedbuck then gemsbuck.I can go on for pages about how to make any game meat eatable but one of the best is backstrap cordon blues I make man o man thats almost better then........... cant say that on an open forum.

Then im in total agreement with andrew about shot placement how its skinned and aging of the meat.Then a small tip guys dont wash the animal of with water immiadetly after skinning it if possable let it dry ourside of your coldroom before putting it into the coldroom.

Luan

I'd forgotten about bushpig and would put that right up alongside eland as a great eater..... esp when cooked a la' Luan!

As with all meat, it get's better if it's allowed to age properly and at the right temperature!

Bushpig?? I once watched the beggars scrapping over the maggots in a long dead stinking cow. I cannot say that I have ever been too keen to get into re-processed protein since. FRIGGEN YUK!!!

I will have to disagree with eating any meat the day it is killed, with the excveption of organ meat. Liver is especially best when eaten within hours of the kill. Hippo backstraps are excellent marinated for a day or so and grilled over an open flame. We had Grysbok soup which was excellent, it looked like gravy with a few veggies. The best Zebra backstap I ever had was "chicken" fried and served with a wedge of lemon.

Scriptus

We know that you guys in the cape arent use to the best things in life hey like shouting for the stormers but if you around lydenburg area give me a call i will introduce you to the best things in life bulls brandy and bushpigs the three b

Luan

quote:

Originally posted by luan:
Scriptus

We know that you guys in the cape arent use to the best things in life hey like shouting for the stormers but if you around lydenburg area give me a call i will introduce you to the best things in life bulls brandy and bushpigs the three b

Luan

Mate, was the fact that you missed the letters h, i & t off of the first of your Bs a typo?

More seriously,

Scriptus, you won't be disappointed Luan's hospitality and culinary skills are as immense as the man himself is!

Just don't expect to drive anywhere afterwards!

no body is that good a cook!!! Luan is so big he has his own zip code

quote:

Originally posted by ddrhook:
no body is that good a cook!!!

Believe me buddy, he really is that good a cook........ but don't ever expect him to feed you croc because he prefers to feed 'em fishing tackle rather than catch 'em!

Meat tastes great when it is handled correctly from the time from the kill to the plate.A simple process that very few can get right.I've eaten meat from professional butchers who were in business for over 30yrs and who had articles written about them in newspapers and their meat stunk.There are times when meat from the supermarket stinks.I've also thrown away an entire freezer full of acribou meat that was ruined by a butcher.I would like to compliment the meat people at the Makuti camp.All the meat I ate during my stay there tasted great including the old Kudu I shot-those kudu BBQ steaks where great.

I'm not going to mention croc fishing when I'm around Luan I don't want to become croc bait!!!

well some day in the not to distant future I hope to be able to try some of his cooking!!!

quote:

Originally posted by shootaway:
Meat tastes great when it is handled correctly from the time from the kill to the plate.A simple process that very few can get right.I've eaten meat from professional butchers who were in business for over 30yrs and who had articles written about them in newspapers and their meat stunk.There are times when meat from the supermarket stinks.I've also thrown away an entire freezer full of acribou meat that was ruined by a butcher.I would like to compliment the meat people at the Makuti camp.All the meat I ate during my stay there tasted great including the old Kudu I shot-those kudu BBQ steaks where great.

You are so right there, it never ceases to amaze me how people can ruin a good piece of meat, Just help me out with the acribou meat?
Jaa Boet! Luan, if you drink enough reject wine [brandy], you'll shout for and at anything, including dimwits argueing over an odd shaped ball, and eat anything, including carrion eating hogs. As for the best things in life, anyone surrounded by miles of potatoes has yet to figure that one out?

Steve

Man im going to take you crocodile fishing in the next month dont worry about bait i have it already.See you friday for a bit of talking

Ddr hook i hope to see you soon it will be great having a chat and a few fishing stories.

Scriptus like some of my old rugby friends from WP say luan we cant learn you culture but you sure can use up our supplly of brandy.

Luan

quote:

Originally posted by luan:
Steve

dont worry about bait i have it already.See you friday for a bit of talking Luan

Oooooooh shit, that doesn't sound too good!

I'll look forward to Friday my friend!

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:

quote:

Originally posted by luan:
Steve

dont worry about bait i have it already.See you friday for a bit of talking Luan

Oooooooh shit, that doesn't sound too good!

I'll look forward to Friday my friend!

AAAaahhh, Saturday! AAAaahhh Grandpas, Panados, any damn thing, and for heaven's sake, who the hell is talking so damn loud?

Steve
Didn't Luan say if we did not stop teasing him about losing croc gear he was going to use us as croc bait????? You might want to take backup with you Friday!! if she is not upset with you at the time. if you are on her bad side she will help Luan feed you to the crocs. OPPPS i mean help him with bait for the crocs.
get the aspirin really I bet there will be a hangover on Sat. morning

Mate, the Saint says I'm worth more dead than alive and that I'm in shit order nowadays. So Luan is welcome to me!

way to go Mom

quote:

Originally posted by fairgame:
2. Pressed Hippo tongue in a mustard and onion sandwich.

Sign me up for that one.

quote:

Originally posted by JBrown:
I wouldn't eat croc. As MR says, you have to draw the line somewhere.

Only had the tail and it was very good.

the croc I have eaten was very tasty indeed.

I'll chime in on the "where to draw the line" debate. I had some bee larvae with the trackers and game scout in Zambia once. That was over the line. I always said I'd eat anything not moving fast enough to get away. I've had to change that to I'll eat any vertebrate not moving fast enough to get away.

My vote for best is "Namibian dessert steak". That is fillet of gemsbok soaked in cream and garlic for a couple of days then BBQ'd rare Served sliced thin right off the fire with cold beer following supper.

Dean

quote:

Originally posted by maki:
I'll chime in on the "where to draw the line" debate. I had some bee larvae with the trackers and game scout in Zambia once. That was over the line. I always said I'd eat anything not moving fast enough to get away. I've had to change that to I'll eat any vertebrate not moving fast enough to get away.

My vote for best is "Namibian dessert steak". That is fillet of gemsbok soaked in cream and garlic for a couple of days then BBQ'd rare Served sliced thin right off the fire with cold beer following supper.

Dean

Had Mopani Worm Larvae in Namibia stripped through the teeth off the leaves. Sweet and tasty.

I enjoyed gemsbok, and surprisingly enjoyed Impala liver. Nothing on the planet, IMHO, compares with eland filet. As far as the coolest experience, my Masai tracker Daniel cooked the heart of my kongoni over miombo coals, 25 min after i shot it. Really neat to share the fresh kill with the whole crew, right where it fell.

quote:

Originally posted by AnotherAZWriter:
I am surprised no one has mentioned ox tail soup made from buffalo.

For all the ranting, I don't know why the fuss for eland. I think hartebeeste and impala are as good.

The trick is not to overcook game. But then, some tricks seem like miracles in Africa.

Yes. The buff tail soup is delicious, and I also agree on the other two. I think the best I've ever had was Lichtenstein's hartebeest in the Selous. It was absolutely delightful.

I second the vote on heart I love fresh heart as well

I also would not eat a waterbuck, although some do. Their bodies are full of parasites. We have found an astounding number of worms in them.

I am very much in agreement with those who enjoy buffalo tail soup. Very tasty.

As was stated many times,,,nothing goes to waste.. I was excited to try as many game animals as possible on my trip. I had Eland, Gemsbok, Kudu, and Springbok. All were very tasty.

Thompsons Gazelle "tommy chops" freshly grilled are hard to beat any where in the world.

Some of my favorites are gemsbok filet, eland, mountain zebra and implala. I've had liver from a handful of different game animals and loved them all. I see several mention Springbok but to me it tastes just like whitetail, which ranks as just OK with me when compared to most of the African game meats I've had. I put kudu right along there as well.

I had crocodile at the Victoria Falls Hotel and the waiter took great delight in asking me if it tasted like chicken or fish as most guests put in one of the two categories. I found it almost tasteless. It requires a fair amount of seasoning as it is very blan.

The best meat I think I've ever had is what can be best described as mystery meat. My wife and I stopped off in Vaughan Fulton's Salambala camp while driving through the Caprivi on our way to Victoria Falls. Vaughan cooked a large filet on the fire that night and when I asked what we were having he and his hunter just chuckled and said they didn't know. It seems his camp staff had failed to pay attention to what game meat they were buying in Katima Mulilo. We "think" it was either eland or wildebeest, but either way it was probably the best meat I've ever eaten.

quote:

Originally posted by Jorge400:
I had crocodile at the Victoria Falls Hotel and the waiter took great delight in asking me if it tasted like chicken or fish as most guests put in one of the two categories. I found it almost tasteless. It requires a fair amount of seasoning as it is very blan.

I don't eat flatdog at all nowadays but when I did, I always thought it was like eating wet cardboard...... almost as tasteless as tuna.

In Tanzania, my PH and trackers favored Hartebeest as the best eating and I must say I have to agree with them. They made me oxtail soup, tongue and tripe from my buffalo. The tripe was a little a barnyard tasting. They also made me a bolognese (meat) sauce from my Zebra. All of the antelope are great eating from my experience (impala, eland, kudu, bush buck, etc.) Avoid waterbuck - they stink. I had bushpig but not warthog. If you are in a camp with a good cook they will cook anything you ask.

The best meat I have had in Africa are in this order, impala liver with onions, croc tail, and warthog. Fresh croc tail steaks are a lot like sword fish, but much better. That said, nothing beats a good corn fed beef steak.

I don't claim to be an expert on African game meat, but I'd take Zebra backstrap and put it up against any steak I've ever eaten and that includes steaks in many of the "name" steakhouses in NYC. I also like Oryx and Kudu in that order. I've always found eland to be a bit too mild for my tastes. Many cooks in Africa use the European style of drenching the meat in sauce......not to my tastes, except for a change of pace. I prefer it nearly raw with a bit of salt IF the meat has been well taken care of from time of kill.

Have to agree, nothing is worse than over cooking. Nearly raw is better.

Huge eland stakes on the brai.....

I also like some of the home made sausages that we have come accross occasionally. Last august atthe Challenge Hunt one of the RSA team made his own boereworst and puff adder sausage. I'm going to have a go atthe puff adder with some fallow deer when I get a chance.

K

Same answer every time this thread emerges:

1. Filet mignon of Lord Derby Eland (with a nice red wine).
2. Buffalo steak (with fried egg and chips (fries) and an ice cold local beer).