We've been eating Joyce's Valley Cow Moose since we returned from our road trip.

I realize this is not a large number study but this Cow is lightyears better than any Bull I've eaten. She had quite the fat layers.

Anyone else notice a big difference in flavor and tenderness depending on gender?

Cheers
Jim

Hell yes!!! A cow or a yearling spike any time

The same with deer elk even better eating is a calf.

That's why we eat steers or heifers and not bulls....

Tenderness ? The worst for toughness was a doe ! Had to grind up the whole deer , even the liver !! [made great pate]. Can anyone explain that ??

Jim,

I've never shot a cow moose. I've shot a few young bulls and well before the rut plus some older bulls just coming into the the rut. The oldest ones were the best eating with 2+ inches of hard packed fat on the rump. I'm sure those same bulls toward the end of the rut in mid October would be less desirable but shot before Sept 15 they were excellent.

Mark

I too have never shot or eaten a cow moose. My 3 old bulls is the only dining experience on moose for me. One was a Canadian bull and 2 were shiras bulls.

It we can equate elk to your experience then my elk experience is exactly the same. Cows are "usually" more tender than bulls but young bulls are more tender than old cows.

I've seen less difference in buck and doe deer as far as tenderness but of course there are always exceptions.

We save the choice cuts for steaks and roasts and grind the balance with 10% beef suet. I just had moose burgers again last night from my B&C shiras bull. Damn delicious!

Zeke

A big fat cow moose or caribou is about as good as it gets. I've never eaten a bull moose that compares to a barren cow moose or August caribou.

This thread reminds me of my Sept. 2013 BC hunt with my son. Weather delayed our flight in by 4 days and we met our guides who had already been eating from the food stores for 4 days. Ray Collingwood ( outfitter ) met us and said despite the delay to stay and hunt the 10 days booked. We had atrocious weather for the entire hunt, but my son and I each shot a Moose. From the retrieved meat we kept one backstrap on a bench outside the dining cabin, and this was our main fresh meat supply. That meat was simply the most delicious I have ever eaten. My family enjoys and has eaten much venison over time, mainly hunted / shot in NZ, but that Moose backstrap was hands down the best ever. Much better than anything I have consumed in NZ, where I rate Whitetail venison the best of the local stuff. Perhaps that's a result of forage in the North American habitat....??
Our 10 days ended and due to ongoing weather our return flight didn't occur for another 4 days. At this point the food was gone but we were as happy as hell and just carried on hunting. We lived on Coffee, Bannock, tinned plums ( past expiry date ) and that succulent backstrap. After donating most of the meat to our guides we froze 3 backstraps in Smithers and flew them back with us to Vancouver. We donated them to our friends there and spent part of one morning slicing and bagging them for freezing. Someone had let the word out however and as we bagged a constant stream of acquaintances strolled through the door, all wanting a wee bag of meat. We had to hide a couple of bags to ensure our friends got some. Nobody asked whether the Moose was a cow or bull. You could see in their eyes how pleased they were to receive some Moose meat.

I have eaten some excellent pre-rut bulls....... but there is no doubt that the finest moose meat we have had was from mature dry cows. Just outstanding.

My wife and I have taken three moose, two cows and a bull. The bull was a late August kill, maybe 3-4 years old and was outstanding for both tenderness and taste. My wife's cow two years ago was excellent tasting but tough. Not much fat and appeared to be pretty long in the tooth. The cow I killed last year is a twin to the bull in meat quality.

We've taken several caribou, both cows and bulls and all either pre or post rut. All have been outstanding. I like caribou about as well as moose. It seems to run a bit more tender generally.

Killed and eaten three cow moose. I can usually tell if I eat
Bull moose at someone's house. No thanks. For burger I prefer sitka blacktail. But cow moose is good roast! I say yes, there's a difference!

My wife drew 3 cows tags in a row around town and got all 3. I never bothered to kill a bull those years because 1, we had enough meat and 2, the cow meat was much less "gamey" than bull meat.

I shot my biggest bull a couple years ago during the beginning stages of the rut and you can really tell a difference...it's still very good...but just not quite as good.

We only use game meat as well...mostly all moose all year long. With 4 kids (2 teenagers) we couldn't afford not to! haha

We got 2 cow moose 2 years ago and wow if I could get a permit I would quit hunting Bull Moose.

quote:

Originally posted by Fourtyonesix:
Killed and eaten three cow moose. I can usually tell if I eat
Bull moose at someone's house. No thanks. For burger I prefer sitka blacktail. But cow moose is good roast! I say yes, there's a difference!

A huge factor is in the preparation I seen way to many game animals not butchered properly.

Ya it's a factor. So is testosterone of a bull in rut lol

The two best moose I've ever eaten were both of my fall moose. One was a 30 incher and the other was a 70 incher. I think it all depends on how it's taken care of. I've eaten my share of winter cows and they aren't very tasty.

I've never eaten a fall cow moose although I'd like to.

I have always bordered on being a subsistence hunter, It took me a few years to quit being a trophy hunter, but shot some good trophys and had to eat them..

Today I shoot a cow or spike elk, a couple of deer, maybe one buck if he is really big otherwise two does. If I get an opertunity for a moose I want a small bull or a cow. and I look for the fat ones, I'll pass on a thin trophy...

.My heart doc put me on 6 oz. of beef a week and Im a meat eater, so Im after prime meat these days, no more stinking rutting bulls or bucks. I am perfectly content with it, and feel good about leaving those big ones for someone who will appreciate them more than I.

quote:

Originally posted by Atkinson:
I have always bordered on being a subsistence hunter, It took me a few years to quit being a trophy hunter, but shot some good trophys and had to eat them..

Today I shoot a cow or spike elk, a couple of deer, maybe one buck if he is really big otherwise two does. If I get an opertunity for a moose I want a small bull or a cow. and I look for the fat ones, I'll pass on a thin trophy...

.My heart doc put me on 6 oz. of beef a week and Im a meat eater, so Im after prime meat these days, no more stinking rutting bulls or bucks. I am perfectly content with it, and feel good about leaving those big ones for someone who will appreciate them more than I.

Ray

find another heart doctor-----just sayin