buying game meat

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  • rmocarsky

    Active Member
    Apr 20, 2011
    294
    I have noticed that various game meats are available online but at an exorbitant price.

    I have always wanted to taste elk, but cannot afford a hunt out west.

    Nor do I wish to pay the online asking price.

    I have 2 questions:

    1. The price to harvest a cow elk at a preserve in PA start around $1300. I believe that would be less expensive than purchasing the comparable amount of elk meat from online merchants. And I am pretty sure it is much less expensive than an out west hunt.

    2. I wonder if the taste would be the same as a truly wild cow elk or if being in captivity would alter the flavor of the table fare.

    Now, I know that the preserve is not hunting, but harvesting livestock, so don't crack on me for that.

    I am just trying to find out the most economical way to obtain the elk meat.

    Rmocarsky
     

    outrider58

    Eats Bacon Raw
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 29, 2014
    49,818
    I have noticed that various game meats are available online but at an exorbitant price.

    I have always wanted to taste elk, but cannot afford a hunt out west.

    Nor do I wish to pay the online asking price.

    I have 2 questions:

    1. The price to harvest a cow elk at a preserve in PA start around $1300. I believe that would be less expensive than purchasing the comparable amount of elk meat from online merchants. And I am pretty sure it is much less expensive than an out west hunt.

    2. I wonder if the taste would be the same as a truly wild cow elk or if being in captivity would alter the flavor of the table fare.

    Now, I know that the preserve is not hunting, but harvesting livestock, so don't crack on me for that.

    I am just trying to find out the most economical way to obtain the elk meat.

    Rmocarsky

    Safe bet it does. How bad do you want it? AFAIK, you can't buy wild game meat on the open market. It has to be USDA. If I'm wrong, someone prove it.
     

    AlBeight

    Member
    MDS Supporter
    Mar 30, 2017
    4,383
    Hampstead
    Cabelas X’mas catalog sells all types of wild game meats, bison, elk, antelope, venison. Steaks, jerky, etc... Prices are high (obviously), but not as high as I thought they’d be. Would be a good test-run/taste-test for someone considering a very expensive hunting trip.
     

    rmocarsky

    Active Member
    Apr 20, 2011
    294
    Outrider,

    Your answer "safe bet it does."

    Does what? Taste the same as wild or alter the table fare?

    Also, do a google search for elk meat for sale. There are several providers that sell all kinds of game meat.

    Rmocarsky
     

    outrider58

    Eats Bacon Raw
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 29, 2014
    49,818
    Outrider,

    Your answer "safe bet it does."

    Does what? Taste the same as wild or alter the table fare?

    Also, do a google search for elk meat for sale. There are several providers that sell all kinds of game meat.

    Rmocarsky

    Sorry. My feeling, it will not taste the same as wild game, nor will it taste like beef(or goat or lamb). It might taste better. Wild game varies within the same species, depending on their prominent diet, and that's the heart of my point. Will you be able to tell the difference? I have no clue.
     

    HeatSeeker

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 18, 2012
    3,058
    Maryland
    I'd love to hunt sika deer but have zero knowledge of them or where to even start.

    It's a bucket list thing for me
    Similar to hunting whitetail but it is fairly confined to the lower eastern shore counties. Cambridge, Vienna, Mardela Springs areas is a good place to start and don't forget your waders.
     

    tallen702

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Sep 3, 2012
    5,102
    In the boonies of MoCo
    Domestically raised "game" meats definitely don't taste the same as actual wild game. Depending on how your flavor preferences run, they may taste better since they aren't as "gamey" due to the grain-based diet and relatively low amount of exercise they get (they don't have to run from predators as much). Also, add in the fact that the vast majority of cervids taken for food during hunting season are full of hormones (it's the rut or near enough after all) and the fact that commercially-available game meat is generally cultivated from younger animals outside the mating season, and you can see that the flavor profiles are going to be very different. I've known guys who have hunted their entire lives say that commercially available meat has "no flavor" due to the lack of gaminess. Others say that it has a much more delicate flavor and needs to be treated like your leaner cuts of beef (they are correct in the need for gentler cooking methods).

    As for "Elk" specifically. If it's from D'Artagnan or Cervena, it's going to be different from what we consider elk in this country. In the US, the Western Elk is the species we think of. Most, if not all of the Elk found on the commercial market is from New Zeland and is a cross breed of European Red Deer and Roosevelt Elk (native to the Pac. NW). It was long believed (until 1998 to be exact) that American Elk were simply a sub-species of European Red Deer, but it turns out that they are in fact, two different species. Fossil Farms states that they carry domestic Elk (Rocky Mountain Elk) raised in the US and Canada, but I've sometimes received packages from them with the Cerena label on it meaning that they don't always have it in stock.

    All that said, it should be noted that elk from PA aren't going to taste the same as elk from the Rockies. Different terrain, different predators, different feedstocks, etc. are all going to make a difference in how it tastes. And if you're doing a canned hunt up there (preserve hunt) instead of tapping into their introduced population, it's going to taste about the same as the stuff you can buy in the store as it's been grain fed for at least part of its diet.
     

    wilcam47

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 4, 2008
    25,979
    Changed zip code
    Safe bet it does. How bad do you want it? AFAIK, you can't buy wild game meat on the open market. It has to be USDA. If I'm wrong, someone prove it.
    most states its illegal to sell game meat, unless you are a certified farm and get the proper permits or whatever they need.

    Outrider,

    Your answer "safe bet it does."

    Does what? Taste the same as wild or alter the table fare?

    Also, do a google search for elk meat for sale. There are several providers that sell all kinds of game meat.

    Rmocarsky
    Ive talked to some that say farm raised elk is bland and no flavor. To say you've ate elk meat from a farm is not the same as a wild free range animal. Cows are the best tasting in the wild IMO. Im hoping to get a shot on one here starting tomorrow thru the 8th for our first muzzleloader season in a number of years.
     

    scout6

    Active Member
    Sep 28, 2016
    599
    Ceciltucky
    Schedule a vacation in Vancouver, BC and drive up to Whistler Mountain. Beautiful country , get some skiing in, and enjoy some yummy elk. Tasted a lot like beef with a hint of venison.
     

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    tallen702

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Sep 3, 2012
    5,102
    In the boonies of MoCo
    Safe bet it does. How bad do you want it? AFAIK, you can't buy wild game meat on the open market. It has to be USDA. If I'm wrong, someone prove it.

    You are correct that market hunting (selling meat harvested from the wild by a hunter) is illegal in all 50 states. As for the USDA, it has to come from a USDA inspected facility domestically, or undergo USDA inspection if coming from another country (eg NZ). However, it doesn't have to be "USDA graded" (eg Prime, Select, Choice, etc.) just like not all beef has to be USDA graded.
     

    Jarhead FLSTI

    Active Member
    Aug 31, 2008
    804
    Glen Burnie
    I grew up in the mountains in the middle of nowhere in Colorado with a father that was an avid hunter. I don't think I knew what beef tasted like until I was 6 or 7 years old. We always had deer, elk, rabbit...

    Earlier this year I tried farm raised elk and it tasted more like beef than the elk that I'm familiar with. I guess I can also say the same thing about the mule deer in Colorado compared to the white tail here.
     

    GutPile

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 4, 2016
    3,218
    Cheaper to just get an out of state tag for an over the counter state like CO or ID and go for some public land with an outfitter for elk. Though the PA lottery is tempting. 100 tags out of 27K though.
     

    Biggfoot44

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 2, 2009
    32,884
    I've eaten wild Elk , hunting preserve Elk , and commercial Elk .

    Won't say all was identical ( actual wild varies a lot in itself) , but it all was recognizable as being Elk as opposed to beef.
     

    Derwood

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 2, 2011
    1,075
    DC area
    Depending where you're located, there is a pretty convenient option for getting unusual meats in this area: A butcher shop in the Del Rey section of Alexandria, VA sells all sorts of stuff. It's called "Let's Meat on the Avenue" because it's located on Mt. Vernon Avenue. Just call ahead to make sure they have in stock what you want to eat. They'll order just about any species for you if they don't have it in their freezer.

    As others have observed, selling game meat that is harvested from wild animals (e.g. market hunting) is unlawful. The venison etc that you see on menus or the grocery store is from farm/enclosure-raised animals.

    FWIW I think others' reports about varying tastes in the same species is true. I took a deer this year that had been eating corn (I know because I saw in its stomach) and it tastes different than the one I took that was eating white oak acorns (I'm again sure if the diet). The corn animal had a little bit lighter color to its flesh. That could be due to differences in the animals' age too.

    I've heard that deer that have been eating red oak acorns vs. white oak can have a noticeably stronger taste but I'm not positive about that.
     

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