Warning: This post contains pictures of raw meat. hee hee
I've had some ask me how I cook all this moose meat God blessed us with this fall. Basically, I just cook it! This is hands down the best meat we have ever had...beef is now a poor 3rd to the moose and mule deer. Our girls love the "wild" meat rather than basic beef.
There are some important things to know: the moose and mule deer were fed in natural meadows, as organic as it comes. They were "harvested" with very little stress (if they run, the adrenaline gets into their meat and you will taste it). We cleaned them immediately and took them to hang in a cooler, they were not just chucked around and bruised, they bled out nicely. They were free from a bunch of dirt, etc. All these things make your meat very natural tasting and almost "sweet".
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| A good facility that is cool and clean is so important. |
We learned that using water to wash it can also make it tough, so having little dirt/hair from the start is a real bonus. Little tricks from others that have been doing this for their livelihood!
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| A happy constitution is also important |
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Can't say enough about good packaging. Good wrapping keeps air out.
No freezer burnt meat. Use a paper based tape/masking tape or the plastic taste
may get into your meat. |
When we were doing up the meat, we would take a few trays of meat to the freezer at one time...lie it out as flat as possible, let it freeze, then add more. Make sure the blood is drained out, as blood leaking out of your wrapping is never appealing . We let our meat hang in a cooler for a few days, so blood was not an issue for us....I don't think I could have stomached that when we were cutting it up. It also makes it easier to remove one package at a time, and your freezer doesn't have to work so hard to freeze it all at once.
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Take your time cutting meat. The nicer it is going into the freezer,
the better it will be coming out. We tried to trim everything off, but this
little bit of white was not noticeable once cooked. |
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This roast I added French Onion Soup mix, some seasoning salt, onions and
some rosemary. I put a little water in the roaster as I was adding potatoes later. |
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| I cooked it at 350F for about 1 hour (from frozen) and then added the potatoes, onions, carrots. |
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| All finished, it was so tender! |
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I used an electric knife to slice. Our company is always amazed that it doesn't
taste "wild" and they all go for second helpings. |
I cook moose and deer the same way I do beef. Onion soup mix is a wonderful addition. Don't undercook wild meat, but don't cook it to death either...then it is jerky! It took us a few days (and some help from some Alberta cousins) to cut up all the moose...we were getting better at it in the end. It's all about learning!
THRIFTY NOTE: The moose/deer all said and done, hunting license, 2 bullets,gas, packing paper and tape, cost about $75 for 400 lbs of meat. There is still tape and packing left over.
