Moose

[7rider]

Anyone have any experience with game?

A co-worker is a hunter and bagged a moose. Various pieces were in the freezer (professionally butchered) for the taking. I took home a package with a half dozen small medallions, labelled "outterloin/backstrap".

I had venison once and I think elk. Never moose.
Any ideas what I should do with it?? :confused:
Any special prep needed?
Should I have taken the package labelled "hamburger" instead???

[Eden]

My in laws live in Maine and my father in law has hunted moose. I've cooked it a couple of times. Moose is extremely lean so you have to treat it carefully or it will get totally dried out and tough. Grinding it up and mixing it with another meat is certainly not a bad idea -especially if you want to attempt patties, meatballs or meatloaf. Moose doesn't have enough fat to stick to itself uncut. I made chili out of straight up ground moose that wasn't bad.

He also gave us some venison - pretty dry too. I marinated it in wine and baking soda after pounding it with a tenderizing mallet. I believe I pan fried it with some mushrooms - kind of like deer marsala.... I seem to remember it was pretty good and tender.

[shootingstar]

Moose is extremely lean so you have to treat it carefully or it will get totally dried out and tough. Grinding it up and mixing it with another meat is certainly not a bad idea -especially if you want to attempt patties, meatballs or meatloaf. Moose doesn't have enough fat to stick to itself uncut. I made chili out of straight up ground moose that wasn't bad.

Unlike farmed animals like bison which are raised on ranch, one wonders these days those who do hunt wild things like moose. :confused:

Anyway, I'm not a vegetarian.

Moose sounds as lean as bison which makes it a healthy red meat. (We buy from a rancher in Alberta.) My partner's son invented a cool recipe which is not written down anywhere but we've used several times. The bison is marinated in a good amount of liquid mixture which has water, some soy sauce, maple syrup, honey, balsamic vinegar, smashed minced ginger root, garlic and thyme. I can't remember whatever else. Make sure all of the meat is immersed. Marinated for 24 hrs. to tenderize. Then it is carefully panfried at medium heat with onions, garlic so it's not overcooked. Otherwise it gets tough. Marinade looks like alot of stuff but then my partner makes this dish and likes to be creative with his marinades. It is delicious and elegant to have.

Lovely with wild rice or brown rice on side. Or roasted veggies.

[Biciclista]

anything is good in tomato sauce.
But tenderloin medallions, I'd barbeque those little darlings. if it's tough, bread and then brown it, then simmer in broth for an hour..

It's probably closer to Elk than Venison.

[SadieKate]

. . . one wonders these days those who do hunt wild things like moose. :confused:You are joking, aren't you? :confused:

[Becky]

Unlike farmed animals like bison which are raised on ranch, one wonders these days those who do hunt wild things like moose. :confused:

I'd rather see game animals hunted to manage population than allowed to run amok and starve to death.

Every year, DH and I get a deer from a friend who hunts. We get a phone call telling us when to pick it up from the butcher shop :)

[shootingstar]

You are joking, aren't you? :confused:

I guess I personally don't know any hunters, except for a few who fish. For 10 years my dearie raised cattle (for meat), some pigs and chickens --a life prior to his cycling passion now. Latter 2 animals was for family only.

Agree that wild need to be managed.

Just a passing comment, Sadie. Would you have said this to someone who made same comment but was vegetarian? For past few years, I eat meat but alot less..1-2 times per wk. A trend partially out of laziness and also cost-savings.

Sure I'll try a broad range of meat. But probably wouldn't eat much overall as part of regular diet.

[badger]

a coworker of mine hunts for bullwinkle every year. He says it's much less gamey than bambi. He's offered me some, but I'm not a huge meat person so I declined.

[SadieKate]

Just a passing comment, Sadie. Would you have said this to someone who made same comment but was vegetarian? For past few years, I eat meat but alot less..1-2 times per wk. A trend partially out of laziness and also cost-savings. I truly couldn't figure out your comment! And yes, I'd say it to a vegetarian. I have vegetarian friends who know that wild populations must be managed. We've killed off the predators and provided lots of tasty food (golf courses, urban gardens, alfalfa fields, etc.)

[7rider]

a coworker of mine hunts for bullwinkle every year. He says it's much less gamey than bambi. He's offered me some, but I'm not a huge meat person so I declined.

I took the package more out of curiosity. DH doesn't share my culinary curiosity on this one. :rolleyes:


Please...I don't want to see this become an ethical debate. I am just looking for ideas. Thanks.

[Possegal]

My cousin has a hunting lodge in BC and he hunts moose a lot. I know he's given some of the meat to my brothers but I've never had any. If he were one of the fam online, I'd email him and ask how he prepares it. But he is not. I'll ask his brother if he knows though. I'm not sure my brothers ever ate it. Probably still in their freezers. :)

[e.e.cummings]

Growing up in Newfoundland, we ate moose every year in season, we always knew someone who had a moose license and gave us some steaks. It was really good, my dad always managed to cook the steaks very tender and juicy - I wish I knew his secret, he could make beef liver taste wonderful. He would fry it up on a very hot cast iron frying pan and serve with fried onions. Very good - have not had it for years. Bon apetit!

[malkin]

I'd ask Chef Google, and pick something that sounded good.

[maillotpois]

I ate roadkill moose in northern Maine once. It was quite good. According to the locals, Canadians come down and drive too fast and often hit a moose, then the locals run out and cut it up and freeze it before it has a chance to go bad. Waste not...

[newfsmith]

Wait a minute, I thought it was always the " 'assachusetts" drivers that took care of the speeding in NH and ME.

[badger]

Wait a minute, I thought it was always the " 'assachusetts" drivers that took care of the speeding in NH and ME.

I've always hated driving long distance on any highway because inevitably everyone zooms past me even when I'm doing 10-20% over the limit. Then I read this joke by Jeff Foxworthy about Canadians driving way too fast, so I guess we do.

I remember one time in the snow in the dusk, I was trying so hard to follow the others so I can have their tail lights as a guide, but they just bomb down the highway like their pants were on fire.


p.s. I had always heard that hitting a moose by car is pretty much fatal as you knock them out on their skinny legs and their body crashes onto the hood of the car, crushing the occupants.


p.p.s. anyone here ever heard of Fergus the Forager (http://www.wildmanwildfood.com/)? He pretty much lives off the land, and that includes eating fresh roadkill. If I were an animal who had the bad luck of being killed by a car, I'd want my flesh to go to good use.

I also found this on google while searching for Fergus: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zMo1j4G7EM

[bmccasland]

I don't have experience in cooking moose, but I have cooked elk - used to get 15 lbs of elk meat for Christmas every year from a neighbor. Anyway, I found that I could substitute elk for beef in most recipies EXCEPT where one might consider the sauce "delicate". Lets just say Chinese broccoli elk (instead of broccoli beef) stir fry was not to be repeated. :rolleyes:

Elk Stroganoff was really tasty. So was elk chilli, elk stew, and the ever popular elk burgers. :D

So I would guess that maybe moose would be the same for elk from what you've described. Elk meat is a bit stronger taste than your average beef cow, so delicate sauces would be overpowered by the meat taste. Happy cooking!

[7rider]

I don't have experience in cooking moose, but I have cooked elk - used to get 15 lbs of elk meat for Christmas every year from a neighbor. Anyway, I found that I could substitute elk for beef in most recipies EXCEPT where one might consider the sauce "delicate". Lets just say Chinese broccoli elk (instead of broccoli beef) stir fry was not to be repeated. :rolleyes:

Elk Stroganoff was really tasty. So was elk chilli, elk stew, and the ever popular elk burgers. :D

So I would guess that maybe moose would be the same for elk from what you've described. Elk meat is a bit stronger taste than your average beef cow, so delicate sauces would be overpowered by the meat taste. Happy cooking!

Oooo...good to know! I was considering "Moose and Broccoli" or some such stir fry type dish! thanks... I'm not sure I have a full pound of meat in the package. I'll have to check. The pieces are pretty thin and not "stew meat" chunks. I usually do stroganoff in the crock pot - but most recipes call for 2 lbs. of meat. I wonder if I could put it in the slow cooker with 1 pound of beef and mix it up some??

[Pika]

This was a really timely thread for me as I too was given some moose- I think it is moose steaks and I was wondering about marinading them- thanks for the ideas:)

[badger]

I was talking to the coworker who hunts moose and how he prepares his meat. He said he likes to roast it, but you have to do it in a clay baker, or at the very least a roasting pot with a lid to keep the moisture in.

He gave me some ground moose meat today to try it out. I wonder if I can make shepherd's pie out of it??

[uk elephant]

Being Norwegian, and growing up with a neighbour who hunts moose, I've eaten a fair bit of it. Very tasty stuff! Works brilliantly in slow cooked stews and stroganoff type things. Also roasted moose is delicious, but be careful with timings or it will dry out. I'm afraid I don't know the exact timings. I tried asking my neighbour once, but he just said cook it until its done. He also makes his own moose burgers, but not sure what the ingredients are. If it's anything like Norwegian beef burgers, they will contain ground moose meat, eggs and potato flower for binding, seasoning and milk for flavour. Delicious with a rich gravy and steamed veg, and of course the traditional accompanyments of lingonberry jam or rowan jelly.

[nc tam]

I've been cooking similar cuts of the very lean deer we've gotten this year by putting them in the crock pot with onions and garlic and veggie stock (and sometimes water) to cover. Cook all day on low. Nice treat at the end of a work day. Meat ends up very tender and not dry. Don't see why this wouldn't work for moose. I think the clay baker with lid would work very well too in terms of keeping meat moist and tender. I wonder if a dutch oven with lid in oven on low heat for hours and hours would work, too?

[badger]

I just had my first ever moose meat. I cooked up the ground meat I got into a shepherd's pie. Lots of onions, celery, peas, corn, carrots, and made it quite moist with plenty of water and bisto. I topped it up with yukon gold potatoes and a sweet potato for a hint of sweetness. As the meat was organic, 95% of the rest of the ingredients were also organic.

I brought it into work and shared with 3 coworkers and they raved about it. I would say if nobody told me it was moose, I wouldn't have questioned it. It tasted slightly gamey, but nothing like lamb.