Trick with Caribou is to get the meat processed and cold fast. Gutted and skin off then get the meat off the bone asap then figure out how to cool it quick I usually put it in the lake in dry bags or rubbermaids. To be honest its my favourite meat.
Trick with Caribou is to get the meat processed and cold fast. Gutted and skin off then get the meat off the bone asap then figure out how to cool it quick I usually put it in the lake in dry bags or rubbermaids. To be honest its my favourite meat.
All the caribou that we have had is from early to mid sept and has been skinned and deboned on the spot out of necessity to get into a pack. I rank it in my top 3 favorite wild meats with sheep and pronghorn, so it’s really interesting what could change the meat that quickly. Not doubting it, just interesting.
Most caribou up to mid-late September is excellent meat, one of my favourites. Get it skinned & cooled down right away. De-boned if it’s warm out, full quarters are fine if you can cool them. I’ve left bone in quarters in a snow pack for a week & then hung for 3-4 days at home before butchering and it was as good any game meat.
Try to eat all your frozen caribou meat within 3-4 months. It does go bad in the freezer eventually, no matter how clean it is. But trimming all the fat before wrapping helps. The burger seems to go bad quicker unless it’s pure clean red meat. Making smoked sausage is a good way to stretch it out.
Last edited by BromBones; 02-26-2021 at 11:30 AM.
Nope.
I have killed literally hundreds of caribou. Was tasked with hunting for the very young, and the older infirm folks in an Inuit Community when we lived up that way. And of course the Lady & I filled our own generous tags each and every year.
Most were among the finest tablefare one can imagine. Especially so the late August early September bulls that were flush with fat. Finger lickin' good in fact!
The few we did not care for were those taken into early October. One bull was so bad that when I got it home, I simply tossed it to the wolf dogs. They buried it - and left it for months. Say no more! I never shot another during the rut again. Period.
Time it right they are excellent.
Time it wrong and you'll be like some on this thread: Never Again!
Cheers,
Nog
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVNNhzkJ-UU&feature=related
Egotistical, Self Centered, Son of a Bitch Killer that Doesn't Play Well With Others.
Guess he got to Know me
I never had one taken past mid-September, but taste was great, whether big old bull or just over the 5pt bar.
Rob Chipman
"The idea of wilderness needs no defense, it only needs defenders" - Ed Abbey
"Grown men do not need leaders" - also Ed Abbey
Caribou bulls when in the rut drink the piss from cows.
I have seen it many times.
Early season is best for meat when the bulls are in groups before the rut gets under way.
Shot all of my caribou between Sept 18 and 30 and have never had a bad one. Shoot, skin and debone, meat bags and then packed back to camp and laid on a stack of logs/brush to cool, change the game bag the next day and good to go.
Fine table fare as far as I am concerned. Just like any other animal, after the shot is the most important part of the hunt.
Cheers
SS
When living in Quebec, I hunted caribou several times. The ones taken in late August where always the best / delicious.
I shot one here in BC middle of October and was not impressed...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVNNhzkJ-UU&feature=related
Egotistical, Self Centered, Son of a Bitch Killer that Doesn't Play Well With Others.
Guess he got to Know me