50 lbs ground moose - what to do?

[Sharpish]

I have 50-75 lbs of frozen packages of ground moose from last year that I don't know what to do with. I love the steaks, roasts and chops but the ground has a mild but unpleasant 'moosey' flavour I can't get over. Every year is the same. Any suggestions? I don't need 75 lbs of pepperoni but maybe a batch of sausages from a local butcher? I want to eat the moose but I don't want to pay a couple hundred for sausage and have it still be unpalatable to me. I'm in victoria if anyone knows of a meister nearby.

[S.W.A.T.]

Jerky or burger

[Squamch]

Jerky is good. I'll adopt some of it if you're really pressed though!
For sausage, I would avoid the new butcher who is on the saanich peninsula. He gave us cold (not frozen) sausage, and our pepperoni was loose in a cardboard box. The guy on the malahat is good.

[Steeleco]

Find a guy to make sausage etc then give him 20lb (usually minimum) and see if you like it, if you do, go back!!

[HappyJack]

Next time make sure they don't put any trim in your burger....I'd say offer to donate it to some poor old vegetarian [bad hunter]

[chilcotin hillbilly]

If it was cut at a butcher. The Salvation Army has been taking donations.

[swampthing]

Too bad it turned out gamey! I haven't had a gamey animal since the 80s!

[tigrr]

Next time ask for it extra lean. It actually smells better. Some mix it 50/50 with beef and make burgers and such. Chili and spaghetti sauce hide it too.

[Sharpish]

Thanks for the suggestions! The steaks and roasts were delectable, they had a distinct "moosey" flavour which was pleasant. I think the suggestion to avoid trim and extra lean would remove the strong game smell and taste from the ground. Next time!

For now I will take it in and get some chorizo and smokies made up that will mask it a bit.

[srupp]

German dinner sausage or Italian breakfast sausage.
Srupp

[Hillerbillyvan]

I'd probably try experimenting with spices at home, can do it 1lb at a time till you find something that suits your taste, I make spicy moose tacos or burgers almost weakly with piles of spices like peri or ceyanne
if not into hot just work your way through herbs,garlic,sauces,soups,pastas etc

[patbrennan]

Berryman`s is reputed to be very good and does game meat.

[Greenthumbed]

Check this shop out. It's on Oak Bay ave. I go there every time I'm in Victoria. http://www.thewholebeast.ca

[ryanb]

Not my recipe, but one I found online and make all the time with gamey meat.

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showthread.php?t=202935

[high and to the right]

As much as you don't want to waste meat, I would recommend that you not force yourself to eat it. If you have a family that is turned off by the taste or the smell when it cooks, you may must find yourself fighting a battle for the rest of your life to keep them supportive of your love of hunting. "You're not going to shoot another stinky moose are you". "You're not going to bring another rotten moose into my house". etc. You know that it's just moosy tasting from the rut or from bad butchering but it doesn't matter if it is good healthy meat if it doesn't taste good.
But, there are people who like a stronger taste in their animals. Consider giving your meat to someone who will appreciate it, or who is going through a financial dry spell and would appreciate any food that would help with their bottom line.
Or if you are really stuck - enter a chilly cook off contest and put in enough spices to kill a moose. lol

[BromBones]

I find the best way to use 'gamey' burger (or stew meat) is to cook it up into a stew & can it, if you have a pressure canner. Go heavy on the onions & garlic, and lots of spices. Will hide most strong game flavors & last a very long time.

Jerky and pepperoni works too but I can only eat so much of it.

[blackhawk19]

give glenwood a call

[guntech]

Don't know what you are doing to get such gamey moose... haven't had a bad one in many years.

Quite possible you will not find anyone willing to re process ground meat... I always had my 'extra' meat frozen in chunks because of that... Ground meat once ground, packaged and frozen is not the safest if thawed and reprocessed. The processors I have used in the past don't recommend it and would not do it.

[Mosin]

Jerky man!! Do you have a grinder? Maybe grind up some jalapeno and onion and mix it with the burger before putting it thru the jerky gun, it worked for me quite well. I know what you mean about the burger having a flavour to it, my next batch I might add some ground pork to it as well...and oh, garlic powder is your friend

[Sharpish]

Don't know what you are doing to get such gamey moose... haven't had a bad one in many years.

Quite possible you will not find anyone willing to re process ground meat... I always had my 'extra' meat frozen in chunks because of that... Ground meat once ground, packaged and frozen is not the safest if thawed and reprocessed. The processors I have used in the past don't recommend it and would not do it.

The moose are never gamey. Like I said, the steaks, roasts, ribs and chops are delicious. I guess the cutter throws lots of fat and trim into the grinder and the strong taste is amplified in the ground only.

[MOOSE MILK]

Mix it with rice & carrots, cook it up and feed it to your dog he'll love ya for it!

[Razor84]

when the ol lady started tasting gamey I tried every trick

[Timbow]

The moose are never gamey. Like I said, the steaks, roasts, ribs and chops are delicious. I guess the cutter throws lots of fat and trim into the grinder and the strong taste is amplified in the ground only.

Could be that you got a mixture of someone else’s gamey burger? Had it happen to me with a heavy muley buck that I shot early October. Steaks and roasts were great but the burger was so bad I had to feed all to the dog. Stunk so bad when cooking it, had that rut smell to it.

I later found out from a seasonal meat cutter that all burger comes from the mystery pile of everyone’s game at the day of cutting. Deer one day and moose the other.

If I was in your shoes I would take get a variety of different sausage and enjoy.

[cdub]

Could be that you got a mixture of someone else’s gamey burger? Had it happen to me with a heavy muley buck that I shot early October. Steaks and roasts were great but the burger was so bad I had to feed all to the dog. Stunk so bad when cooking it, had that rut smell to it.

I later found out from a seasonal meat cutter that all burger comes from the mystery pile of everyone’s game at the day of cutting. Deer one day and moose the other.

If I was in your shoes I would take get a variety of different sausage and enjoy.


This where having a grinder pays off. I always get my trim in 10lb bags and grind all my own meat for burger or sausage made at home.

[604Stalker]

chop an onion add a can of cream of mushroom soup and a pack on onion soup mix. do meatballs or burgers with this perfect recipe to kill gamey flavour pepper the eff out of it :)

[Sharpish]

Could be that you got a mixture of someone else’s gamey burger? Had it happen to me with a heavy muley buck that I shot early October. Steaks and roasts were great but the burger was so bad I had to feed all to the dog. Stunk so bad when cooking it, had that rut smell to it.

I later found out from a seasonal meat cutter that all burger comes from the mystery pile of everyone’s game at the day of cutting. Deer one day and moose the other.

If I was in your shoes I would take get a variety of different sausage and enjoy.

i think you are absolutely right about that. The two moose we got were not rutting, still in velvet, killed ocleanly, field dressed impeccably, and kept incredibly clean. Every random hair or piece of grass picked off, scraped and wiped with vinegar before being bagged and hung.

[Sharpish]

This where having a grinder pays off. I always get my trim in 10lb bags and grind all my own meat for burger or sausage made at home.

Next time, no burger, stew meat only.

[gunpower]

Gunteck:
Don't know where you have gotten all your moose , but myself and a few others that I know, have taken moose that taste the same way a swamp smells.
I have also tasted moose that is the best tasting meat in the world. Also It all depends on the length of time the meat is hung for, 10 - 14 days does the trick .

[tigrr]

Getting a pile of someone else's stinky rut moose is why I butcher my own. This isn't the first time I have heard of this happening. Wow. You can't get enough garlic in a sausage to make rut moose edible.

[two-feet]

For what you will spend on a butcher you could buy a piece of equipment to make your own meat treats. Grinder/sausage maker or a dehydrator. Great jerky out of a dehydrator with ground meat. My kids will eat unreal amounts of it

[Wagonmaster]

Great tasting steak and chops but gamey burger just doesn't compute. Agree with other posters, get rid of the burger, shed a tear and move on. No sense eating it if you don't like it. Get yourself a grinder and process your own meat in the future. Pretty simple to do. Might try grinding up a bit of your good stuff and see how it is. If it is good then you know the problem was at the butcher shop. Try doing it with and without pork fat and see which way you like it best. Without is the healthiest and great for chili etc. but will make a fairly dry burger.

[wideopenthrottle]

same story for me after getting pepperoni done I could tell some were from a rutting buck when I brought in an LEH doe...no more butcher for me after that

[ForealBoreal]

..........

[john-brennan]

Find a guy to make sausage etc then give him 20lb (usually minimum) and see if you like it, if you do, go back!!

what he said, smokies and pepperoni are my fav.

[northof49]

Could be that you got a mixture of someone else’s gamey burger? Had it happen to me with a heavy muley buck that I shot early October. Steaks and roasts were great but the burger was so bad I had to feed all to the dog. Stunk so bad when cooking it, had that rut smell to it.

I later found out from a seasonal meat cutter that all burger comes from the mystery pile of everyone’s game at the day of cutting. Deer one day and moose the other.

That happens for sure but with muley it is also important to make sure there is no fat on any of the trim if doing burger. The fat is what carries the strong taste I find. When game cutters are busy they are less likely to take the time you or I would trimming all the fat of the trimmings. That muley fat can be awefully strong. I usually don’t bother with ground from mule deer......only prime cuts/roasts. The rest all goes into roni later and I cut it with ham butt at 25-30% instead of using fat....leaner that way.

All my ground for burger comes from moose/elk and I never cut it with pork fat....I use quality beef fat only at about 5%. I also freeze extra bags of the trimmings in 10lb bags (unground) to make pepperoni or sausage later when sausage makers are not so busy. Usually need 25-30lbs for a batch.

[Timbow]

That happens for sure but with muley it is also important to make sure there is no fat on any of the trim if doing burger. The fat is what carries the strong taste I find. When game cutters are busy they are less likely to take the time you or I would trimming all the fat of the trimmings. That muley fat can be awefully strong. I usually don’t bother with ground from mule deer......only prime cuts/roasts. The rest all goes into roni later and I cut it with ham butt at 25-30% instead of using fat....leaner that way.

All my ground for burger comes from moose/elk and I never cut it with pork fat....I use quality beef fat only at about 5%. I also freeze extra bags of the trimmings in 10lb bags (unground) to make pepperoni or sausage later when sausage makers are not so busy. Usually need 25-30lbs for a batch.

I given up of ground meat from mule deer and use moose and elk as well. I make my own sausage but use the fattest pork cuts I can find and blend the whole cut with lean wild game at about 10%.

[Chrisgrohms]

This is a first for me....seeing a bunch of hunters complaining that their wild game tastes gamey...Thats the reason our family enjoys hunting.
Hamburger is made into hamburgers and sausage. We use straight ground deer in spaghetti and the kids have yet to complain .The hamburgers turn out great. You can add lots of garlic and onions to take the edge off if its bad. We have gotten so used to eating wild game that the odd time we have a roast or steak from the store we prefer the wild game.

[Sharpish]

This is a first for me....seeing a bunch of hunters complaining that their wild game tastes gamey...Thats the reason our family enjoys hunting.
Hamburger is made into hamburgers and sausage. We use straight ground deer in spaghetti and the kids have yet to complain .The hamburgers turn out great. You can add lots of garlic and onions to take the edge off if its bad. We have gotten so used to eating wild game that the odd time we have a roast or steak from the store we prefer the wild game.

Well there's gamey and then there's gamey. Lol. . Eat a rare steak off a rutting caribou bull with green slime running down his legs and compare that to a October blacktail backstrap.

[Chrisgrohms]

I get it. But why even pull the trigger?

[Sharpish]

Well now that I know, I wouldn't take a rutting caribou again. Some animals are gamey even outside the rut. We shot two moose of the same lake in one day and one was only good for sausages, the other was the finest meat I've ever eaten. Sometimes you just don't know.

[guntech]

Gunteck:
Don't know where you have gotten all your moose , but myself and a few others that I know, have taken moose that taste the same way a swamp smells.
I have also tasted moose that is the best tasting meat in the world. Also It all depends on the length of time the meat is hung for, 10 - 14 days does the trick .

We always tried hanging for 10 to 14 days too.

We always shot a young moose, usually an immature one. No interest in the antlers... one of the last ones was just finishing the rut... his chest hairs were just about worn away... skinned and cooled quickly, hung for 11 days... tender and not gamey at all...

This is about the biggest we shot.
https://s19.postimg.cc/djwengcs3/Dennis_and_Moose_1.jpg

[Codes44]

Why not just use it for tacos, spaghetti sauce etc...ground moose shouldn't be too gamey, the gamey taste comes from the silver skin/fat if it's not completely trimmed clean (for next time) Season it heavily or like I said use it for tacos and such that are heavily flavored. Burgers too you can mix it with beef etc...

[Sharpish]

I'm getting 75 lbs of sausages made up, 3 different kinds. I'm going to be popular at BBQ's the rest of the summer.

[cinnabear]

I do all my own butchering and make all my own sausage, one of my tricks is to add 40% pork shoulder in the hamburger and sausage meat, butcher shops tend to use pork trim cause it's a lot cheaper.