What’s better eatin!?

[Jacobo2012]

What is better eating between a bull and a cow elk in your opinion? Is there much of a difference in taste??


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[Billy Goat]

It's more about age. Old cow versus young bull. Or old bull versus young cow. Hard to age a cow on the hoof. But you know a spike or small raghorn is young.

 

[GetWestern]

Never really been able to tell much off a difference between bull and cow imo but like stated above age will play a factor in how it taste sometimes, doesn't mean it will taste horrible though. I think a lot will play into how you handle and care for the meat and how long it's aged. I've had a old bull that tasted great cause it was prepared and aged well compared to a spike that wasn't taken care of and didn't hang at all that didn't taste near as good.

 

[WeiserBucks]

If you're cow hunting, don't take an old U necked cow if you can avoid it. Their necks will literally be a droopy , U shape and their hip bones will sometimes give them away . They make poor steaks and roasts , but can be ground into burger or sausage . Some cow elk are pretty sharp and live to a ripe old age . Not many areas offer a chance at a truly old bull .

 

[camping1601]

I killed an old Cow a few years ago and I was sure glad when I finally ate through it.

 

[keller]

I killed a young raghorn in 07 it was so strong it wasn't edible.tried everything. lived off elk for years and never had a bad one other than that one.

 

[Flatgo]

toughest elk i have ate have been raghorns. some of the best elk have been mature bulls. what is always good is calves. i think alot has to do with how you take care of it, and luck of the draw on the animal.

 

[N2TRKYS]

Either one taste better than tag soup. Never look a gift horse in the mouth.

 

[TripleJ]

I have not seen a difference in flavor between bulls and cows. In my experience, there are a few things that will definitely affect the flavor on elk...

-Not getting the hide off and meat cooled down is probably number 1 (archery season for sure)
-Puncturing the paunch/guts with your shot and trying to still use the tainted ribcage meat
-The age of the animal. The toughest elk I've ever eaten was an old cow

 

[Kodiak]

As stated above age is the biggest factor for toughness. Cleanliness and heat will determine flavor more than anything. The best eating elk I have ever had was a spike killed in the snow, skinned and quarter with in an hour.

One rule I learned is never shoot a lead cow. She is probably old. I will have to pay attention to “u” neck cowls like WieserBuck mentioned.

 

[justin davis]

Probably had to do with age. People always say how big bulls don’t taste as good as cows...well you could kill a really old cow. All my mature bulls I’ve killed have tasted really good! I think age can account for tenderness thou.

 

[dixon4420]

the older seems to be tougher. A little time in a marinade fixes that right up and then its perfect again

 

[Wrench]

Diet, lactic acid, adrenalin, dirt, urine, guts, bone sour, flies.....this all adds to the flavor in a less than grand way.

Aging helps with texture and toughness, but isn't a huge player in flavor.

Kill it quick, get it cool quick, cut it thick and soak it in Montreal or season salt and let it sit salted for a couple of days before you serve it....and cook it fast. It'll be tasty!

 

[[email protected]]

It’s more about meat care BUT age and timing can make a difference for example a yearling cow early in the year fat and happy on green grass will likely be milder than a post rut herd bull that’s run himself ragged and beat up his body for the last month.

 

[Chugaglug]

Early archery middle aged cow was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten

 

[dixon4420]

Diet, lactic acid, adrenalin, dirt, urine, guts, bone sour, flies.....this all adds to the flavor in a less than grand way.

Aging helps with texture and toughness, but isn't a huge player in flavor.

Kill it quick, get it cool quick, cut it thick and soak it in Montreal or season salt and let it sit salted for a couple of days before you serve it....and cook it fast. It'll be tasty!

This right here is also a good way to look at it. More than one thing can make some bad meat. I have had neck meat go bad before on elk cause the way I had to hang it kept the neck touching the ground. I am assuming didn't cool off properly.

 

[Blockcaver]

Two of my best eating bulls were my biggest two, one killed Sept 1 and the other a monster old bruiser that was arrowed Sept 14. Both were tender with excellent flavor. Some of the younger 2 and 3 years old bulls were a lot tougher, although flavor was good. Two mature cows I shot were tough and a couple were excellent but all had good flavor. I am try to get the hide off the meat, game bagged in the shade and get it cooling and air drying as quickly as possible as it is usually warm in archery season.

Elk flavor is great, bull or cow in my experience, and the only calf I ever had was like veal, tender and soft with little flavor and excellent meat. This experience is based on about 35 bow killed elk (mostly bulls) and 2 (cows) with the rifle.