General

Has any one here eaten game meat before?

I never even considered it. Even thought it was bit inhumane. But ever since I found out that one of my favorite anime characters preferred food is venison, boar, wild duck, and pheasants. Now, I want to try! 😅😅😅

I'm not sure how easy game meat is to come by in butchers there, if you live in a pretty urban area it may be that you have to ask around a bit.

There's a reason why the term 'gamey' exists, if you go in mentally prepared for something resembling a domesticated meat like pork, beef or chicken you might end up with a clenched up throat and wonder if something's gone off. Lamb is pretty widely available and is often described as gamey, I'd recommend starting there to get an idea of if it's something you'd like.

Oh ok. I have had Lamb for Passover, I didn’t really care for it. But wouldn’t Lamb be considered domesticated? Also, is duck considered game or does it depend on the duck? Cause I had duck in 2022. Is Bison considered game too?

webstaurantstore.com/blog/3892/types-of-game-meat.html

Game meat is meat from a wild animal that isn't wildly domesticated. So lamb and duck would not be considered game meat (gamey refers more to taste than if it's actually game meat), but bison would be.

Now, you can buy game meat in some stores. I've bought elk and bison at the store before. But the down side is it may be mixed with other meat like beef and pork.

Although lamb is fully a domesticated meat, it still has a tendency to be gamey. As I understand it that's mainly because while gaminess is often a product of how the lifestyle of the game has caused its muscles to develop (A concept I imagine you will be highly familiar with), sheep kind of cheat by having a different type of fat to cattle and pigs that gives it a gamier taste. To that effect, I imagine a wild shot duck would have a gamier flavour than one raised for poultry.

Although there have been attempts to farm Bison for meat (understandably not the easiest thing to keep in an enclosure, even with metal walls), a lot the meat will come into the market following controlled hunts in reserves that keep the wild population manageable. I imagine these would absolutely be gamey if you could get your hands on it.

There are ways to cook lamb so it doesn't have that gamey taste (I've done it) but it's kinda labor intensive.

Loool! I caught that comment in parentheses. You know what? You just inspired me to do a science experiment if you will on the muscle density of a wild animal vs a domestic animal. I never even considered that there would be a difference between the two. As to your Lamb comment, that would make sense why I didn't care for it. It felt too tough. I thought my aunt and uncle just didn’t cook it long enough. Hm…maybe lambs walk more often, while pigs and cows are confined making them more sedentary? This is very interesting. That actually helps me mentally prepare for the gamey taste. Thank you 🙏🏾 💪🏾

My entire extended family is from Louisiana, and my uncles love to hunt, so I've been around game meat since I was a child. Venison, rabbit, and squirrel were the most common, all of which are delicious. I moved to Pennsylvania in 2010 and never really got into hunting myself, so most of the meat I eat nowadays comes from either the grocery store or the Internet, but I still eat a lot of venison and rabbit because they're relatively easy to find commercially. Squirrel on the other hand is impossible to find; I've been searching for years to no avail. I miss it so much haha.

Anyway, I'd highly recommend those as a place to start. Alligator and turtle are fantastic as well, though I'm not sure if they meet the technical definition of "game."

Your family sounds lit. I’m from the city so hunting was never a thought. Now, I’m trying research if it’s possible to hunt with your bare hands 😅. Meat from the internet? I didn’t know you could do that. Also, remember when I mentioned that I initially thought it was inhumane to eat game? Rabbit was one of the reasons why? I don’t think I could bring myself to eat one 😅😅😅. I don’t know if I could bring myself to eat squirrels or raccoons either. Although, I heard they’re both delicious. Nah I looked up game meat and I think alligator is considered game.

La. native here and come from a hunting/fishing family, so I can relate to all of it :-)

Deer roasts slow-smothered in a cast iron pot (much like you’d do a beef roast) are the best. If done right, you’d never know it was wild game.

I’ve had fried alligator tail before. Has a texture much like chicken (the old saying is true, ha) but is best wrapped tightly and refrigerated a while.