Feedin' the family

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Here's a picture of the moose I got this season...he's a 2 1/2 year old - perfect for the freezer(s).  The rifle's the same Hawken rifle I used last year...10 1/2 pounds .62 cal. shooting .613" pure lead ball (lyman .610 mold), .022 ticking patch lubed with TOW's mink oil.  He's not the trophy I got last year, but I'm delighted, just the same.  He's the first bull I saw - day three.  In the next eight, I saw 13 more bulls, some bigger, some smaller. and all of them but one were at 100 yds. or less. 

[Candle Snuffer]

Very nice!

[PPatch]

Nice bull Taylor - gonna made fine dining. Ever think of putting wheels on that Hawken howitzer of yours... 

dp

[galamb]

Could have posted the specs up in "Canadian Metric".

A 4.75 kilo, 15.75 mm Hawken doesn't sound so big and menacing

That should be good eating. Quit hunting moose about 10 years ago - have to go way too far north to get a tag now, but seeing this bull has got me thinking about it again...

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

A ten or eleven pound rifle never used to bother me - like back in the last century.  But I swear I needed all new shirts from stretching my arms last year carrying that beast.  So I put a sling on it, and it makes all the difference.  Now packing 100 pound chunks of meat is the problem.  Luckily, we had a quad at our disposal, and again, I gained a reprieve.  Incidentally, I shot him at 92 yards, broadside.  and I forgot to mention too - 130 grains FFg GOEX Cartridge Holy Black.  Ball passed through and left a stripe of blood and ten feet long on the grass.
My buddy wants me to use the longbow next year.  We'll see....

[Joey R]

Of all the wild game I've dined on, moose is some of the best. Congrats Taylor.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Thanks guys.  All I've eaten of him yet is a meal for Heather and I, of liver.  In a moose the liver is huge...made 15 generous meal packages for my wife and I.  It is very tender and mild - no comparison to beef liver.  Liikewise, the kidneys have no fibrous matrix like beef kidneys, but you have to cook the !$@! out of 'em!  Ha.  The heart is nearly the size of a basketball.  I like it stuffed, baked, and served cold.  It's ten to five here right now, and I'm working myself up an appetite!

[Dphariss]

Congrats Taylor.
Should be good on the table.

Dan

[WadePatton]

..., I shot him at 92 yards, broadside.  and I forgot to mention too - 130 grains FFg GOEX Cartridge Holy Black.  Ball passed through and left a stripe of blood and ten feet long on the grass.

My buddy wants me to use the longbow next year.  We'll see....

Fine sort of hunting buddy you got there.  He likes it when you are challenged?  .  

Congrats on the bull.  I'm still chasing a buck (and a doe or two--they're little).

I want to hear more about preparing these organ meats.  I have worked with a few Whitetail innards, but not any with great success.  But I have good dogs, and they help when i don't like my preparations.    

Do you eat the tongue?  

[Kermit]

Nothing like moose and elk. Cooking a stuffed moose heart is a little doing the Thanksgiving bird, for those as have never done it.

[wattlebuster]

Congrats Taylor. Lots more meat there than our whitetails

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Wade, The liver is about 22" long x 12" across x 4" thick - in the middle.  I wash it thoroughly, and soak it for a spell in salt water.  then I lay it on a big cutting board and with a big sharp knife, I slice off 3/8" - 1/2" slabs.  I put together enough for two people into a zip-loc bag, and then wrap it in freezer paper.  To cook, fry up two onions sliced in oil, set aside, and ay the thawed liver in the pan.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper, or Mrs. Dash, and cook in a hot pan for about three minutes per side.  Don't overcook it or it will become tough.  But it shouldn't be bleeding either.

For the kidneys, cut them up into bite sized chunks, and cook them with a like amount of moose steak in oil in a hot pan, to brown well.  Then add the meat and perhaps some beef stock, to a shallow casserole dish, cover with mashed potatoes, and bake.  Spice is a personal thing.  With some greens of your preference, it's a great meal.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

I didn't weigh this guy, but he's as big as a horse - that's for sure.  And better eatin'!

[Vomitus]

  Nothin like moose liver blue rare!

[jamesthomas]

 I don't know, never been a liver or heart eating person myself. I've smelled beef liver cooking and it turned my stomach inside out (bleech !). But I betcha the back straps are nice an big and would feed a crowd!!.

[Robby]

Congratulations Taylor, Nice job!!!
Robby

[Jeff Peters]

Way to go Taylor!

Jeff

[WadePatton]

Thanks Taylor, pretty much self-taught with game cookery.  Have game care/recipe books, but sometimes things get "lost in translation".  I like to try to utilize as much of the animal as possible. 

Yes, it's all about getting the meat to the right texture-seasonings are only helpers.  Anybody can make "great" with backstrap and tenderloin.   

Takes some attention to details to get the organ meats done up proper.  Game and fish is most of the meat I consume.  Rockbass/Redeye was the treat last night.

[hanshi]

Congratulations, Taylor, on a huge (at least to me) moose.  We don't have too many of those beasts down here in Va; none, actually.  A few elk, but that's it.  What we do have is whitetail.

I'm not an "innard" eater and never will be.  Outerds are better.

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

This young bull is only about 3/4 the size of last year's harvest, but as you can see, still a big pile of meat.

Regarding cooking game, I like to eat, so I like to cook too.  I have eaten the tongue, but it's more work than it's worth, and the rest of the family doesn't like it, so it stays in the bush.  I like the tongue cold, sliced thin with salt and pepper in a sour dough sandwich.

[t.caster]

Congrats Taylor! I hunt whitetails with a .62, so I understand a good short blood trail! So, how far does a moose go after being shot, and where was it hit???

Mmmmmm, good eatin!

[Jerry V Lape]

Hanshi, you only eat outards?  What are those exactly, hooves, hide and ears?  Every thing else is inside the hide!  Hearts are just one nice piece of muscle which roasted and sliced thin is my favorite sandwich meat.  Venison liver is much better than beef (calves) liver.  I just can't see throwing away such good meat just because someone named it "organ meat".  Bet you don't like Scrapple either? 

[Robby]

I have never hunted moose, but my brother in law got one up in Nova Scotia, I think. He gave me a nice big roast with a slab of fat for a rind. Not knowing anything about cooking moose meat of any cut, I sliced off a bit and sauteed it in butter to have with some eggs. I bit into it and almost sprained my jaw, it was so tough!! Well at the time I had a couple hounds that I hunted coon with so I thought, Well I'll throw that nasty ole roast in the oven for a while and the boys will make short work of it. I come in the house a little later and it was filled with a wonderful aroma!!!! I let it cook some more and when I figured it was about done took it out and sliced a piece off and it was so tender and flavorful that the dogs got none. Explained what I had done to my B in L and he said the fat isn't like white tail fat and the native guides up there actually trim and save it for cooking, as it adds flavor and tenderizes the meat. It sure did for that roast!!
I can't eat organ meat, HAH!
Robby

[Daryl]

Moose might be better than Horse meat  - they're really very good, ya know and about indistinguishable from beef- usually. I've eaten quite a lot of horse meat visiting a Swiss Family's Ranch. They're also butchers who also shoot gophers and & raise cattle and horses.

Taylor graciously and most generously gave me a huge bag of hamburger meat - THAT's the only way to eat a moose - YES! - spaghetti sauce, - lasagna, mixed 1/3 1/3/ 1/3 with ground pork and beef for hamburgers- yummy - or with a chunk of it, cold  & sliced moose roast with plum chutney- baked potatoes, sour cream, green onions and bacon bits - now THAT's a dish worthwhile hauling that beastie out of the bush for.

[Bob Roller]

Here is a story from a German friend who a kid at the end of WW2 in Europe.
It is more of a Witz (joke). What is the difference between a miniature Dachshund and a
large work horse? The horse will feed more people.
What is the difference between a concert violin and a large cathedral organ.
The organ will burn longer while cooking the horse.

Bob Roller