But how does it taste?

[Elkeater]

Can’t say I’ve had water buck. I did really enjoy everything we tried. Top for me was probably blue wildebeest backstrap, followed by kudu tenderloin, impala backstrap was excellent, steenbok spaghetti was incredible. Gemsbok was excellent. Nyala was right there with blue wildebeest.

 

[Hunt anything]

No problems with the food there.

They own a butcher shop so I bet the sausages are going to be done professionally.

We ate a variety of game and from memory I liked the Gemsbok the most. We had several meals with a variety of of blackstrap on the Brai that would have come from a previous hunt.

Pretty sure we had Wildebeest, probably Kudu and impala.

We also had fresh biltong provided by them. I expect that was probably African game meat.

We toured their butcher shop. My wife has a degree in meat sciences and found it very interesting. The one thing that was real interesting to me was the game meat for sale. Here in my home state and I imagine in most other if not all states it is highly illegal to sell sport hunted game meat.

 

[CBH Australia]

We toured their butcher shop. My wife has a degree in meat sciences and found it very interesting. The one thing that was real interesting to me was the game meat for sale. Here in my home state and I imagine in most other if not all states it is highly illegal to sell sport hunted game meat.

Yes, we also toured the butcher shop. Something I asked to do as I process meat as a hobbyist. They bring the game in one side and commercially sourced meat the other.
I believe the UK allow accredited hunters to sell to the larder so a lot of Venison goes into the food chain.
We have Kangaroo shooters who can harvest for human consumption and sell to HC chillers but it’s not a big market or should I say Aussies don't buy a lot of kangaroo meat.

 

[thriller]

We ate a lot of buffalo and it was great. Tenderloin roasted in the coals, braised oxtail, salami and buffalo balls fried.

Hippo oxtails were great too!

Kudu liver and tenderloin was good though I am not much of a liver man myself

Grysbok was firm meat but not chewy it was good fried as an appetizer

Impala is always good

Warthog roast was good not gamey at all they way it was prepared

Guinea fowl curry was excellent!!

Also had a sable sausage pizza it was good

 

[Nosler guy]

On one hunt in Namibia, we were on an incredible run of luck, good game was dropping left right and center. So come Easter Sunday, outfitter Jan said we should take the day off and relax. We built a huge bonfire in the morning, believe he called the wood - dried "camel thorn". Took several hours and a few beers for it to burn down into an incredible bed of coals. Along with those beers, Jan brought out a chunk of Eland backstrap - a huge slab of meat. We / he cut it like a jellyroll, maybe a bit over 1 inch thick. We rubbed some kind of a paste into it (both sides), looked like quite a bit of mustard in there, not sure what else, probably garlic and a lot of other spices. Then we chopped fresh vegetables - peppers, onions, carrots and a few others I didn't recognize. Spread the veggies on, rolled it up just like a jellyroll, tied it, wrapped it in foil and some wet jute sacking, more foil, and then buried it in the coals. Huge slab of meat - I had my reservations about the middle even getting up to a desired temp, before the outside was overdone and all dried out. We went for a 3 1/2 - 4 hour Game drive (also an incredible experience) and when we got back, we were treated to the most fantastic feast you could imagine. Highlight of my African dining experiences. Could post some pics, but they don't do it justice. Another vote for Eland.

 

[sgt_zim]

We toured their butcher shop. My wife has a degree in meat sciences and found it very interesting. The one thing that was real interesting to me was the game meat for sale. Here in my home state and I imagine in most other if not all states it is highly illegal to sell sport hunted game meat.

Unlike ZA, "our" game animals generally belong to the state.

Professional hunting in the US nearly wiped out bison, but that was more Tragedy of the Commons. Outfitters in ZA own the animals behind their fences.

Of note, though, at least in Texas, meat from exotics can be sold, just not native game species like white tail deer. You could go to the Rainbow Lodge in Houston and feast on nilgai, among other species.

 

[coreydb]

I've eaten black, blue and golden wildebeest, blesbok, gemsbok, kudu, and sable. Personal palate.....I liked blesbok the least, but kudu and sable were the best. The sable backstrap tasted (to me) like filet mignon. My PH seasoned it with a South African spice blend called Flekka Lekka.

 

[BRICKBURN]

As with all game meat, how it is handled makes a huge difference to the product on the plate.

I hear people bitch how Pronghorn Antelope tastes awful. The same guys ran the antelope with their truck chasing it for miles and then shot it in the guts and left it in the truck for the long ride home without cooling it or skinning it. Wonder why it was not so tasty?
Sneak up on one sleeping and have a clean kill, it will be great. Some say they taste like sage. Maybe where they live, not where I hunt.

I was raised on venison, literally.
I'm with you on the Bears. A good berry and grass fed bear is like a great piece of pork. Garbage bears taste like garbage.
Take that fat off the Mule Deer and Whitetails you get very nice meat that will have a flavour of their main diet. Grain fed or from the woods, depends what they have been eating.
Elk, Moose and Bison all fill the freezer and are welcome.

Off to Africa:
I HATE liver, due to repeated culinary torture as a child. I was served Eland liver as my first game meal in Africa. I took a picture for posterity. No one at home would believe I would eat it.
It was excellent. Cooked nicely with plain old salt and pepper without being turned into shoe leather.
Guinea Fowl. Another new one. Kids on the farm were visibly pissed off at me for shooting a half dozen. It meant they had to eat them. Not fans apparently. The lady of the house cooked a stew of sorts with the meat for dinner and we all liked it. The look on the kids faces told me that this was not their norm. A Miracle? Likely, younger birds shot well and cleaned quickly for starters.

Warthog roasted on a spit was a bit chewy but was strong pork taste. Not objectionable and not first in line either.
Impala, so many, so different. Closest taste is more like a Mule Deer. One was the gamiest meat I have eaten in Africa.
Buffalo, all killed cleanly and prepared quickly. Tenderloins are excellent and very similar to Moose in the neutral flavor.
Eland, wish I could just bring them all home. Every piece.
Kudu, depends where taken in my experience. (Elk to Mule Deer)
Sable, Gemsbok, Bushbuck are excellent.

I look forward to hearing what you and your taste buds experience in your hunt report.

 

[meigsbucks]

The chef has a lot to do with it. In Zimbabwe, the chef was fair, but in Namibia, our chef was classicly trained
In Zim I had blue wildebeest which was very tough. The Kudu burgers were very good, but kudu roast, not so much. Buffalo was tough, However, he did make an impala Shepard’s Pie that was so good, I had the leftovers for breakfast the next day and had him make up another one later in the hunt.
In Namibia, had eland, gemsbok, impala and blue wildebeest. All were excellent. One day for lunch he had “split pea soup” on the menu board, which I wasn’t looking forward to, as split pea isn’t one of my favoties. However, it was more of a gemsbok chili with fresh baked bread sticks… Damn was that good! I had seconds. Additionally, his deserts were out of this world.
Photos were from Namibia. I’m salivating, looking at them again.

 

[VertigoBE]

Each time I am in the planning stage of a safari, the outfitter or PH will bring up dietary requirements, where I respond "During the x days I'll be coming over, I'll be allergic to beef, chicken, porc, lamb, etc. Only game meats". I love trying out new things I have not tried before.

Haven't eaten waterbuck yet, and reading all the comments on keeping the oil away from the meat, also brings me to another observation: Most 4-legged animals can provide a satisfying meal, provided they are:
1. not too old
2. not in the rut
3. not too much adrenaline from the chase
4. not shot in the gut
5. killed cleanly and rapidly
6. butchered by a professional
7. rapidly being cooled

Tastes will of course differ, and the food the animal typically eats will determine a lot. Picky eaters will typically produce finer meats than those animals that will eat just about anything.

The tougher the meat, the longer you'll need to cook. Elephant kebabs are great if well done. I tried them medium rare, it is unchewable.

Favorites are Eland, Zebra, Kudu, the Wildebeests, Oryx, impala, etc.



Upon @rookhawk 's recommendation: "Puffadder", aka Eland colon, filled with pieces of Eland filet, liver, heart, fat, spices. Absolutely wonderful.

Elephant kebab's: cubes of meat from the top of the shoulder, interspersed with cubes of fat from behind the eyes (and the occasional piece of onion).

 

[Chryss]

La photo ci-dessous montre le résultat de mes compétences en boucherie et en cuisine.
La queue est vraiment délicieuse préparée avec du beurre et une sauce blanche ou persillée. Les autres parties du corps sont un peu plus coriaces, alors je les ai mijotées comme un ragoût de veau. Et les petits morceaux de viande entre les vertèbres sont délicieux en ceviche !

 

[DLSJR]

As others have already said, there’s nothing at all wrong with Waterbuck if properly cared for. Pretty much all African game that I’ve eaten is good, some is great. The small bit of lion I tried was not good, but I enjoyed a 2nd helping of leopard backstrap.

I did get a bit sick after eating Sharps Grysbok, but it was because I ate so much of it at one sitting. I ate almost the entire animal, good thing they’re small.

 

[Green Chile]

As stated, waterbuck is a good meal if prepared very carefully in the field. Don't let it sit in the heat and don't get the oil on the meat...common sense.

One of my fav meals each time is braised oxtail from the buffalo we take. Also eland oxtail. I've even been known to proclaim in the evenings, will someone please kill a friggin buff or eland so we can have oxtail this week!

 

[HookMeUpII]

I have to say, everything I ate in RSA was delicious. The chef, for what that guy was working with in terms of facilities, was an absolute wizard.

We had mac and cheese with wildebeest when we arrived at the lodge from the airport. It was delicious but obviously didn't do the meat justice because it was mixed in with macaroni and cheese. We were starving and it was delicious, never the less. After that we had blesbok, kudu, eland, and zebra from what I recall. All in different cuts. Backstraps, tenderloins, etc. Blesbok was the one I'd put at the bottom, but it was still good. When you compared it to the kudu and eland it wasn't as good, but still tasty. Zebra was in a whole other category. It was one of the best meats I've had prepared, all around.

Kudu, eland, and zebra are better than any elk or game I've ever had and honestly, stack up against even a good steak.

No waterbuck was served. I also want to say we had nyala as well and that was tasty. One lunch they gave us wildebeest burgers and that was also very good.

The ones I've heard are not that great are giraffe and obviously, warthog. I asked what they did with the warthogs and my PH said they turn them into sausage.

 

[trperk1]

On my last safari we specifically asked to eat the game we were harvesting. I subsequently told that most hunters don't want to eat what they shoot!?! We had impala, kudu, wildebeest, gemsbok and waterbuck. It was all excellent.

 

[Nyati]

Eland, Sable and Roan backstrap, on the braai are just delicious, if you wait a few days and marinate it.

Bushbuck and impala in stew can also be fantastic with a good cook.

 

[baxterb]

I've not eaten African game, but have noticed the biggest mistake people make cooking almost any game meat is they think it should all be cooked medium rare on a grill. Nope.

Very little meat is good medium rare, the vast majority should be braised to allow the connective tissue to break down. A good method makes an old Florsheim palatable.

 

[thriller]

My bushbuck was not fine dining but i believe most of that was that he was old as dirt.

 

[Hunt anything]

My bushbuck was not fine dining but i believe most of that was that he was old as dirt.

I’ve shot 3 bushbuck, the one I shot in Mozambique was used as leopard bait. After skinning he was so full of worms no one wanted to look at it much less eat it. The other two were in South Africa one in the north and one in the south and they ate just fine.

 

[Hunt anything]

I've not eaten African game, but have noticed the biggest mistake people make cooking almost any game meat is they think it should all be cooked medium rare on a grill. Nope.

Very little meat is good medium rare, the vast majority should be braised to allow the connective tissue to break down. A good method makes an old Florsheim palatable.

Our pallets must be different! I would have to say game meat (other than bear and pork) HAS to be cooked rare to medium rare OR braised and cooked slowly.
I will always cook bear and wild pig slowly and cooked completely through to erase any chance of trichinosis.