Elk is wonderful.
None of the gamey taste of venison.
Not sure if it really qualifies as exotic though.
We can buy it raised at the market.
This was wild hunted in Montana. I thought it rather gamey.
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Wild hunt vs. farm raised makes a HUGE difference in taste and texture, as I’m sure many of us know. I’ve had both wild hunted venison steak from a family friend who hunted during season in PA as well as “pampered” venison from the Rolling Rock Country Club (I lived/worked in central PA in the mid 80s, and my boss at the time was friends with S. Prosser Mellon).
My boss had a client gathering at the RRC that I helped plan/manage. Let’s just say the pampered venison was sublime - like a Wagyu filet, and the wild hunt venison was soaked in buttermilk for 24 hours before cooking, and was much chewier and tasted gamier. People who don’t like “gamey” in lamb would absolutely have hated the wild hunt venison. LOL
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Cool . My squirrels are beginning to take and bury the acorns off my tree. How funny they are of where they want to bury them . Maybe here , oh that’s not good . This looks good , no . That looks better over there . Well maybe not . The most indecisive creatures on earth. What they do know is that winter is coming
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My best friend and her husband opted for a wild game menu for their indigenous-inspired wedding in Cherokee, NC. (I was the matron of honor…it was a lovely ceremony, performed by a Cherokee elder)
Venison and duck were on the menu at the reception along with a large bear roast. All were legally obtained by a local chefs and it was a delicious spread. The bear roast in particular stands out…it tastes much like a particularly flavorful pork roast.
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Well, now I’m really amazed. I was born and lived in Jersey as a kid and have to agree it didn’t seem like a wildlife type environment. Lol.
Delicious.
My sister and I like to think of ourselves as the rustics in the family, but this thread is making me realize we’re urbanites… especially me! 
It’s not legal, without special permits, to raise any animal, native to VA, for food. Squirrel and deer/venison are super abundant, as are Mourning Dove. I used to hunt squirrels and dove with a slingshot, but now use air rifles, special, silent pre-charged pneumatic types that are much safer than regular guns.
If venison is gamey, especially strong, it was not handled correctly. There are multiple possibilities in this area, including aging the meat at too high a temperature (to tenderize it) or improper butchering. I’ve butchered many deer, don’t age it, and find it milder than lamb in flavor.
It’s odd that I can legally raise European Hares/rabbits, pigeons and Guinea Pigs for food, but no squirrel or other native animal.
Pigeon, also called Rock Dove, are hunted and eaten in the US, but are not common fare.
When I was a teenager, we were not allowed any sort of gun, even bb guns. I asked my mother : “If I shoot some dove and clean it, will you cook it?” Her reply:" What are you going to shoot it with?" , immediately concerned I had broken the rules.
“I’ll use my slingshot”, I replied and her answer was based on not believing the feat was possible. “Sure, you shoot those dove with your slingshot and I’ll cook them.”, she said grinning.
I lived with a powerful slingshot and could hit a grasshopper at 30 meters. After about an hour in the woods, I had two doves and a squirrel to bring home. My mother was astonished: “Oh my god; you did it! I’m NOT cooking that rat!”
Mom served the dove in a delicious orange glaze. The squirrel is another story where a woodland child meets suburban living.
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I will offer up diet as a contributor to gaminess. Some years the annual deer came from pine forests, other years they were close enough to fields that it’s a safe bet they were largely corn fed.
The difference is absolutely noticeable.
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The Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas-shot buck has the second-largest antler size of any hunter-taken deer on record.
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I didn’t know people ate squirrels. Is that the same brown colour ones with 3 lines? Or Europe has another one? Some people here eat the giant squirrel but not the smaller one.
Since you were discussing about game, in “Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy” he goes to a restaurant where they have a pit at the edge of the jungle. (The restaurant garden starts from there I guess) So the wild rabbits come in to the pit for food, and the restaurant owner kills them when a customer orders rabbit. It’s kind of game hunting on order.
If you’ve watched it you would know what I’m telling.
I remember that one!
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I grew up eating California venison and I’ve had Oregon venison. I didn’t think they tasted gamey. I love elk, I have elk chili in the freezer. I’ve also eaten wild duck, chukar, quail and pheasant. I’ve been offered moose and bear, I passed. We have pigeons, quail, grey squirrels, rabbits and of course deer on the property. If anyone killed a deer from around here it would taste like apples.
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No one would eat a red squirrel-- they are protected in a lot of Europe. In the UK, their population experienced a dramatic drop courtesy of a disease brought in by the grey squirrels. (And I’m sure deforestation hasn’t helped either.)
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That sounds like a Chipmunk
I have never heard of anyone eating them but I imagine they have.
Grey Squirrel are about 400G-600G Chippies are only 60G-150G
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Bear roast or boar roast???
The Yankees star Ron Guidry hails from Southwest Louisiana. We remember reading an interview where he mentioned being a lifelong fisherman, trapper, and hunter. “You eat squirrels?” asks the reporter. Mr. Guidry answers, “the brains are the best part.”
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Awesome!!
I 
Dale!
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