Antelope advice

[Dotch]

OK, I didn't shoot it but my brother in law graciously gave me 2 packages of antelope burger and a rump roast. Never monkeyed with it before but someone on here must have. Anything to be careful of as far as grilling it? I've done all kinds of other cloven hooved animals but never antelope so it'll be a first. Thanks!

[DonBo]

You'll probably never be able to tell the difference between the antelope and venison. Any recipes you've enjoyed with venison will be equally as good with antelope.

[Finns]

They love to eat sage brush so be prepared for that taste. We mixed burger meat with pork and had great sausage.

[thirdeye]

The two most important questions to ask are "what did they feed on?" and "how fast did you bleed it out?" I like to see a 4 or 5 day cold age on them, but the feed and bleed questions are the important ones.

Antelope can have quite a strong flavor, and the meat is very lean. I've prepared many a shoulder or loin using lamb marinades with oil and garlic. If you have a larding needle, you can add some pork fat. Studding the roast with garlic and herbs works well too.

If you think you (or the family) will be unprepared for the flavor, or don't want to risk it.... the sausage idea is a good one. Grind the roast and blend with the burger, then add an equal amount of ground pork butt. Again, I lean toward lamb sausage recipes, maybe with Greek or Moroccan flavors.

[fowldreams]

Good luck. I've only had it once and that was on a ranch in south dakota . We were out on a bird hunt and the owner cooked some antelope up for us. It was not good! Over cooked , dry and taste was definitely different. But like third eye mentioned it all comes down to what they ate and the kill.

[DonBo]

It was not good! Over cooked , dry and taste was definitely different.

Over cook ANY wild game and it will be dry and tough. Guess the flavor is a personal thing. I've shot (and eaten) 5 antelope and have enjoyed the flavor very much, even have to say better than venison.

[Jim Almquist]

Over cook ANY wild game and it will be dry and tough. Guess the flavor is a personal thing. I've shot (and eaten) 5 antelope and have enjoyed the flavor very much, even have to say better than venison.

I have had it twice and felt the same way. Very tasty!

My buddy that cooked it for me is very good with cooking wild game. He has fooled a few people by cooking up venison and telling them it was beef.

[pikestabber]

As mentioned before, there are generally two distinct possibilities with antelope...either a very strong sage flavor (if that has been their diet) or a very mild venison-like flavor (or perhaps even milder) if they have had a grassier diet. The latter of the two is incredible. Personally, I would steak out the roast and cook them medium rare and enjoy! It's an awesome protein. Rub it down in a bit of olive or vegetable oil, season, and sear over high heat, leaving the middle just warmed through.

As for the burger...

ANTELOPE BURGERS

--Grind up 1 part bacon for each 2 parts antelope

--Mix in diced onion and jalapeno

--Rub outside of burgers with olive oil

--Season with a dry rub of whatever you like (BBQ rub, s&p, onion, garlic...)

--Grill over med. heat until done to your likeness

--Top with sauteed mushrooms and melted swiss

[Dotch]

Mmmmm...bacon. I like your thinkin'. Now you'll get Eric Wettschreck all hot and bothered. Keep those thoughts & ideas coming boys and girls. I've heard good things about the flavor of antelope as long as it's not a sagebrush critter. Reputedly this was a Colorado antelope from an area with no sagebrush. It was coincidentally also processed by an old high school friend of mine who has guided out there for years, now semi-retired. Suddenly I feel very old. Of wait, I am old! Bear in mind that I'm used to consuming lamb which has a little different constitution than beef, yet is fully capable of being almost inedible if it's prepared wrong or is from certain breeds or situations. Some of the market lambs that have been shown and fed a liquid diet to maintain their weight for over a year are just garbage. I've eaten better tasting superballs. More tender too. I'm thinking about cubing the roast and making shish kabobs out of it, marinated in any of a number of lamb marinades I've used. So many marinades, so little time. Thoughts?

[KEN W]

I've taken and eaten a number of antelope.They were all milder than venison.We added some 70-30 ground beef to the burger.