Tuesday 6 March 2012

How to cook a moose roast recipe

Warning: This post contains pictures of raw meat.  hee hee

I've had some ask me how I cook all this moose meat God blessed us with this fall.  Basically, I just cook it!  This is hands down the best meat we have ever had...beef is now a poor 3rd to the moose and mule deer.  Our girls love the "wild" meat rather than basic beef.

There are some important things to know:  the moose and mule deer were fed in natural meadows, as organic as it comes.  They were "harvested" with very little stress (if they run, the adrenaline gets into their meat and you will taste it).  We cleaned them immediately and took them to hang in a cooler, they were not just chucked around and bruised, they bled out nicely.  They were free from a bunch of dirt, etc.  All these things make your meat very natural tasting and almost "sweet".

A good facility that is cool and clean is so important.
We learned that using water to wash it can also make it tough, so having little dirt/hair from the start is a real bonus.  Little tricks from others that have been doing this for their livelihood! Mom says not to "wash" meat, as it makes it tough.  So if you're careful when you're skinning the meat, you shouldn't have to wash hardly any of it. Don't leave dirt or hair on your meat though either ~ it will taste worse that a rubber boot!
A happy constitution is also important

Can't say enough about good packaging.  Good wrapping keeps air out.
No freezer burnt meat.  Use a paper based tape/masking tape or the plastic taste
may get into your meat.
When we were doing up the meat, we would take a few trays of meat to the freezer at one time...lie it out as flat as possible, let it freeze, then add more.  Make sure the blood is drained out, as blood leaking out of your wrapping is never appealing . We let our meat hang in a cooler for a few days, so blood was not an issue for us....I don't think I could have stomached that when we were cutting it up. It also makes it easier to remove one package at a time, and your freezer doesn't have to work so hard to freeze it all at once.
Take your time cutting meat.  The nicer it is going into the freezer,
the better it will be coming out.  We tried to trim everything off, but this
 little bit of white was not noticeable once cooked.
This roast I added French Onion Soup mix, some seasoning salt, onions and
some rosemary.  I put a little water in the roaster as I was adding potatoes later.
I cooked it at 350F for about 1 hour (from frozen) and then added the potatoes, onions, carrots.
I did use my covered roaster for this.
All finished, it was so tender!  

I used an electric knife to slice.  Our company is always amazed that it doesn't
taste "wild" and they all go for second helpings.
 I cook moose and deer the same way I do beef.  Onion soup mix is a wonderful addition.  Don't under cook wild meat, but don't cook it to death either...then it is jerky!  It took us a few days (and some help from some Alberta cousins) to cut up all the moose...we were getting better at it in the end.  It's all about learning!

 THRIFTY NOTE:  The moose/deer all said and done, hunting license, 2 bullets, gas, packing paper and tape, cost about $75 for 400 lbs of meat. There is still tape and packing left over.

I shared this on Frugally Sustainable Blog Hop Wedsnesdays Click Here

6 comments:

  1. I confess I have never liked wild meat. I have eaten several kinds (moose, various deer, caribou, elk to name a few) in many places, prepared many ways by many different people, (even a professional chef in Yellowknife). Only ONCE have I not hated the experience (deer cutlets). So I was very leery when a neighbour gave me a moose roast recently. I stumbled across this blog and was eager to try this recipe/method, which I did today. IT WAS FANTASTIC! I would happily try moose (and maybe some other meats) again. Thank you so much for posting this.

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  2. SO happy you found it to your liking. We are bemoaning the fact that we will probably not get a moose this next year :( Sometimes I found recipes so involved for cooking game, but decided to make it simple and we love it.

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  3. did you use a covered roaster?

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    1. HI, sorry for the late reply... yes, I covered the roaster. Sure don't want it to dry out :)

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    2. Ladies,
      Just came across this site looking for new moose recipes. We've had moose in our freezer continuously now for 11 yrs thanks to success by myself and my hunting buddy-my wife prefers moose to ANYTHING now, and due to the expense of the hunts, gives away only to close family members. We also use Lipton onion soup mix in most of our preps, and especially if cooking the shanks, try adding Coke Classic as the liquid-the acid in the Coke really breaks down the tougher tissue well. Marinading in a red wine w/ spices before slow cooking also is delicious. We also use it to make our own bulk breakfast and Italian sausage as well.

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  4. How long did you cook the roast after you added the vegetables and how much water? I'm trying this recipe today!

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