Eating Aoudad

[Elkeater]

So @shooter7 and I recently went Aoudad hunting in west Texas https://www.longrangehunting.com/threads/auodad-hunt-at-the-indio-ranch.234207/

Before our hunt the question of eating Aoudad came up with many folks telling us to cape them out cut off the head and leave it for the buzzards because the coyotes won’t even eat them.

Well not being the kind of guys to kill stuff and let it go to waste we cut our sheep up on the side of the mountain just like anything else and headed straight back to camp and got the meat on ice ASAP. I’m a pretty firm believer that most folks that say an animal isn’t good ( many folks won’t touch antelope!) is due to poor meat handling in the field.

Now that I’m back home the meat has aged (not rotted) for a couple weeks and yesterday morning I got it cut up and put away and tested a couple small sirloin tip pieces.

Here’s what I did. Marinated for 4 hours in orange juice, rinsed clean, and lightly seasoned with Montreal steak seasoning, then seared in a cast iron skillet.

Here’s what I found.

Done rare/medium rare
Flavor was excellent. I can compare it to pronghorn the best. Even my wife said it tasted great.
A couple of pieces that were closer to the end of the muscle that had more connective tissue were a bit chewy kind of like bull elk can be. I think if I stick to the cleanest cuts such and sirloin, backstrap, or rounds the steaks will be good the rest I’m sure will make a tasty burger or roast or snack sticks or jerky or anything like that.

So before you decide an animal isn’t worth eating before you’ve tried it I say give it a shot!

I know shooter7 has eaten some of his too so maybe he’ll chime in here as well and I’ll update the thread as I go along and let you all know the results.

 

[H82MISS]

Great update. I think many have wondered what Aoudad really taste like if one prepares the meat the way it should be from the time the animal is down, to the time it takes to the skillet. I've used Kraft sun dried tomato dressing to marinate some cuts of antelope/deer for about 45 minutes to an hour, then throw on the BBQ at med temp until about rare to med/rare.
That looks and smells great Elkeater !!!!! Congrats on the Aoudad too.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

Forty years ago when I started hunting black bears in Canada virtually no one ate bear. Bear meat wasn't even used for bait because the outfitters said "even bears won't eat bear meat". Today a very high percentage of bear hunters take their meat home.

A few years ago I was in Utah hunting mountain lions. A really nice tom was taken and my buddy was committed to taking some meat home to try. I generally don't eat predators so I passed. But .... my friend marinated and grilled up some of the meat and said it was excellent, kind of tasted like pork.

You just never know until you try.

 

[shooter7]

So far I've only eaten 3 steaks from my sheep. The first one was a "control" steak. I cut it, put salt, pepper and garlic on it and seared it to a medium rare.


The flavor was good. I would say its comparable to elk. It was kind of tough. It was far from inedible but anyone that's shot and ate a 10 year old cow elk would probably recognize the flavor and texture.


This was not unexpected. Our guide said all 3 of our sheep were likely 10-12 years old.



The next two steaks, I seasoned and cooked the same way. I did however try a new tenderizing method.


I was browsing YouTube and stumled across a channel called Guga Foods. The guy is a grill master. I saw one video where he was using pureed pineapple to tenderize tough cuts. He said it worked and I gave it a shot.


The first steak I marinated in the pineapple for 2.5 hours and then rinsed off the all the pineapple. The second steak I let marinate for 12 full hours.


The 2.5 hour steak turned out great. Nice and tender and once again with a flavor I thought was comparable to elk. The 12 hour steak was actually mushy. It had a good flavor with a slight pineapple sweetness to it but the texture was off. It was too soft for my personal preference but still good.


Like most wild game, the auodad is very lean. Its definitely easy to overcook and dry them out. In most wild game I prefer a quick, hard sear. The auodad is no different. I look forward to eating more of it.

Below is a picture of the marinated steaks. The one on the left is the 2.5 hour and the one on the right is the 12.

 

[Sykes]

Stuff a chunk of that Aoudad in a Jalapeno popper! Been doing that with elk and deer lately

 

[mountainman56]

This is good information guys. I'm a big fan of brining and always wanted to try it on aoudad. I WILL be trying some of these ideas out for sure as there's an aoudad hunt in my future.

 

[TXAoudadKlr]

It’s all in how you prepare and cook it! Have to be a bit more considerate in Its preperatoon.

 

[TXAoudadKlr]

I like to grind it with beef and mix some apple wood smoked bacon! Fabulous burgers

 

[FEENIX]

Sounds like it'll make a perfect sous vide candidate. Send some my way and I will be more than happy to experiment for you. 😇

BTW, congrats to both for the successful harvest.

 

[LVJ76]

Congrats on the hunt and it sure looks good. It's all in how you prep it and cook it.

 

[shooter7]

Backstrap and eggs turned out good this morning. Marinated in olive oil, salt, pepper and minced garlic. I just did a quick sear in the cast iron on high heat, about a minute and a half each side and then let them rest for about 5 minutes.

 

[Elkeater]

Ok. Once again an Aoudad taste test. I’ve got three steaks. Left to right. Steak 1 control steak. Seasoned with salt and pepper let sit two hours. Steak 2 pineapple treatment purred pineapple wait two hours, rinse, season with salt and pepper. Steak 3 standard marinade of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Let sit for 2 hours. I’ll grill these up in a couple hours and update y’all.

Control steak

Pineapple steak

Olive oil steak

 

[brentc]

Cook your less desirable cuts with a Sous Vide to break down the connective tissue. I think you'll be pleased.

 

[Zeke-BE]

Sounds awesome!!! Not sure were the hate is with antelope but New Mexico antelope is melt in your mouth meat. I prefer that over elk sirloin hands down.