Tatume
.400 member
Reged: 09/06/07
Posts: 1091
Loc: Gloucester, Va USA
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Hello Folks,
I have several questions about pronghorn antelope, and I’m going to ask them one at a time. The first concerns palatability. Some people have told me that they are not especially good to eat, and others disagree. What is your opinion?
Let me add that I am not a trophy hunter, and I don’t keep trophies. I hunt for meat, and will take a fat doe over a buck, or a young animal over an older one with a big rack.
Take care, Tom
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Ripp
.577 member
Reged: 19/02/07
Posts: 16072
Loc: Montana, USA
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Tom
Several things determine the palatability of antelope...first and foremost is how they are taken care of in the field..get them dressed out asap..and washed out with water...let them cool properly..again asap...I get the hides off of them within the first hour..bone it all out and place it in a cooler...
Another item is whether they have been chased for hours or calmly shot while feeding ...
Finally, have eaten some antelope that has been poor to horrible..but most has been very good..seasoning for me makes a big difference..as well as proper cooking techniques...my wife is the cook..and a VERY good one at that...but, IMHO, pronghorn can be and is very, very good...
This is what I do..I am sure others do things differently...but works for me.. 
Ripp
-------------------- ALL MEN DIE, BUT FEW MEN TRULY LIVE..
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CowboyCS
.333 member
Reged: 05/10/07
Posts: 386
Loc: Kansas u.S.A.
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I've shot probably 25 or more Antelope in my life, mostly in Wyoming. I'd have to agree with Ripp that the biggest part of it is getting them dead quickly and getting them washed and cooled down fast. I stopped hunting them about 8 years ago cause I lost interest in them.
But when I was hunting them every year, one of the things I noticed was, the ones I shot out on fields were good eating, and the ones I shot out on the desert in the sagebrush, weren't as tasty. That isn't to say they were bad, they just weren't as palatable as the ones that had been eating Hay.
If szihn wonders in here, you should get his recipe for this german stew he makes with antelope, it's very good.
Colin
-------------------- The Bill of Rights- Void were prohibited by law
Stolzer & Son's Gunsmithing
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szihn
.400 member
Reged: 24/06/07
Posts: 2121
Loc: United States
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Hi Guys
I also have killed a lot of antelope. I don't know how many, but several dozen. I have hunted them for 30 years or so. I also am a meat hunter. I can give you a few tips that work wonders. #1, is just what Ripp and Cowboy said. Make a clean kill and get them gutted and coooled fast. Now, I DON'T skin them in the field. I wait until they are back at my home or in a camp, so I can get the skins off while their hanging up, but what I do is to carry a 5 gallon water can with me to the field and keep it in camp or in my truck. If you are using horses, carry several 1 gallon canteens with you. Get them killed, and gutted and then WASH them out. Get the loose hair out of them.
#2 When you get them home or to your camp, skin them out and field butcher them. That means get them cut into pieces and get the bones out. You need not have them to a point that you can wrap them for the freezer, but get the meat down to pieces no larger then your head. Then fill a wash tub with cold water and put in a 1/2 cup of salt and put the meat in it for about 3 hours. The salt water pulls blood out of the meat. The bad taste that most folks tell you about if from the blood and if you hang (age) an antelope like you do a deer, the blood congeals and doesn't come out. Empty the water and do it again. 2 baths in salt water and the foul taste is washed away and so is the hair that seems to want to cling. That's why I field butcher and saltwater soak it. THIS MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD!
Ok, Next, the fun part.
Take some of the good meat and cut it into cubes about 1” to 1 1/2” square. Take about 2 cups of white flour and 1 teaspoon of salt, with 1 table spoon of pepper, and dredge the meat in it.
Heat you a deep skillet or Dutch oven to medium heat and melt a cube of butter, and then brown the meat. When it’s all brown, take it out and put in a large onion, all cut up, and cook until it’s tender. When it’s soft, add a large can of cream of mushroom soup, and some extra mushrooms. Put the meat back in. Next add 1 teaspoon of garlic powder and about 3 tablespoons of horse radish. Then add 1 1/4 cup of white wine.
Stir this all up and bring it to a boil for only about 1 minute, then reduce the heat until it’s just simmering. Leave it to simmer for about 7 hours. About 30 minutes before dinner time, mix 1/2 a cup of Cream Sherry with 1 cup of sour cream and then stir them into the meat. Next, make up a pot of your favorite pasta, or you can make rice. Either one is good.
When the pasta or rice is done, you make a bed of it on a plate and cover it with the stroganoff, and season it on top with paprika.
At this point your “nasty old antelope” is worthy of a king.
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Tatume
.400 member
Reged: 09/06/07
Posts: 1091
Loc: Gloucester, Va USA
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Thank you fellows! Now question #2. I teach from August 15 until May 15, and can't travel much during that time. The pictures I've seen of antelope hunting all appear green and warm. Is it possible to hunt them anywhere between May 15 and August 15?
If they are a winter-season species (like most are, this is one reason I've taken up hog hunting), can you recommend some places where I can do a short hunt, and stay in a motel, for not too much money (teachers don't do what we do to get rich!).
I'm in Virginia, and would have to drive out, or fly and have the meat shipped back frozen. This is getting complicated, I know.
Thank you.
Take care, Tom
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szihn
.400 member
Reged: 24/06/07
Posts: 2121
Loc: United States
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Not in Wyoming, but maybe in some other state. The only early season I know of for Antelope is Archery, and it's still later then Aug 15th. Usually the last week in August or 1st week of Sept.
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AzGuy
.333 member
Reged: 23/03/06
Posts: 388
Loc: Prescott, Arizona, USA
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Quote:
Thank you fellows! Now question #2. I teach from August 15 until May 15, and can't travel much during that time. The pictures I've seen of antelope hunting all appear green and warm. Is it possible to hunt them anywhere between May 15 and August 15?
If they are a winter-season species (like most are, this is one reason I've taken up hog hunting), can you recommend some places where I can do a short hunt, and stay in a motel, for not too much money (teachers don't do what we do to get rich!).
I'm in Virginia, and would have to drive out, or fly and have the meat shipped back frozen. This is getting complicated, I know.
Thank you.
Take care, Tom
Tom,
So sorry to hear about the hernia that experienced Sunday, September 28th..... they still have over the counter antelope tags available in Wyoming. Most areas open late Sept/early Oct..... and the meat, properly cared for, is GREAT.
Usally takes about 7-10 days to recover from hernia surgery, just don't show anyone your scars
-------------------- Hike the Grand Canyon, you will never be the same!
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Tatume
.400 member
Reged: 09/06/07
Posts: 1091
Loc: Gloucester, Va USA
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AzGuy, I don't get it. Take care, Tom
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AzGuy
.333 member
Reged: 23/03/06
Posts: 388
Loc: Prescott, Arizona, USA
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Tom,
If you want to hunt antelope.... then you need to "change/re-arrange" your schedule.
I was mostly kidding.....but if you could "plan" a 7-10 day "Dr's excuse" then you could go antelope hunting.
Thanks for being a teacher!!
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Tatume
.400 member
Reged: 09/06/07
Posts: 1091
Loc: Gloucester, Va USA
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Duh. Sorry for being dense. Take care, Tom
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Ripp
.577 member
Reged: 19/02/07
Posts: 16072
Loc: Montana, USA
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Tom Antelope for gun opens in Oct here in Montana--you may want to check in N Mexico...but agree..you would need to make a plan to take off some time in Oct to take advantage of the hunting seasons in the west..
Antelope are, IMHO, easier to hunt than deer and elk in that they are generally in more open terrain and therefore easier to spot..and stalk...so you would not need a lot of time off..just need the time... ---as in doctors excuse mentioned above...
Ripp
-------------------- ALL MEN DIE, BUT FEW MEN TRULY LIVE..
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