Difference in taste?

Neve had mule deer and only had elk once...but it was different from whitetail...both are very good...but that elk loin was out of this world.

Well...a good buddy of mine sent me some elk steaks one time...rather than retell the story...here it is:

http://southernoutdoorsman.blogspot.com/2011/09/i-had-dinner-in-idaho-tonight.html

I prefer Elk to Mullies but they are both very good, better than beef if dressed out proper.

Id say this. From my experience mule deer is a bit better. That is comparing the mule deer ive killed out west to the whitetails ive killed around camp. Now if i compare mule deer to the whitetails we shoot doing crop damage shooting on the potatoe farm id take the whitetails hands down. Personaly i think either is a step up from elk. But thats just my opinion. I think elk is kind of tasteless. If you want your meat to taste like beef youd probably like elk more but if you like the tasted of good venison id take deer over elk.

I used to hunt out west a lot until I got too old for those steep hills and high altitude. I have killed 9 mule deer and 2 elk and eaten some meat of several others. Everyone's opinion will vary on taste but mine is as follows:
#1 Elk - no contest. It has a sweet flavor that makes it better than deer.
#2 Whitetail deer - This depends on what cut of meat and how young the deer.
#3 Mule deer - I have only killed older mule deer bucks so the muley's position on this list could change if younger deer were involved.
#4 Moose - Based on 2 moose killed in Wyoming - Tastes good but just the same as grass-fed beef to me. (I like deer better than beef or buffalo.)
#5 Pronghorns - Again only older bucks taken during the rut. Good for sausage.

They are all good if handled properly.
They can all be ruined if mishandled.

The buffalo hunters hunted the Great Plains elk to extinction because they preferred the taste to buffalo while not putting a dent in the deer population. I've got a freezer full of deer and elk, I'll run out of elk first.

Elk extinct!!??? Thinned out,but far from extinct. But without question,elk is the best tasting game I have eaten.Where I hunt,the whitetail tastes better than mule deer,but that may have something to do the timing of the rut.The mule deer bucks I have taken have a stronger smell than whitetails,and it seems to affect the taste.

Lots of variables. A rangy old buck during the rut isn't gonna taste like a yearling. My corn fed Illinois whitetail are good eating but when I went to northern Minnesota and shot a buck in a swamp, it tasted swampy by comparison. Elk is excellent. Mule deer is good. Pronghorn can be excellent or sometimes a little sagey.

Personally, while I like elk, moose is better, and antelope is right up there as well. But as mentioned previously, if not handled properly after the kill, any meat will taste bad

I agree, it is all about how it is handled. I have lived on mule deer for years, whitetail is screamin, antelope chops,mmm, But elk is hard to beat...I better go have a look in the freezer.

jest me, but I rate them...

Moose
Elk
Caribou
Mule Deer / Antelope
White Tail

But = if Moose is a 9, the scale is such that White Tail is still an 8...

osprey176 said:

Elk extinct!!??? Thinned out,but far from extinct.

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The Great Plains species of elk are gone. All that is left is the Rocky Mountain elk. There used to be two species of elk in North America, now there is one.

I guess I have just overdosed on elk. I killed three this year and gave them to folks who need the meat more than I need it. Lately, I have grown fond of white tail deer that live in agricultural areas. I really like those deer that live in the corn all day, then wander into the alfalfa in the evening.

I love elk. #1 in my book. But part of that may be the challenge and rarity of actually getting one.

Had some young whitetail for the first time ever this year. That little buck was yummy.

Grew up on mule deer. Whether I actually liked it depended on what they were eating and how old they were.

Elk, then Whitetail in the corn.

Hard to say as not all taste buds ......are a like. Plus, it all depends where those mentioned live and what they eat. Plus age may or may not play a part in the taste test.

Elk is my favorite, followed by mulies, then pronghorns. Pronghorns make for great jalapeno jerky from my favorite processor in Arvada. Yum!

I love elk. #1 in my book. But part of that may be the challenge and rarity of actually getting one.

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I have always wondered if that isn't true of a lot of folks, but you are the first one I have heard say as much. Around here, the rarity is a white tail and folks (myself included) find them great table fare. FWIW, pronghorn taken in agricultural areas are pretty darned good. Especially in comparison to their sage brush counter parts. I never have understood why people kill pronghorns, then literally feed them to their dogs. Seems like wanton waste to me.

I've eaten a heckuva lot of central Texas whitetail. All of it was good. I've eaten a few west Texas mule deer, and I'd say that those were maybe a bit better, but hard to say why.

I'd rate the rather small amount of elk I've eaten through the years as better than the deer. Not bunches better, but better.

I've only killed and eaten one antelope, killed near Marfa, Texas. It was very good eating and seemed "richer" than deer or elk. Very tasty, but it didn't take all that much for me to feel full.

There is a brushy plant in the area from around Uvalde, Texas, on out past Del Rio that's called "guajilla". Wah--hee-yah. Deer love it. Butchering out the meat, you can smell it. Not a bad smell, though. But it never seems to affect the taste any, compared to the deer from back in the hill country.