We have always felt that cooking with pronghorn meat is a difficult task. People differ on what the causes of taste of the meat is. Most people say that it has to do with the pronghorn's diet of sagebrush that gives it's meat that "gamey" taste. Some say that it's the adrenaline in the system of a "spooked" pronghorn, and that they need to be shot while at rest - either standing or bedding.

Various "fixes" to the gamey taste of antelope meat is to soak it in a variety of fluids like salted water, tomato sauce, milk and lots of others. Most people have their antelope made into sausage or jerky, because the combinations of spices works with or counteracts the natural sage. Antelope hamburger works well in dishes like spaghetti, stir fry, or on home-made pizza, or other heavily seasoned dishes.

Try these steps:

1. Soak it in water for 20 minutes.
2. Soak it in milk for 20 minutes.
3. Season it well - use it in tomato sauces, spicy dishes, and other more strongly seasoned meals.
4. It seems to mellow the flavor some when it is jerked - pretty much any salt cure or salt rub will work for this.

An alternate perspective come from a recent site visitor:

As a woman hunter of Wyoming, I wanted to comment on your cooking page. I love antelope meat, as does my family. I don't do anything fancy, exotic or strange to "get rid of" the "gamey" flavor. We DO treat our downed game with respect and we are very aware of September temperatures and the Wyoming sun. We dress it out immediately and rinse the cavity with fresh water. We then pack it with bottles of ice and place it on wooden pallets in the bed of the truck. A topper provides shade and it's open windows allow air to circulate. We then head straight for the cooler back home. I just haven't had a bad pronghorn this way.

We believe care in the field has a great impact on success in the kitchen. If deer or elk were treated as we see many pronghorn in the field, they would likely be much maligned as tasting "gamey" too. Food for thought- pun intended.
Thanks for the great website! I love Pronghorn!

D. Koch
Lander, Wyoming

My wife and I were recently visiting a friend in Saratoga.  While out to dinner, we ran into a couple that is currently living in Cheyenne, but the husband is originally from Louisiana - He still has a thick, slow accent.

We were talking about hunting at our table, and the other couple joined right in. The fellow from Louisiana said that he swears by the "soaking antelope in milk" method. He said that after he cuts up all his meat into what he wants, he soaks the pieces in milk overnight - or up to 12 hours. He said that by doing that, the antelope meat is great every time, and can't understand people who "don't like" antelope meat.

K. Wheeler

A friend of mine from Laramie, Wyoming says that he guts and skins his antelope within an hour of being shot. He then hangs them in his shop for three days in cool weather. He said that he usually has charcoal smoke going in his shop while his antelope is hanging.

But I do definitely notice that the "antelope smell" is concentrated in the hide, so ...skinning it fast is useful. True, you lose a bit more of the outer layer of meat due to drying, but that's better than ruining it all. Also, you can use cheesecloth or damp game bags to keep the moisture.

When butchering, I always take some steaks off the big muscle group on the hind quarter, and we'll usually keep a rump roast too. But as for the rest of it, 1/2 goes to hamburger (we grind it ourselves with about 15% beef fat) and 1/2 gets cut into small diced pieces that we use for stew, stroganoff, or fajitas.

Recipe: Antelope Green Chile - David Draper, Field & Stream, Sept 19, 2012

Recipe: Pronghorn Guisada - David Draper, Field and Stream, April 25, 2012

Why Pronghorn Meat Is My Favorite Wild Game - by David Draper, Field and Stream, Sept. 7, 2011