Hunting “in” season

[squirrelwhisperer]

I am looking forward to the opener for several species of fish. Don't do much freshwater and no Spring turkey down here, but April 1 you can keep trout and flounder opens but they are only a myth at this point. Usually around that time the resident stripers are getting really active in the creeks. Not sure how the season will turn out for them with the new regs. (Good topic for another thread) Around the last week of April, maybe first week of May, the bluefish arrive. Closest thing you will ever find to a saltwater piranha. Love to catch and release. Too much work to make taste good, besides too many better tasting fish around. About the same time the squid show up around the North Fork. Tastes great, great bait too. The larger fluke are typically not far behind. June sees cow stripers in the inlet, practically my back yard. Same time the sharks begin to show in the same spot. June also means Black Seabass!!!!!!!!!! Arguably my favorite. July and August will probably find me in Montauk chasing, well...everything. September is when the fish hits the fan. Everything everywhere looking to fatten up fir the trip South. Always a good time. October.....Blackfish or deer....always my hardest decision of the year. 

[mowin]

3 hours ago, johnplav said:

That reminds me... I have some ground moose from a buddy.  Whats the best way to cook it to taste the difference?

If I make Bullwinkle burgers will it taste just like venison?  

It's fantastic... If I had to describe it, it has a milder taste then beef, but, well sweeter???  Hard to describe.  

I like my moose burgers rare to med rare.  Frying pan with some butter. Sliced onion is optional, but highly recommend. 

[Bionic]

4 hours ago, johnplav said:

That reminds me... I have some ground moose from a buddy.  Whats the best way to cook it to taste the difference?

If I make Bullwinkle burgers will it taste just like venison?  

I have experience with making fresh moose burgers, if ya don’t mind my two cents.  I only add a pinch of salt, and black pepper.  The meat is so lean that it does not stick at all to your hands during the burger forming process.  The meat tastes very clean, I too prefer it over venison.....its almost refreshing.

[Five Seasons]

those horns will be delicious 

[Five Seasons]

[Five Seasons]

a few more

[Grizz1219]

In my freezers are the following..  Plus I have 3-5 more hunts for pheasants between now and April.. Then Turkey season in Ma & Ny.. 

 

[johnplav]

@Belo You know these aren’t chicken wings! 
 

[Daveboone]

6 hours ago, johnplav said:

That reminds me... I have some ground moose from a buddy.  Whats the best way to cook it to taste the difference?

If I make Bullwinkle burgers will it taste just like venison?  

I would just cook it like you prefer a burger, but make sure not past medium...I prefer more to the rare, like a steak. I enjoy both deer and moose just liberally peppered and a shake of salt, and served as a steak with breakfast. Ground, it will be difficult to tell from deer...but then again, different batches and cuts of ground beef taste differently. More as a roast or steak it is easier to tell apart, more because of the heavier grain and muscle groups. Cook it hot and simple and rare to keep as close to its own flavor as possible. 

[Daveboone]

I wont bother posting this years deer, already done that...but we have quite a bit of Venison which I butchered, mostly into steaks and roasts. The scraps this year went to Costanzas for hot salami, hungarian smoked sausage, cajun style stuffed sausage and bratwurst. I am lucky enough to have about sixty pounds of moose left from my 2018 hunt...primarily roasts and steaks.

We have several packages of perch fillets and northern pike from the fall....gotta eat them up. I look forward all winter to getting down to 
Cayuga Lake for spring perch.

[wolc123]

Our freezer is in good shape, with plenty of venison and even fish left, but I can't wait until October when hunting really is "in" season, and I can sit down to a fresh surf and turf special like this ("oysters" and tenderloins):

- and even the beer tastes better at that time of year

Edited March 18, 2020 by wolc123

[TreeGuy]

Current inventory :
deer in many formats, from hotdogs to the 2 heads waiting for taxi
Fish - king, steel, coho, perch, walleye

The intentions for 2020 is to keep the inventory stocked !

Sent from my LM-V405 using Tapatalk

[johnplav]

Just now, TreeGuy said:

Current inventory :
deer in many formats, from hotdogs to the 2 heads waiting for taxi
Fish - king, steel, coho, perch, walleye

The intentions for 2020 is to keep the inventory stocked !

Sent from my LM-V405 using Tapatalk
 

When supplies run low you'll be dining on that fine buck head soup.  mm-mmm

[Five Seasons]

7 minutes ago, TreeGuy said:

Current inventory :
deer in many formats, from hotdogs to the 2 heads waiting for taxi
Fish - king, steel, coho, perch, walleye

The intentions for 2020 is to keep the inventory stocked !

Sent from my LM-V405 using Tapatalk
 

you still have fish? Even vac sealed I go for <6 months for fish. Red meat can go almost 2 years but it never makes it past a year for us.

[wolc123]

9 hours ago, Belo said:

you still have fish? Even vac sealed I go for <6 months for fish. Red meat can go almost 2 years but it never makes it past a year for us.

I always try and use the fish, in the order that it went in the freezer, but it is not so important if it is vacuum-sealed.  Every once in a while, I loose track of a pack or two, which I find later when I thaw out the freezer.  It still tastes the same as fresh stuff does, when it is thawed out and cooked, even if it has been in there a year or slightly more.   The vacuum-sealer really makes a big difference. I use to just freeze the fillets,  in zip-lock bags filled with water.  Back then, it was a lot more important to use it faster.   Being frozen in water, it also took a lot longer to thaw out and cook.  It also never tasted quite as good as the fresh stuff, even if it was only in the freezer for a month or two.  Prior to vacuum-sealing,  I dry the fillets with paper towels.  

Speaking of fish, I am going to bring up a couple of packs right now and put them in the fridge to thaw for tomorrow or Friday's dinner (St Lawrence river largemouth bass for me and Lake Erie/upper Niagara river smallmouth bass or walleye for the wife and kids).  I eat about as much myself as those three combined do, including the leftovers which I always take to work for lunch the next day.   Per the NY state health advisories, men over 50 (like me) are good to go on the the St Lawrence stuff, but not women or  children.  That is why I always make sure to mark the packages with contents, origin and date.   The wife and kids started liking fish a lot more after I started using the vacuum sealer.    

Edited March 18, 2020 by wolc123

[TreeGuy]

you still have fish? Even vac sealed I go for

Water in a Ziploc bag, enough to cover the fish and they will easily last a year. No need to vacuum seal. As far as how old, the perch is about a month old.

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[518BowSlayer]

my freezer is pretty packed

[518BowSlayer]

On ‎3‎/‎18‎/‎2020 at 8:36 AM, Belo said:

you still have fish? Even vac sealed I go for <6 months for fish. Red meat can go almost 2 years but it never makes it past a year for us.

just had some brown trout the other night that was in my freezer since May 2018. I was a little hesitant to try it but it was vacuum sealed and tasted great. cooked a moose steak along with the trout in case it wasn't good but it was all fantastic. had a little steak leftover and had moose steak and eggs the next morning. my moose taste pretty similar to deer, the muscle grain is a little bigger so the texture is slightly different and the flavor is maybe a little more mild