There's an Antelope in my Cellar

I was asked earlier this fall by the fine man that guides my moose hunts if I would butcher an antelope if he got one, in exchange for half the animal. Pretty good deal all around. So yesterday, the antelope arrived, and I left it in my garage, ready to be cut this morning. The temp was 2C, which made me happy, but as I was about to get into the hind quarter and take out the loins, I realized the animal had frozen in hunting camp more than I’d hoped. So into the cellar it goes, at about 6-7C, until it’s defrosted.

Guests are coming for dinner tonight, and on the menu is some antelope loin – which is to the right of my thumb in the photo. You can see my cut down the spine as I started to pull it out, and abandoned ship due to freeze. I hope the chill has left enough for us to enjoy some this evening. You can also see the surprisingly healthy amount of fat attached to the side [bottom right]. An observation: magpies are feasting on this stuff – freaking out, in fact. Last winter we hung pork lard, and nothing touched it. Even magpies like antelope, I guess.

Pretty exciting to have antelope. Also pretty exciting that my root cellar now provides me with the rich resource of a large walk-in fridge – large enough to hang animals. Have I mentioned that passive cold storage is underrated?

8 Comments on “There’s an Antelope in my Cellar”

The Celiac Husband

10.29.2010 at 5:31 pm

Antelope. Where from?

Kevin Kossowan

10.29.2010 at 5:51 pm

Near Taber, Alberta. May end up being an annual hunt, as the WMU we usually hunt in is further north and there’s a 5-7 year wait between tags. Near Taber, we may be able to get a tag every year.

Karlynn

11.02.2010 at 11:05 pm

I am jealous, I tried antelope at work one day (weirdly a girl brought it in for supper) and it was AMAZING. My mouth is watering just thinking of it. It was one of the few wild meats that I hadn’t ever tried.

Kevin

11.03.2010 at 10:38 pm

Karlynn – It is indeed tasty stuff.