by JAKE LEIBKE
had the grill going since 8:00
that morning roasting some
pork quarters and ribs. At
about 5:30 p.m. I slipped on
some antelope loin. Long story short, we
said grace and dug in. Everyone came
back looking for more antelope but it was
gone after the first round.
goat soaks up the hot temperatures. I have
a friend who shot a bison in early January
one year with high temperatures in the midteens. They gutted it, loaded it on their
trailer, and headed home with no concerns.
It was about a 10-hour drive home, so they
arrived late and just went to sleep. The next
morning they started skinning and butchering
but immediately realized they made a big
I cannot count the number of times I have
mistake. They ended up losing one of the
heard people say, “antelope tastes terrible
front shoulders and part of the other because
and I wouldn’t eat it again.” I would venture
the meat wasn’t cool enough. If spoiled meat
to guess these same people have never had
can happen in the cold of January it can
antelope meat that was properly prepared.
Proper meat care is vital with all game animals, happen even faster in the heat of August
but especially important with the extreme heat when most archery antelope seasons start.
So what is the best way to get the meat
often accompanying antelope season.
cooled quickly? In my opinion, you must get
Heat is one of the biggest enemies of great
the animal broken down and get the meat
tasting meat. The worst thing you can do
off as soon as possible. I use the gutless
after taking an antelope and gutting it is to
method to accomplish this. This is basically
load it in your truck and drive off while the
removing the hide to expose the meat and