They say that with a big bull bison even the gravy is tough. If you are in possession of such an animal you may have 900 pounds of very tough meat. Some moose are just as tough.
The following suggestions may help you create meals to be enjoyed by everyone.
First, make as much ground meat as you can use. Ground meat is never tough. It can then be used in some big batches of spaghetti sauce or chilli as well as burgers, meat-loaf, soups and stews. Freeze and label the meat in meal-size portions.
You can have various flavours of sausages professionally made or you can make your own using a binder (flavour) kit, or your own recipe.
Thinner steaks can be run through a cutlet machine, which is a many-bladed set of rollers that penetrate the steak as it runs through. They can also be pounded with a meat mallet to make cutlets or schnitzel meat. The pounding routine always tenderizes the steaks to a greater extent than the cutlet machine.
Aging in a marinade for 3-7 days works too. Put the cut in a Ziploc bag with the marinade, then knead and turn the bag a few times a day. The marinade can be as simple as olive oil and garlic, but anything in the barbeque sauce rack at your local grocery store will also work.
If your fridge is too cold the oil will gel. In that case the bag and contents should be out on the counter for a few hours each day so the oil can get into the meat and work its magic.
Wild meat, unlike factory beef has no marbling of fat through the muscle. This allows it to toughen more quickly. If barbequed or fried, it needs to be done fast and hot to keep it moist.
Following a pressure-cooker recipe will produce tender portions even from tough cuts.
Braising or using slow-cooker use is usually very successful. The meat needs to be completely covered by liquid, which can be simply water. You can also use broth, fruit juices, tomato juice/sauce, wine or a small amount of ketchup and/or vinegar.
Add your choice of spices. Include veggies that you like, but carrots, onion and celery in the ratios of 25%-50%-25% (called a Mirepoix) should always be included. Cook it hot for the first hour and then let it simmer for the rest of the day.
With the addition of rice or potatoes on your plate, this dish is ready to serve at your convenience. An even tastier, more tender product results if the meat is removed, the veggies strained out of the broth and the meat and broth are allowed to cool separately overnight.
The meat will be extra-tender and easy to slice cold. The broth can be thickened to make a sauce. Spoon the sauce over the sliced cold meat on a cookie sheet or roast pan and reheated at 325ºF for about an hour.
