Eating a Wolf

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I got a wolf that was running down the street on Christmas morning. The hide is off and salted and I will resalt it again before putting it a way for the winter. Should be a beautiful tanned hide, that will include the tail, paws and the head as apart of the tanning.

The Meat? There is no odor with the meat or the hide, a clean animal, which is uncommon with wolves. I am reading different things about the eating of the meat. I am thinking I should at least jerky the sirloins, which from what I can tell looks very lean.

Anybody ever cook and eat such wild game?
 
If it is tough then it might be perfect for making jerky. I was so busy with the hide yesterday, I didn't cut the carcass at all. Still 20 degrees out in the garage. When it gets above freezing, I will start cutting out the sirloins. I also need to remove the skull. I'll have it beetle cleaned and then bleached, for a nice display piece for the main room. This wolf has some huge molars and canines. Not something I would want to feel clamping down on my flesh. One less predator in my area the better. I would shot them all but they are damn hard to find. This is only the 2nd wolf I have seen in several years, yet the stories of them slaughtering livestock is prevalent, and even more so this year.
 
I did not even think you could hunt one, let alone eat one. Probably tastes just like chicken. Ugly chicken.



 
The hides are very valuable. I'm certain most people hunt them ONLY for the hide. I'm not sure what I will do with the tanned hide when it is completed sometime in May. Maybe just drape it over a sofa chair, or maybe an article of clothing. I have an inkling to do something like I see in Game of Thrones. But can I find someone that can do the shaping and sewing? There is a nice woman in Idaho, that has made me a few holsters, so I wonder if she could do a John Snow shoulder cape. The hide is rather haggard right now. Needs a good brushing to see how nice it will ultimately look, but that decision is for after it is tanned.

I just looked and a tanned wolf hide from Alaska cost nearly $500. A neighbor got a wolf last year and had it tanned and it cost him $600. Course if you do finally get a wolf the money should be spent or the effort put into tanning it to justify the taking of the life. There was an additional reason to take this animal out, as he was living in the valley. Neighbors with horses were starting to complain about the horses being harassed, and foot prints were up and down the street for over a week. Now that that is all behind us, I am pretty sure where this animal was living. There is a spot were my dog would get all aggressive, and at the time I had no idea what was bugging her. Fortunately this wolf was well fed as we do have children living in the area. It could have gotten bad once the snow got deep and the hunger set in.

game_of_thrones_season_8_episode_1_review_jon_snow.jpg
 
Man, I would love to see what your area looks like. It sounds like you have a wide variety of game and predators. Here in Ohio, we get coyotes and raccoons. Nothing too exciting.
 
Man, I would love to see what your area looks like. It sounds like you have a wide variety of game and predators. Here in Ohio, we get coyotes and raccoons. Nothing too exciting.

Ya, never know what you might see. It can be exciting. When I was dealing with the bear problem, I was constantly carrying the 30-30, even just to get the mail. The woman down the street has horses, chickens, cats and dogs, and she was carry a big shotgun when this wolf was harassing her animals. There are very very real reasons everybody in Montana has firearms. :)

We had a good number of coyotes, but the wolves took care of them.
 
Ya, never know what you might see. It can be exciting. When I was dealing with the bear problem, I was constantly carrying the 30-30, even just to get the mail. The woman down the street has horses, chickens, cats and dogs, and she was carry a big shotgun when this wolf was harassing her animals. There are very very real reasons everybody in Montana has firearms. :)

We had a good number of coyotes, but the wolves took care of them.
If your winters weren't so bad, I would love to live out there, I just hate the cold.
 
If your winters weren't so bad, I would love to live out there, I just hate the cold.

The snow really limits getting around. I read a lot and keep the wood stove going most of the days. I have been here for 8 years, and only finally getting all my cold weather gear together. I have become something of an expert in down insulated clothing. I was at the Eddie Bauer store a few days ago, and was given the compliment of knowing what I am looking for and talking about.
 
The hides are very valuable. I'm certain most people hunt them ONLY for the hide. I'm not sure what I will do with the tanned hide when it is completed sometime in May. Maybe just drape it over a sofa chair, or maybe an article of clothing. I have an inkling to do something like I see in Game of Thrones. But can I find someone that can do the shaping and sewing? There is a nice woman in Idaho, that has made me a few holsters, so I wonder if she could do a John Snow shoulder cape. The hide is rather haggard right now. Needs a good brushing to see how nice it will ultimately look, but that decision is for after it is tanned.

I just looked and a tanned wolf hide from Alaska cost nearly $500. A neighbor got a wolf last year and had it tanned and it cost him $600. Course if you do finally get a wolf the money should be spent or the effort put into tanning it to justify the taking of the life. There was an additional reason to take this animal out, as he was living in the valley. Neighbors with horses were starting to complain about the horses being harassed, and foot prints were up and down the street for over a week. Now that that is all behind us, I am pretty sure where this animal was living. There is a spot were my dog would get all aggressive, and at the time I had no idea what was bugging her. Fortunately this wolf was well fed as we do have children living in the area. It could have gotten bad once the snow got deep and the hunger set in.

game_of_thrones_season_8_episode_1_review_jon_snow.jpg

I hear you on the value of pelts. I looked into a buffalo rob/rug for the back of my sofa and the prices were super steep! Combine that with the fact I know nothing about what I am buying and it was a no go. Wolf pelt would look great on a nice leather chair or sofa.
 
I’ve eaten coyote. I definitely wouldn’t seek it out but it wasn’t terrible either. Not gamey at all. Not much grain to the meat, kind of like a lower end diving duck.

If you do decide to keep the meat, slow cook the roast with bbq sauce and report how it is.
 
It sure will. Here is my Deer hide I did a few years ago. 1 of 4, that sure make for a unique look in any home. I tanned 4 deer hides to prepare myself to do a bear. The bear I shot this year, was a bust as far as tanning goes. The bear was to young and his hide to thin. I was unprepared for the thin hide because of my experience with the deers. The wolf I will do right, if I have to cut each square inch with an x-acto knife.

CIMG4425 (1024x768).jpg
 
That same fellar that ate the mountain lion said an old leather shoe would taste good if it was cooked right.☺

I decided not to eat the animal. 1. The freezer is full, i.e. don't need the meat and 2. Caution over Curiosity won the internal debate.

Montana Wolf Hunting statute says the following -- "Wolves are excluded from being considered as“suitable for food.""

Which to me says, eat at your own risk. No thanks!
 
I've been told there's something iffy about eating apex predators...who knows. But people eat shark and crocodile, so...
True. The best meat comes from animals fattened on corn (or in the case of diving ducks, wild rice).

I’ve heard hippo is excellent. Like beef but better.

Sorry for the derail.
 
I decided not to eat the animal. 1. The freezer is full, i.e. don't need the meat and 2. Caution over Curiosity won the internal debate.

Montana Wolf Hunting statute says the following -- "Wolves are excluded from being considered as“suitable for food.""

Which to me says, eat at your own risk. No thanks!
I can’t imagine you missed much.

I shot a wolf in the last season Minnesota had back in 2014. After the DNR was done taking pieces of it for their wolf study, we put the rest out on our land for the scavengers. The next summer there was absolutely nothing left. Not even a random bone.
 
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