Luke Ellsbury and his 16-year-old daughter had chased the lion for miles through a foot of snow in one of the toughest areas of northwest Wyoming. Their bluetick English coonhounds eventually let the cat sit in the tree on the other side of a steep ridge, about seven miles from their truck. By the time they spotted the lion, they had been running for more than half the day, and they still had to skin it and field-dress it.
“There wasn’t a good horse trail or anything to travel in and out of,” Ellsbury says. “Just getting to a lion is a lot of work.”
At that point, some lion hunters may have chosen to take the skull and cape and leave the meat, a practice that is legal in some states such as Wyoming and is currently being used to ban mountain lion hunting in Colorado. Anti-hunters there are trying to convince the voting public that hunters don’t eat mountain lion meat.
But Ellsbury, like many cougar hunters, wanted the meat of his mountain lion. So he, his daughter and two friends carefully removed the animal’s back straps and quarters and packed them up so they could make the long journey back on that cold January day, reaching their truck in the dark. Lion meat, Ellsbury says, is worth the work. Two years later, he still enjoys the remaining packs of lion meat. He recently made it burnt ends. “I’ve eaten my fair share of lion, and I really like it,” he says. “It’s quite versatile and mild in taste.”
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Ellsbury, a major carnivore biologist for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, a longtime hunting dog and former guide, doesn’t blame people for being shy about eating mountain lions. It is a cat after all. But he and others insist it’s worth a try. And unlike other game, from elk to bighorn sheep and chukars to cranes, mountain lion meat is best consumed following a few best practices. Here’s how to prepare and cook mountain lion meat.
Do people actually eat mountain lion?
Yes. While mountain lion meat is certainly not as popular as game meat such as white-tailed deer or wild turkey, it is edible, tasty and safe to eat when prepared properly. The meat of mountain lions and other predators such as black bears has long been stigmatized because these critters eat other animals, raising unfounded concerns about taste and safety. In reality, mountain lion meat tastes great, it’s lean and relatively easy to prepare, says Luke Worthington, a Wyoming hunter, guide and founder. Wyoming Houndsmen Association.
“It tastes a lot like pork,” says Worthington Outdoor living. “I do the old shake and fry with it, where I cube it and put it in shake and fry and fry.”
And that stigma around mountain lions has changed dramatically over the last fifteen to twenty years. Worthington says his customers are becoming increasingly interested in getting lion meat to take home. He points to a growing movement toward eating other, more non-traditional types of game.
“I tell people, ‘This is good meat and edible meat, and it’s worth it. “If you kill an animal, it’s worth taking the meat,” he says. “The least you can do is try.”
What does mountain lion meat taste like?
Most people who have eaten lion say that the meat is very similar to lean pork, with a mild or almost sweet flavor that is well suited for incorporating other flavors into marinades, rubs or sauces.
Ellsbury also says that while deer or elk fat can be waxy and unpleasant in taste, lion fat – like bear fat – can be quite good. He compares lion fat to pork fat, although the amounts of the two animals differ greatly. (Lions are much leaner.)
What about food safety concerns?
A common concern that many people have with lion and bear meat is trichinosis, a foodborne illness caused by a parasitic worm that lives in carnivorous animals. The worm does not appear to affect mountain lions, but it does affect humans and can be fatal if left untreated. Historically, most people contracted trichinosis from eating undercooked or raw pork, but advances in commercial food and agricultural regulations have largely reduced the risk, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There is still a risk with meat from mountain lions, wild boars and bears, but it is minimal: the CDC reports that the US only sees about 15 confirmed cases per year.
Although the risk of contracting trichinosis for humans is low, it still exists. That means hunters must be sure to kill those parasitic larvae before eating them.
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To cook mountain lion meat safely, do not cook it rare or medium-rare. Instead, cook it thoroughly to an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. The CDC also notes that “curing (salting), drying, smoking, or microwaving meat alone does not consistently kill infectious worms. Homemade jerky and sausage were the cause of many cases of diabetes [trichinosis] reported to CDC in the past.”
How to slaughter a lion
Because most lion hunters want the cape, Worthington recommends carefully skinning the animal before beginning to remove the meat. From there, butchering a mountain lion is akin to quartering and butchering an ungulate. Be sure to field dress your lion as soon as possible. Because lions eat other animals, their innards can cause the meat to spoil more quickly than that of a deer, Worthington says.
For hunters who are unable to extract an animal in its entirety, consider the gutless method and remove the forequarters, hindquarters, back straps and edible portions of the neck.
Worthington warns that depending on the size of the cat, the front shoulders may not provide much meat, and the back straps are often about as round as a good-sized bratwurst. But he says it’s still worth saving them for cooking later.
Dan Thompson, supervisor of the large carnivore section at the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, warns hunters to avoid a lion’s anal glands when skinning and dressing the animal. The glands, which are used by cats and dogs to mark their territory, are sharp and can spoil the meat if punctured.
To prevent accidental infection from trichinosis, wear disposable gloves when handling the lion and meat, and wash your hands thoroughly when you are done.
Tips for preparing lion meat
Consider dividing the meat into roasts, steaks and ground burgers. Ellsbury and Thompson both recommend slow-cooking roasts in a crockpot with carnitas seasoning to make tender tacos, or with barbecue seasoning to make pulled lion sandwiches.
You can also marinate and grill steaks. But while you should ensure that the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Celsius, you should be careful not to overcook the lion meat, as it dries out easily and becomes tough.
If you want to impress someone who might be skeptical of mountain lion meat, Thompson recommends this recipe for stuffed mushrooms with pork by Steph Gaudreau. As with other recipes, you can easily replace ground lion meat with ground pork.
Lion stuffed mushrooms
Ingredients
- 8 oz ground lion
- 12 large mushrooms
- ½ large onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 inch fresh ginger or 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons almond flour
- 2 tbsp chopped coriander
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Clean mushrooms, remove stems, scoop out gills and chop stems.
- Fry the garlic and ginger in the oil for 30 seconds and then add the onion and mushroom stems.
- Place in a large bowl to cool. Then add almond flour, coriander, salt, pepper and ground lion.
- Place small balls of the mixture in the mushroom caps on a foil-lined sheet.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
Christine Peterson