Had me my first elk last December. Not the whole thing, just a massive steak. A friend’s husband is a hunter so it was local, fresh, and he dressed it, himself.
I was a little surprised that it didn’t taste gamey and was so naturally lean that I had to add beef tallow but it was the deepest red I’ve ever seen. All those lovely nutrients.
Also made my first New England clam chowder from scratch with fresh caught clams from another friend who was on the coast (I love Oregon). I overcooked them so it was actually Rubber Band Chowder but you’d be surprised how delicious rubber bands are in butter and extra heavy cream.
PS: I left out the potatoes and other plantstuffs from the chowder but I read somewhere that true New Englanders don’t put that stuff in, anyway, so I felt authentic.
PPS: I did put in bacon, which probably cancelled out the aforementioned authenticity, but bite me.