# Ribeye of the sky



## tigerpincer (Dec 5, 2009)

I had a great time calling a bunch of Sandhill Cranes into my decoys tonight.  I was seeing enough to be a little picky and harvest a nice mature bird. This bad boys gonna be tasty on the grill. Sure wish the goose season would a been open, could a slaughtered the Canadas.


----------



## hawglips (Aug 23, 2013)

Awesome!


----------



## MuscleWhitefish (Jan 13, 2015)

I cooked mine up last night. 

In a blind taste test, you would not be able to tell the difference between crane and beef steak. 

By far the best bird for the table.


----------



## SidVicious (Aug 19, 2014)

Love it! Those are about the best eating bird you can get. Really wish I had a tag this year.


----------



## BPturkeys (Sep 13, 2007)

Nice, love to hunt those big old birds. It's like shooting a 747 out of the sky when they come tumbling down.
Cook a whole breast just like a rib roast...you know, your favorite rub, etc, when it hits an internal temp of about 125-130 degrees get him off the heat, let it rest a few minutes, slice like a roast and enjoy...dam*, making myself hungry talkin about it


----------



## Airborne (May 29, 2009)

Congrats!--way cool


----------



## hunting777 (May 3, 2009)

CONGRATS!


----------



## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

BPturkeys said:


> Nice, love to hunt those big old birds. It's like shooting a 747 out of the sky when they come tumbling down.
> Cook a whole breast just like a rib roast...you know, your favorite rub, etc, when it hits an internal temp of about 125-130 degrees get him off the heat, let it rest a few minutes, slice like a roast and enjoy...dam*, making myself hungry talkin about it


How much does one half of the breast weigh on one of those big birds? Wow in Texas the daily bag limit is 3, possession limit is 9 but no season limit.


----------



## MuscleWhitefish (Jan 13, 2015)

LostLouisianian said:


> How much does one half of the breast weigh on one of those big birds? Wow in Texas the daily bag limit is 3, possession limit is 9 but no season limit.


Mine was a little smaller than a goose breast.

The drum sticks are bigger than a goose and are closer to a small turkey.


----------



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

I love it, congrats.

.


----------



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

LostLouisianian said:


> How much does one half of the breast weigh on one of those big birds? Wow in Texas the daily bag limit is 3, possession limit is 9 but no season limit.


From an earlier thread:

Sandhill Crane seasons in Utah and Wyoming are in early Fall when the cranes have lots of pin feathers so the birds are usually skinned. Leaving the skin on, even if it has pin feathers, will help keep the bird moist while cooking; Nature's version of wrapping with aluminum foil.

There's very little meat on the wings of a Sandhill Crane, but for this exercise the wings were de-boned and the meat added to the giblets.

Many hunters only keep the breasts and claim "there's not much meat on a crane besides the breast anyway". Really? Let's check it out: 

Dressed crane without the neck, giblets and skin...7lb 8oz - 100%
Breast with bones..................................................3lb 10oz - 58.0%
Legs n thighs..........................................................2lb 10oz - 42.0%
Breast meat, no bones............................................3lb 4oz - 48.8%
Everything but the breast.......................................3lb 14oz - 43.7%
 Neck, heart, gizzard and the meat from wings.......1lb 4oz - 4.5%


----------

