I disagree, but your odds of having a bad time with game meat are much higher. I liken it to the early days of craft beer. If you wanted an acceptable beer that wouldn't wow you, but never surprise you, you could always drink budweiser. But if you felt like playing six-pack roulette, pick up your local microbrew. Could be awesome, could be terrible, you won't know until you've taken a drink.

Domestic goose is better than wild goose, but grass-fed elk (that is, ranched elk) just tastes like beef. Likewise with grass-fed bison. Truly wild elk has that gaminess to it that I really appreciate. I've a recipe for venison burger casserole that is utterly flavorless when made with ground beef. Bear sausage is only good when its heavily mixed with actual pork, and spiced to hell and back.

Deer and pronghorn that graze on sagebrush actually taste sagey. If that's your jam, its fantastic.

As a hunter, I have to disagree. Properly harvested deer, elk, and bear are all amazing, and I'd take any of the three over the lowest common denominator ground beef. Actual cheap ground beef is garbage.

I buy half a cow every year from local farmers, and I'd put my ground elk up against that ground beef any day (though I do have to add suet because elk is so lean). In fact, nobody that I serve elk to knows that it's elk until/unless I tell them.

If your wild game tastes bad, you messed up somewhere along the line. Get it cold as soon as possible, keep it clean, and the meat will be great.

> I can tell you that there isn’t any wild game that can beat the cheapest of ground beef for flavor or usefulness.

Not even duck? That is a bit surprising.

Sounds like you need a better cook. I love game meat and find most ground beef disgusting.

The main advantage of commercially produced beef, chicken, and pork is that you can eat it rare & raw.