What's your favorite way to prepare Elk meat?

libidilatimmy

Veteran member
Oct 22, 2013
1,140
3
Wyoming
As the title states, give up some of those recipes, folks!

My favorite is in steak form. I make a simple brine and put them into soak at lunch for preparation that evening. Next, they're rinsed and dried off. Depending on how I'm feeling that day, sometimes I season dry, and sometimes I season and lightly bread. The steaks get cooked in a hot cast iron skillet with olive oil to medium rare. To eat with the steaks, I'll saute some mushrooms in a mixture of red wine, butter, and garlic. These will go on a bed of mashed potatoes as the side dish and I'll usually fix another vegetable of some sort.
 

Hilltop

Veteran member
Feb 25, 2014
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Eastern Nebraska
My favorite elk is actually a medium rare thick burger... ground elk with no beef fat or additives- Lightly seasoned with garlic powder and pepper. Elk burger

I do love back strap bacon wrapped and cooked on the grill to medium rare.

Elk doesn't need a lot of frill to be good so I don't do anything fancy- just a hunk of meat is awesome!
 

libidilatimmy

Veteran member
Oct 22, 2013
1,140
3
Wyoming
My favorite elk is actually a medium rare thick burger... ground elk with no beef fat or additives- Lightly seasoned with garlic powder and pepper. Elk burger
Do have any trouble getting the burger to stick together? Mine always seem to fall apart if I don't have something in there with them like suet or raw egg.
 

Hilltop

Veteran member
Feb 25, 2014
3,845
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Eastern Nebraska
Do have any trouble getting the burger to stick together? Mine always seem to fall apart if I don't have something in there with them like suet or raw egg.
If you kneed the meat for a minute it activates the proteins and it will actually stay together better than with fat. Its a trick I learned from a chef. Ball the burger to a little bigger than a baseball and work it for a full minute- you won't believe how well it works.
 

gypsumreaper

Active Member
Mar 13, 2014
308
0
I have a great recipe, first I start off with shooting an arrow right over his back at 30 yards, then I let him cure for a year and hopefully after him curing for a year I can put an arrow in him then get back on this forum and start trying some of ur guys recipes.


If you get meat from the store then dont criticize me for having the courage to go out and kill my own meat
 

shootbrownelk

Veteran member
Apr 11, 2011
1,535
196
Wyoming
I use a dry rub, wrap it tight in plastic wrap. Let it set for a few hours in the fridge, then grill it over charcoal until medium rare.
You don't need to do much to elk steaks. I'm hoping to try it on moose NEXT year...
 

Triple BB

Active Member
Jun 22, 2013
296
16
Wyoming
I tried something different tonight. Cut up some elk tenderloin real thin, about a 1/4" or so. Seasoned them well and threw them in a bowel to sit for awhile. Tossed a thick piece of bacon in a small pan over fairly high heat. Once it was rendered down I put the steaks in the grease just long enough to brown the outsides of the steaks. The steaks were all on the rare side. Was damn tasty...
 

RUTTIN

Veteran member
Feb 26, 2011
1,299
0
Kamas, Utah
I like to cut it up into cubes, throw it in the crock pot with some potatoes carrots and put in a package of McCormicks slow cooker. It's the best (beef stew) elk stew you will ever have, better than dinty moore.
 

hunt4duck

New Member
Jun 9, 2014
45
0
Parker, CO
Fried in a skillet with butter. Dry rub of your choosing on backstraps, I like it simple with Lawry's, garlic and a bit of pepper. High heat for a couple minutes on each side. Blue burgers are also great....Mix some blue cheese into the burger before cooking.
 

jjenness

Very Active Member
Sep 30, 2011
666
62
Lewistown, MT
I have a great recipe, first I start off with shooting an arrow right over his back at 30 yards, then I let him cure for a year and hopefully after him curing for a year I can put an arrow in him then get back on this forum and start trying some of ur guys recipes.


If you get meat from the store then dont criticize me for having the courage to go out and kill my own meat
That's some funny s@$t right there! I love a backstrap about 1 inch thick with some Mcormicks Montreal steak seasoning and then BBQ until medium rare.
 

Cobbhunts

Veteran member
Jan 22, 2014
1,060
1
Kentucky
Best Elk steak that I've ever made was using Oakridge BBQs (online order) steak seasoning. Grilled to rare/med rare. Topped them off with an Onion/Bella mushroom Marsala. Trick is to season the steak at least an hour before cooking. And bring it down to nearly room temperature before putting it on the grill. I also rest my steaks for 5 minutes after taking of the heat. Oakridge BBQ also makes some fantastic wild game rubs. Their secret weapon rub is my favorite on birds of any sort. Make someone some Cornish game hens with the secret weapon rub, trust me.

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arwaterfowler

Active Member
Dec 4, 2011
229
15
Omaha, NE
My favorite elk is actually a medium rare thick burger... ground elk with no beef fat or additives- Lightly seasoned with garlic powder and pepper. Elk burger

I do love back strap bacon wrapped and cooked on the grill to medium rare.

Elk doesn't need a lot of frill to be good so I don't do anything fancy- just a hunk of meat is awesome!
I'm with ya on the backstrap. I do like to marinate in Allegro for about 15 minutes though.

My second favorite is my chili. I use stew meat instead of ground elk, roasted poblanos, and mushrooms. The rest is your normal stuff mixed with the right amount if seasoning. Simmering for 3 hours or more is the key to getting the stew meat really tender.


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Cobbhunts

Veteran member
Jan 22, 2014
1,060
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Kentucky
I love the chili too, its the best. I'll try that method with the roasted peppers. I do like stew meat in chili as well. But 85% of the time I use ground with no fat or other additives. I usually crock pot it for 6+ hours. Like you, I think time on the heat is the key for chili as well.

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Umpqua Hunter

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May 26, 2011
3,576
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North Umpqua, Oregon
My kids all time favorite. Cut steaks into smaller pieces and thin (3/8" thick). Dredge in flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Fry in butter in a cast iron pan until the red juice just starts to show on each side (medium rare). As you near being done, make sure you have plenty of butter in the pan that is browning. To that add some fresh flour and let simmer for a minute while scraping the pan with a fork to loosen all the good stuff on the pan. Add milk to make a gravy using a metal wisk to make it smooth. We also often add "Better Than Bullion" mixed in a bit of water and microwaved to add a bit more flavor to the gravy. Always make the gravy a bit thinner than you think you want it because it will thicken more as it comes off the stove. Make some pancakes too (Krusteaz are actually quite good). Steak and pancakes with gravy on the cakes. Kinda like biscuits and gravy….only far better. A weekend tradition for breakfast at our house.

Backstrap (1" thick) wrapped in bacon and grilled to medium rare….killer.

Burger (no fat added) made into a small potato shaped patty (about 1" thick, 2" wide, 3" long). Wrap in bacon, and pin it off with a tooth pick. Marinate it in a sauce of catsup (main ingredient), worcestershire, salt, pepper and a bit of vegetable oil. Grill on the barbecue medium rare.
 
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Umpqua Hunter

Veteran member
May 26, 2011
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North Umpqua, Oregon
Burger Dip

This is a traditional holiday treat for our family that rarely has leftovers:

1) 1 pound ground meat (no added fat needed)
2) 1/2 cup onion, diced
3) 1 clove garlic, minced
4) 8 oz. can tomato sauce
5) 1 teaspoon sugar
6) 3/4 teaspoon ground oregano
7) 3/4 cup Kraft parmesan cheese
8) 8 ounces cream cheese, cubed and softened
9) tortilla chips

In a large saucepan, brown ground beef with onions; drain. Add garlic,
tomato sauce, sugar and oregano; let simmer 10 minutes over medium-low
heat. Add parmesan and cream cheese and heat through until melted. Pour
into a crockpot on low setting for 1-2 hours prior to serving. Serve with
tortilla chips. NOTE: This can be made a day ahead, refrigerated and
brought up to temperature in a crockpot on low setting; allow at least 2
hours.
 

Cobbhunts

Veteran member
Jan 22, 2014
1,060
1
Kentucky
UH....all of that sounds great. I'll def try the burger dip.

And that's exactly how I make/fry up my deer tenderloins or backstraps....with the same method for the gravy. Never tried them on pancakes though, always biscuits. And I have never added bullion either. Thanks!