Hunting season has come and gone. My fluorescent orange hat has been tucked away under the bed until next fall when I will once again bring it out of hibernation.
Every year, our family waves goodbye to my father hoping that he comes back with a beautiful elk. Aside from his bow hunting days, we have had a freezer full of Colorado elk every year.
Now, I could insert pictures of people holding their prized elk heads, showing off the points on the antlers but for me hunting is not about the sport but about the meat. My dad carefully butchers his own elk and the end result is nothing less than spectacular. Here are some recipes I would like to share with you.
One tip with elk is to first soak it in milk for a few hours. This tenderizes it. Then, I like to pound my meat out with a meat pounder and get it nice and thin before cooking it.
Grilled Elk:
The easiest elk recipe is to get fillets of elk, add some salt and pepper, wrap in bacon and throw on the grill.
Elk Piccata:
1 lb elk
salt, pepper, flour ( all mixed together for batter)
3 tbs Butter
1 tbs Olive Oil
2 cloves garlic
1/2 sliced mushrooms
2 tbs lemon juice
1/2 dry white wine
2 tsp caper plus 1 Tsp caper juice
3 tbs minced parsley
Sprinkle elk with the flour mixture. Heat butter and olive oil in a large skillet. Add elk and brown on both sides. Remove elk from skillet. Add garlic and mushrooms to pan and cook for one minutes. Return elk to pan. Add lemon juice, white wine, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes. Add capers and garnish with parsley.
Elk Marsala
salt, pepper, flour ( all mixed together for batter
2 tbs olive oil
3 tbs butter
1 lb elk
1/2 c dry Marsala
1/2 heavy cream
Heat oil and butter in skillet. Dredge elk in flour and brown elk quickly on each side and remove from skillet.
Add Marsala to skillet, make sure to stir and scrape the skillet to loosen the residue from the pan. When Marsala has begun to boil add cream and stir constantly over high heat until cream is mixed in with juices and creates a thick dark sauce. Add elk and simmer for a few minutes.
Elk Green Chile
1/2 c. oil
1 lb elk ( roast)
6 garlic cloves
1/2 c. flour
1 14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 30oz de-thawed green chiles (look for them in the International section at the grocery store in the frozen food aisle)
3 cups of Chicken broth
Instructions:
Heat oil in pot, add elk and cook, lower heat and add minced garlic, cook 5 minutes, add flour and slightly brown, add tomatoes, green chiles and simmer for about 15 minutes, add chicken broth ( just to make it less thick so not too much or it will turn out soupy).
