Elk Meat ?

[Lawnboy]

That's it? Nothing else involved?? I will have to try for sure!

The same works with Lipton onion soup mix. Throw in some cut up potatoes and carrots and Wa la.
We eat this almost every sunday after church. Throw it in at 8 am and by 1 or 2 your eating dinner.
Again I'll say that elk will taste wonderful with some seasoning and proper prepartion. My wife makes an awesome Swiss Steak in the crock pot as well.

 

[jryoung]

If you're up for a recipe that is a little more complex try this.

http://honest-food.net/2012/01/03/hungarian-venison-goulash/

I've done it with moose, deer and wild pig....simply put it is friggen awesome.

 

[sbhooper]

I have always heard it is not neccessary to hang wild game because, unlike beef, the meat is not marbled with fat. It is this marbled fat that breaks down and makes beef tender, but since wild game is not marbled there is no reason to hang it.

This is absolutely correct. One of the studies to prove this was done by the University of Wyoming, I believe. For beef, they determined that 10 days at 38 degrees was optimal, but you don't gain much with wild meat. It probably does not hurt anything to let it hang a bit if you want, but really all you gain is more shrinkage.

Mine gets to age in the freezer.

 

[sbhooper]

FYI, nobody said it tasted like sage. It will cause a more "gamey" taste.

You saying a animals diet doesn't affect the flavor of the meat is not correct. Read "Effects of feeds on flavor of red meat" by a guy named Melton. It pertains to beef, but the concept is the same. Different plants break down differently to form different amino acids, which in turn cause different flavors.

Basically a lower energy diet(sage being that) will cause a more "gamey" taste in anmials.

I did not say that it did not affect it. I just said that it does not taste like what it eats. I have never had an antelope taste like sage, an elk taste like mountain grass, or a white-tail that tastes like alfalfa or corn.

I sometimes wonder about ducks, though.

 

[thecrittergitter]

That's it? Nothing else involved?? I will have to try for sure!

Nope, but actually now that Lawnboy said that, the last time I made one, threw in the Better than Bouillion paste, one packet of onion soup mix, and that was it. Course threw in some potatoes and such in the water but in 8 hrs, you should have an awesome dinner. I would go on the long side too.....10 hrs is even better.

 

[dustinf]

The same works with Lipton onion soup mix. Throw in some cut up potatoes and carrots and Wa la.
We eat this almost every sunday after church. Throw it in at 8 am and by 1 or 2 your eating dinner.
Again I'll say that elk will taste wonderful with some seasoning and proper prepartion. My wife makes an awesome Swiss Steak in the crock pot as well.

I do the same thing, but cover the roast with cranberry sauce(the kind with whole cranberries not the jello kind) and then the onion soup mix.

 

[BowElkStalker]

Can you provide any sources to back this up? I've never heard that.

I was talking about letting the meat sit in the fridge for a week. As far as letting game hang until it turns black on the outside, it won't hurt a thing but you waste meat.

 

[bjtc_brian]

I sometimes wonder about ducks, though.

I've never eaten duck, but I have heard that they will taste like swamp water! Yuck!!!! I think also that sometimes peoples noses trick them into thinking that it tastes a certain way.

 

[jryoung]

I've never eaten duck, but I have heard that they will taste like swamp water! Yuck!!!! I think also that sometimes peoples noses trick them into thinking that it tastes a certain way.

I've never had wild duck, but am looking to get into it. Here in CA the central valley ducks are great (eat a lot of rice), but the ducks on the SF Bay are pretty skanky from what I hear. Anything from saltwater around here needs to be made into sausage.

 

[Deleted member 20812]

I've never had wild duck, but am looking to get into it. Here in CA the central valley ducks are great (eat a lot of rice), but the ducks on the SF Bay are pretty skanky from what I hear. Anything from saltwater around here needs to be made into sausage.

Duck is actually very good if you prepare it correctly. Too many people eat duck that is roasted in the oven until it is like shoe leather with a livery taste.

Take your duck fillets and marinade them in an olive oil/honey/balsamic marinade, then grill them hot and leave them reddish pink in the middle. Cook them just like you would a good elk steak.

My favorite way is to split a duck in half (cut out the backbone with shears), with the skin still on. Mix up equal amounts salt, paprika, and black pepper. Rub on thick to make a crust. Grill hot skin side down for about 10 minutes, flip and grill for about 7 more. Don't over cook these! They should be rare in the middle.

We had a bunch of friends over for dinner one night. I grilled up a bunch of mallard halves and some elk steaks. When supper was done, the ducks were gone and there was elk meat left over.

 

[pondweed]

I didn't come to the same conclusions after reading about the UWyo study. It all depends, but an animal needs to come out of rigor.

"Under ideal conditions, age antelope 3 days, deer, sheep, goat, cow elk and cow moose 7 days and bull elk and bull moose 14 days after the kill at 34ºF. If the temperature is higher, the aging period should be shorter. Game which is killed when the temperature is 65ºF or above and held at this temperature over 1 day should be cut immediately. Game that is to be ground or chopped does not need to be aged. "

Whole article by UW researcher:
http://www.theoutdoorlodge.com/features/articles/wild_game/aging_big_game.html

 

[idnative1948]

Have to politely disagree with some of you. We grew up in the 50-60s with a deer hanging in the shed and usually a quarter of elk during late fall/winter. Dad would go out to cut off dinner, give cats/dogs the trimmings and cook it up by just dredging in flour, salt, pepper, but was always cooked in a little bacon grease. Would scrape the pan (cast iron) afterwards to turn what was left for gravy. If he/we went out to cut some steaks and it was getting a little fuzz on the outer, there was always a bottle of vinegar and a tin of old dish towels to wipe in down to stop the fuzz. Just the way it was, course it sure seemed like it was colder in Oct back in those days. Antelope? I could write pages on does and do not from those old guys.

 

[1_pointer]

I didn't come to the same conclusions after reading about the UWyo study. It all depends, but an animal needs to come out of rigor.

"Under ideal conditions, age antelope 3 days, deer, sheep, goat, cow elk and cow moose 7 days and bull elk and bull moose 14 days after the kill at 34ºF. If the temperature is higher, the aging period should be shorter. Game which is killed when the temperature is 65ºF or above and held at this temperature over 1 day should be cut immediately. Game that is to be ground or chopped does not need to be aged. "

Whole article by UW researcher:
http://www.theoutdoorlodge.com/features/articles/wild_game/aging_big_game.html

That's the same article I had read. I think I came away with the same conclusion you did. Aging in the fridge apparently does the same thing, according to a well known outdoor writer and wife (who writes cookbooks). I have yet seen where aging game increases the liklihood of making one sick, which was stated as fact earlier in this thread. I'd still like to see a reference to that...

 

[Deleted member 20812]

That's the same article I had read. I think I came away with the same conclusion you did. Aging in the fridge apparently does the same thing, according to a well known outdoor writer and wife (who writes cookbooks). I have yet seen where aging game increases the liklihood of making one sick, which was stated as fact earlier in this thread. I'd still like to see a reference to that...

I guess if the meat went bad it could make you sick, but if you're dumb enough to eat meat that has gone bad (which your nose knows) then I don't know what to say.

The only difference would be that after meat is cut you have more surface area exposed and it has been handled more, making it more likely to have more bacteria,etc. on it.

 

[WapitiBob]

Elk will have a little smell when cooking but not any stronger than beef in my experience. Flavor wise, slightly stronger than Beef. Antelope, milder than both.

I separate every muscle then fillet the steaks from the outer casing or silver skin. No fat, no bone, no membrane.

 

[Deleted member 20812]

To the OP, was this cut bone in? I didn't think about that until WapitiBob mentioned it. If it's bone in I think you've identified the problem.

 

[Horn Seeker]

Just keep in mind they are usually very good eating and don't let this one throw you off

Ditto

Never had one yet that was ANYTHING but delectable!! I'm sorry for you... cause elk meat is usually something to really really enjoy...

 

[pondweed]

Back on topic: as mentioned, eating elk for 20yrs will give one a different perspective on smells and tastes. I've never had a bad elk. Make sure you remove any hairs that might be floating around. I never add anything to the burger, did someone add fat of some kind?

If I notice smell, it is usually when browning ground meat, but I usually don't taste it. Could the smell be influencing your perception of taste? You might try eating it so you can't smell the prep, cook it outside or brown meat a day before you use it. You might try using ground for burgers on the grill. I have great luck with elk burgers: cooking low and slow and all the way thru (though I like my steaks rare), I also add a packet of ranch dressing mix when making the patties (~1/4c per lb).

On aging meat, I thought someone mentioned that the UW study "proved" there was no point in hanging game meat. I didn't think it quite said that so one should read for themselves. I usually need to rest up a bit after packing my elk out so I like to hang it some before I get to butchering!

 

[Deleted member 20812]

Interesting, because I cook my burgers pretty hot. We grind 10-12% beef fat in when we make it.

We started cooking ours with mustard on them. Squirt some on the patty, spread it around with your fingers, flip and do the other side. Sprinkle with Johnny's and some ground black pepper and throw on the grill. They are excellent.

 

[gjflyfisherman]

I have known a few guys who have worked at a meat processor and they had no idea what they were doing most of the time. I also think that they tend not to take a lot of care into YOUR meat because its not theirs and they have more than they care to manage. I personally have always done it myself, but have had others take theirs in. In my experience, and others would agree, their meat had a different, more gamey taste. If you want the most out of your meat, I would strongly suggest learning how to butcher your elk for yourself.