Elk Meat Recipes
Imagine the woods at five o’clock in the morning. The sun has yet to rise above the horizon and there is a slight chilly bite in the air. A hunter has been tracking wild elk for a couple days and now waits down wind and in a tree with rifle in hand. He sits motionless, his legs starting to cramp as they are wrapped around a limb twenty feet up. His patience is rewarded as a bull with a mighty rack comes into view. The hunter steadies his aim and with a shot that shatters the peace of the forest, the elk falls and the hunt comes to end. The hunter approaches the elk, pays his respects, and secures the elk for the trip back home. The meat has been cleaned and stored, and dinner time is approaching. Now what?
Elks can weigh upwards to seven-hundred pounds and stand around five feet at the shoulder. That’s a big animal. When the trophy is secure and the pelt removed, there is still a lot of meat that must be dealt with. A true hunter only takes what he needs from nature, and next to that tradition is another: do not waste anything. Never take the life of an animal then leave it to rot. Well, I hope you have plenty of elk meat recipes, because that meat will last a while.
When people go shopping, they usually only pick up a few pounds of beef or chicken. With the meat of a seven-hundred pound animal cut up and put into storage, elk will be the central ingredient of dinner for weeks. Waste nothing, but after a month or two of nothing but cooked elk meat, dinner could get old pretty quick. Fortunately, elk is just a flexible meat when it comes to cooking. Stew, hamburgers, and stir-fly are some of the classic dishes that can be given a new taste with a bit of elk. Elk meat recipes can provide that invigorating change to dinner time staples.
Along with improving dinner, elk meat recipes are also healthier for your family. Elk meat is low in fat and a great source of vitamins B6, B12, and riboflavin which play important roles in energy metabolism. Elk provides a decent amount of potassium, protein, and a variety of minerals without going overboard in cholesterol. And remember, elk meat has zero carbohydrates. At one-hundred and thirty calories per four ounce serving, elk meat will not make you feel bad about indulging yourself.
Do not worry about fitting elk into your dinner rotation. Elk meat is easy to cook and behaves itself in the frying pan. Some wild animal meats burn too quickly or refuse to absorb the spices to enhance the flavor. Elk meat can be boiled, broil, fried, and deep-fried and come out retaining a taste as majestic as the elk truly is. Elk meat recipes might not take over your family’s cookbook, but you no doubt start a new chapter just for elk.