How To Cook Elk Backstrap On The Stove

Elk Backstrap - treat it similar a practiced steak and cutting it into medallions with a sauce of blood-red vino, diced shallot, crushed juniper berries, black peppercorns and thyme.

Elk Backstrap Recipe - treat it like a good steak and cut it into medallions with a sauce of red wine, diced shallot, crushed juniper berries, black peppercorns and thyme. | rasamalaysia.com

I am non a big meat eater, in fact, I don't fifty-fifty eat red meat. Elk backstrap is certainly a very exotic ingredient that I wouldn't know how to prepare, and that'south why Matt of Wrightfood and I thought it would make a wonderful guest post on Rasa Malaysia.

I offset discovered Matt's wonderful blog many months ago and was instantly hooked. Matt makes really great and sophisticated seafood dishes (y'all all know how I dearest seafood) that look similar they came out of Michael Mina's kitchen. Please welcome Matt of Wrightfood every bit he shares with u.s. his elk backstrap recipe and the story behind information technology.

It'southward actually refreshing–and new–to have a not-Asian recipe on Rasa Malaysia; I promise you enjoy this guest post as much every bit I do.

Elk Backstrap Recipe
Guest Writer: Wrightfood

I have been waiting a petty bit to practice this recipe. A couple of months ago now Danika's Dad got a telephone call from a friend proverb that he was going elk hunting, and would Matt similar some of the meat if he got annihilation.

To be honest, I didn't have my hopes upward. Any fourth dimension Danika'south dad goes hunting with this bloke, they don't exactly come back with a truck load of meat. They tend to come back slightly fitter than when they left, and somewhat hungry.

Whether this elk was sleeping or non, I have no idea, simply somehow he managed to current of air upwardly getting shot… (follow the story and become the recipe later on the jump)

A quick phone phone call to me from Danika'due south Dad, a quick telephone call back to his friend,and it was setup. I had no thought what I was getting at the time – I was hoping for some decent cuts, only er, free is gratuitous, and I will take what I can get! Thankfully I got some great cuts – a backstrap, and a elevation and lesser round.

I am going to make the rounds into some salumi (more than on that later), but the backstrap needed a different arroyo – this is a really fine eating cut.

Things started to get interesting thanks to my twisted humor. I was talking to Danika's mum about the elk, and she happened to mention that she hated elk (that is refining the phrase she used somewhat, in instance frail eyes are reading this blog). Ohhhhhh honey.

She really shouldn't have mentioned that. It was decided then and in that location. I was going to cook her Elk. I was going to tell her it was steak, and she was going to like it.

Now, there are some things to know about Danika's mum. If I cook something with wine in, she volition almost likely consume information technology. If I cook something in lard, she will almost likely eat it. She has her caput screwed on properly basically! So, I figured if I had those 2 key components, we couldn't get far wrong.

Juniper berry is a favorite flavor of mine with any game. Oddly enough it isn't really a berry, more a seed. It'south flavor is pretty hard to describe… it is a little sharp, somewhat floral, only besides a niggling earthy.

There, that doesn't really clear that up does it. The outside of the "berry" can be somewhat flavorless, so you lot need to smack information technology difficult with the side of a knife before using – just a little trounce.

Now, information technology still being winter here in Seattle, I still have a complete beat myself on roasted root vegetables. Turnips are my vegetable of choice, forth with parsnips too.

You lot can add together a few potatoes in the mix too, and I won't exactly be annoyed either. It just happens that with the sauce I was planning, some of the sweetness root vegetables would be a nice compliment – the juniper/cherry-red wine reduction might cease up a tad precipitous, so some sweeter veg would work well me thinks.

At that place is one thing that I endeavor and keep some of in the freezer. Heck, it tin stay frozen for, er, well-nigh ever. LARD. Yes folks, the practiced old rendered pork fat.

I am sure for many that the idea of lard makes people run straight to the gym, or their cardiologist, only it gets an unfair wrap. It'due south fat profile is upward in that location with olive oil in terms of health, and is really meliorate for you than butter. Sure, become consume your hydrogenised fat marg, and I'll eat my lard.. I can tell ya who is going to see the cardiologist first, and it ain't me.

Lard happens to be a great fatty to roast with. Nigh as expert every bit duck fatty, which is almost as good as goose fatty. It results in very flavorful, very crisp roasted veg… and that is what we all desire.

Plus, it makes your fingers aroma great when you piece of work with it. Rumor has information technology that people would smear it on themselves to stay warm through the winter (way back when).. you ask me, they just invented perfume.

So how is the backstrap cooked? Well, I treated it like a good steak. I cut it into medallions, no less than an inch thick. I heated upward a cast iron pan until information technology was really darn hot.

In goes a piddling grapeseed oil (neat for high oestrus you know). Get it smoking. In goes a couple of medallions. If you are lucky, it all catches on fire. Yep, it is hot plenty. Blow it out, and keep going. Sear on one side for a couple of minutes, then on the otherside for a couple.

Yous tin now either turn the heat down, and finish cooking in the pan, or put them into a roasting pan, and cease in the oven. I opted for the afterward, since I had a fair few medallions to melt. You want to make sure yous cook this medium-rare – overcooked and it is just going to be a chewy mess, since this is a really lean meat.

The sauce is dead simple. In a minor pan I combined a couple of glasses of ruby wine, a diced shallot, the crushed juniper berries, some black peppercorns and some thyme.

I let this reduce down to about 1/4 its original volume. To this I added some really practiced beefiness stock (you lot could certainly apply veal if you lot have it), and let this reduce down to well-nigh half its original book. This gets strained, and a little butter is whisked in for richness.

So.. how did the elk become down?

"Matt this amazing steak"

Plenty said. She now likes Elk. And yes, I did tell her what she just ate later the meal.

How Many Calories Per Serving?

This recipe is merely 602 calories per serving.

What Dishes To Serve with this Recipe?

For a wholesome meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.

Prep Time ten minutes

Cook Fourth dimension fifty minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

2 lb. (0.9 kg) elk backstrap, venison would piece of work here too I guess cut into 1" thick medallions
ii spectacles robust ruddy wine
2 cups beef stock
6 juniper berries, crushed
five blackness peppercorns
i small shallot, diced
four sprigs thyme
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons lard or olive oil for roasting
vi turnips, cut into 3" pieces
6 small parsnips, cutting into 3" pieces
Salt and freshly footing black pepper
Grapeseed or olive oil for cooking the elk.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°F (204°C). Put a roasting pan in the oven whilst the oven is warming to preheat that too. When the pan is hot, and the oven up to temperature, have out the pan, and toss in the lard. Put this pan over a burner on your stove to go along it piping hot. When the lard has melted toss in the turnips and parsnips. Gently toss to coat the veg in the fat, and bung it back in the oven. These volition take well-nigh 45 minutes to roast. About one-half way through, plough the estrus down to well-nigh 370°F (187°C) especially if the veg is looking reasonably brown.
In a minor saucepan combine the shallot, juniper berries, peppercorns, thyme and red wine. Get this boiling, and reduce downward to ane/4 its original volume. Add together the beef stock to this. Let this reduce down to about one-half its original volume. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, and render to the pan, go along to one side.
About 15 minutes before the veg is ready, offset cooking the elk. Take a actually heavy frying pan, cast iron is great - and get it hot. Really hot. Season the medallions with some salt and pepper. Add a niggling splash of oil to the pan, and get that smoking. Put in the elk, using tongs considering it could well flame upward. Accident out any flames that may ascend. Melt for a couple of minutes each side, until you get a nice sear over the meat. Now, either turn the heat down, and cook through to your liking or put them into the oven to cook farther.
Whilst the veg and elk is finishing, go some estrus dorsum under the sauce.When it is hot, whisk in the butter, and keep the sauce warm.
Permit the elk meat residue for a couple of minutes earlier serving. Plate with some of the roasted veg, and the sauce on the side.

Nutrition Information

Yield

Serving Size

4 people
Amount Per Serving Calories 602 Full Fat 20g Saturated Fat 7g Unsaturated Fatty 0g Cholesterol 8mg Sodium 4950mg Carbohydrates 60g Fiber 15g Sugar 20g Protein 54g