Elk Steaks

[Madison COunty]

Are elk steaks big like beef steak? When I get my deer processed the steaks are maybe 1" thick and 2-3" wide. I like me a big ol steak

Maybe the size of a NY strip or ribeye. Yummmm

[cnelk]

Make em as big and thick as you want!

[Madison COunty]

7 people looked at this and nobody knows roughly how big a elk steak is.......wow

[Madison COunty]

Make em as big and thick as you want!

THANK YOU CNELK!!!!!

[Elkduds]

Elk has very little marbling, or fat inside the red meat. When elk cooks, it can get chewy and dry pretty quick. My and wife's preference is to sear steaks on both sides to retain moisture, then grill medium rare to rare, really pink in the center. For us, steaks that are more than an inch thick overcook on the surface while getting warm all the way through, so 3/4 to 1 inch thick is how we like them.

We brown stew meat in olive oil, maybe w garlic, meat coated w flour, before cooking it in liquid. Stays moist, doesn't get chewy.

We take off every bit of silver skin and connective tissue, either before freezing or before cooking.

We use marinades to add moisture and tenderize: teriyaki, BBQ, red wine/olive oil, let raw steaks swim for 24 hours.

Nothing will save elk meat that ran around wounded and got adrenaline, or laid dead and warm for a long time before being disassembled. My cow last October fell when shot. The quarters and backstraps were cooling in the snow within 30 min. The result is better tasting than custom-cut beef or bison!

[Madison COunty]

Are there any risks eating rare or medium rare elk? I like it juicy!

[Swede]

I understand there are risks from coliforms (E. coli, etc.) found in the feces and or guts of an animal. In addition you could get contamination from an outside source. Cooking it completely through is the safest with elk, the same as it is with other meats.

[Elkduds]

CWD is another risk w wild venison, elk and deer. If hunting in a CWD unit in CO, have CPW test the head. You'll get a refund of license fee if head is CWD (+). I've never been sick from eating elk rare, been doing so for 30 years. Several years ago I switched to gutless quartering, I don't touch the internal organs except when retrieving tenderloins. So quarters and backstraps are never exposed to feces or digestive matter. And my meat all gets frozen, which kills some potential contaminants. Bottom line, IMO you are safer eating carefully dressed game, even rare, than McAnything in styrofoam.

[Swede]

I am not saying that anyone will get anything, but just because you use the gutless method to butcher, is no guarantee. What did your arrow or bullet just pass through? Did your knife or other tool ever come in contact with bacteria? Was it clean when you started butchering? Did you touch any contamination?

[Trophyhill]

I cook mine on the grill the same way I would a ribeye, medium-medium well. I like a little pink inside

[danarnold]

I eat mine still chuckling

[Huntrgathr]

E. Coli is only present in the digestive tract of elk. As long as you don't puncture the digestive organs with your shot or contaminate the meat during quartering there is no risk of getting E. coli. Even if you do get some contamination, it is only on the outside of the meat. A quick sear destroys all bacteria so even a piece of meat is covered in E. coli it can still be eaten rare with no risk of getting you sick. Ground meat is another story. When we grind meat we take all the " outside" of the meat and distribute it through the meat. In that case, meat needs to be cooked to 165 degrees to kill bacteria. The most probable source for contamination ( outside of poor handling in the field) is from the beef fat that hunters often add to their burger.

Make a good shot, use the gutless method to quarter, and you have nothing to worry about unless you have CWD in your area. I've never even heard of someone getting sick from wild game ...

As far as steak thickness I think 1 1/2" is about perfect. Want a bigger steak ? Eat two or butterfly a 3" steak...

[FemoralArchery]

To answer the original question; it depends on how you butcher your animal.

Each individual muscle group on an elk won't be as big as a beef cow. A big elk is probably in the 500-600 pounds, maybe a little more. Your average finished beef will be somewhere around 1,200-1,300 pounds. Many cuts of beef (and other animals including pork) include multiple muscle groups. Meaning they don't seperate and trim every single muscle on the animal. Your T-bone steak contains a piece of the tenderloin and loin (backstrap). When you butcher your elk, you will remove both of these, and trim the connective tissue and silver skin all around them. Your result is much smaller pieces of meat.

When I cut the bigger muscles in to steaks, I seperate each muscle out and trim off all fat, silver skin and connective tissue. The result is a beautiful piece of meat, usually oddly shaped. Then I square off one end accross the grain of the meat. Then continue to make steaks. This will leave you with a couple more odd shaped chunks of meat. I use these for grinding or cut them up in little pieces for stew.

I often cut my steaks thin, about 3/4 of an inch thick. This allows me to cook them through quickly without overcooking. This is just my personal preference, you can make your steaks as thick as you want them.

[Madison COunty]

I guess I like my steaks medium- medium well but I like them bigger than my tiny venison steaks.

[Washington Wapiti]

Did someone say elk steaks?? Friday's dinner . . . marinaded for two days in my own concoction, seared and then grilled. PHENOMENAL. Perfectly moist and tender. On the straps your limited on size by the width, but cut 'em thick as you want like Brad said! The semi-burnt Texas Toast is our ongoing joke.

Home butchering

STEAKS.JPG (124.95 KiB) Viewed 8449 times

Dinner for Two

backstrap steaks.JPG (145.01 KiB) Viewed 8449 times

[Madison COunty]

Stop it...my mouth is watering from the pictures

[Washington Wapiti]

You should've been there grillin' them . . .I didn't think I was gonna make it!

[Still Hunter]

My first elk steak was in 1952. It was rare, and I loved it. I've ate them that way ever since.

[Daved270]

That looks great!

[Madison COunty]

I'm baking meatloaf right now (elk free). Does any of you make it with elk? That sounds delish!

[cnelk]

We just had elk meat loaf over the weekend.
If fact I had leftovers for lunch today
I like to add 1/2 lb sausage to 1 lb elk burger

[Madison COunty]

We just had elk meat loaf over the weekend.
If fact I had leftovers for lunch today
I like to add 1/2 lb sausage to 1 lb elk burger

That sounds so good! What kind of sausage pork?