Ingredients (serves 8 to 10):
2 pounds ground antelope
2 pounds ground pork or game sausage
8 slices of bread cubed and soaked in milk
1 bunch of parsley
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
Combine all ingredients and form balls. Over medium high heat brown the outside of each meatball. Continue to cook for 30 minutes in tomato sauce of your choice. Serve with spaghetti.
Ingredients:
Elk Roast – thawed and brought to room temperature
Beef broth
Water
BBQ Sauce
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons mustard
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
Place elk roast in slow cooker and cover 3/4 with broth and remaining with water. Cook on low for 6 to 10 hours. Throw BBQ sauce ingredients in a sauce pan and whisk until boiling. Remove roast from slow cooker and shred. Reserve a few cups of the liquid. Place shredded elk and BBQ sauce back into slow cooker and simmer. The longer you simmer the better. Add reserved water as needed.
Additions: serve on dinner roll or biscuit and top with cole slaw or sliced apples.
Thanks to our good friends Rachel, Jay, and Eli Beyer for this incredible recipe!
Ingredients:
Elk tenderloin trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces
Bacon of your choice
Marinade
A splash of:
Balsamic vinegar
Red wine
Worcester
Olive oil
Orange juice
Rub
A shake of:
Salt
Pepper
Cumin
Garlic
Onion
Chili powder
Sugar
Cayenne
Ground coffee
Sauce
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/2 cup cream or half and half
2 tablespoons chipotle chilis in adobo sauce (These peppers pack a pretty serious heat, so add or remove according to personal preference.)
Marinate tenderloin in rub and liquid marinade for desired length (we marinated it for 2 days). Grill tenderloin pieces over medium heat for 6 to 10 minutes. Cook bacon over medium heat for 1 to 3 minutes. Wrap tenderloin in bacon and secure with butcher string. Grill bacon wrapped tenderloin over medium high heat for 5 to 10 minutes.
Sauce: In sauce pan combine blue cheese and cream. In a food processor, pulse chili peppers and adobo sauce until combined. Add blue cheese and cream to food processor and pulse until combined. Return to sauce pan to keep warm.
Enjoy!
In the spirit of trying to keep game recipes interesting and diverse, here’s another recipe that’s sure to wet your appetite and satisfy your hunger at any time of the day!
Ingredients:
1 pie crust – I used Pillsbury store bought
1 pound of elk sausage
3 eggs
1 cup of fresh spinach
1 cup of sliced mushrooms
1 cup of shredded swiss cheese
2 chopped shallots
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup half and half
Salt and pepper to taste
Steps:
1. Prepare your pie crust according to the directions
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
3. Saute elk sausage, mushrooms, and shallots over medium high heat until sausage is cooked. Let cool
4. In a separate dish combine 3 eggs, milk, half and half, and salt and pepper. Whisk together.
5. Place elk mixture in prepared pie crust, top with half of cheese, spinach, and egg mixture.
6. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.
7. Place pie dish on baking pan to catch any run-off. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until top is golden brown.
8. Let cool for 10 minutes.
Yes, this meal tastes as good as it sounds!
Spontaneously, and quite randomly, I was craving gnocchi. Not the slave over it in your kitchen DIY gnocchi, but your standard buy it from the grocery store type. I wish I had the patience right now to make gnocchi from scratch, but I would classify that as a winter activity, so I have a few more months to find the necessary patience and motivation.
This is easy.
Ingredients:
1 package of elk sausage - I used some of our sweet italian sausage and it was abosutely perfect for this dish
1 package of gnocchi
1 package of fresh mozzarella – I used the “mozzarella pearls” and these made things even easier
1 quart of cherry or grape tomatoes
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1-2 cloves of garlic finely minced
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper
1 bunch of fresh basil
Red pepper flakes – optional
Steps:
1. Cook the elk sausage over medium high heat – add red pepper flakes if you like a little heat
2. While sausage cooks, halve tomatoes and toss with oil, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper. Throw in fridge to marinate.
3. Prepare gnocchi according to directions on the box. Note: After the water has boiled, gnocchi only takes a few minutes to cook.
4. Wash and chop basil
5. When everything is cooked, place tomatoes and dressing in the bottom of a big bowl. Pour hot sausage and gnocchi on top of tomatoes – this heat will cook the tomatoes just a tad. Let sit for a minute or so.
6. Add fresh basil and mozzarella to top of bowl and mix all ingredients together.
Enjoy with fresh baked bread from your local farmer’s market (or whatever you have on hand)!
We all have those days, weeks, or months in my case, where cooking gets a spot on the back burner. My sense of excitement and meal creativity has been on a low simmer for quite some time now. But with summer occasionally peaking its head out, I’m getting motivated for fresh ideas, colorful ingredients, and some good old BBQing.
It rained all weekend… poured actually. So even with all of my new found enthusiasm, I opted for a roast and now I’m hoping to stretch it out over the next few meals.
So it begins with Elk Roast Recipe #1: Blackberry and Balsamic Roasted Elk served with Rough Mashed Potatoes and Green Salad
Ingredients:
For Elk Marinade
- 1 shallot
- 5 garlic cloves
- 1 tablespoon whole peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup water
- 2 heaping tablespoons of blackberry jam (or jam of your choice)
- salt
Place ingredients in food processor and process!
Place room temperature elk roast in crock pot
Sprinkle with salt
Pour marinade over roast
Cook on high for 4-5 hours – baste and flip every hour or so.
Note: I prefer my roasts a little more on the well done side. That way I can always add a little au jus for flavor and moisture. I also find that with elk roasts there is a tipping point, a time, where the meat goes from tough and chewy to tender (and maybe a little drier). So cook to your liking and remember that this perfect time may take a few trials to figure out.
Serve with sides of your choice!
Stay tuned for recipes #2 and #3!
The kitchen is becoming shared domain. On Monday and Wednesday evenings I coach girls’ youth lacrosse here in Bozeman. I know, lacrosse in Montana, how strange?! Mark offered to prepare dinner on those nights that I’m not home until eight. Our bi-weekly dinner conversation usually goes something like this…
Mark: “What should we have for dinner?”
Me: “Whatever you want to make.”
Mark: “I’ll make whatever you want.”
Me: (Sigh) “Ok, why don’t you make loaded baked potatoes/elk tacos/spaghetti…”
Mark: “What ingredients do I need and at what temperature should I cook everything?”
Me: “I’ll just leave everything out with a note of directions.”
Ladies, I would imagine that this is a familiar conversation. Sorry fellas, but it’s true.
So, Mark and I had our how-to conversation. I suggested Elk Tacos and left out the ingredients and directions he would need.
It was just past eight by the time I walked in the door. The house was warm and the smell of spices and cooked elk filled the room. Chopped yellow peppers, tomatoes, and avocado were spread beautifully on the table along with warm tortillas and various toppings. Empty PBR cans were scattered about in ritual fashion and Mark and his good friend Chris admired their handy-work. I can’t deny that I was impressed. A warm satisfying meal after a long day, prepared by someone other than myself, is true luxury.
It was delicious! After several rounds of compliments and thank you’s, Mark suggested that he snap a few pictures for it to be posted right here. I emphatically agreed and he continued with his helpfulness and took some photos. Turning away from his masterpiece, he looked at me and said, “You can call the blog, Elk Tacos, so easy your husband can do it.” Immediately the slogan for Geico popped into my head…. and it all made sense.
For you cavemen, here are the ingredients and the directions.
Ingredients:
Cooked ground elk or wild game – if you have ground game sausage, use that!
Taco Seasoning
Tortillas
1 ripe tomato
1 avocado
1/2 yellow bell pepper
Any other veggies you desire
Sour Cream
Salsa
Shredded Cheese
Directions:
- Open cool beverage and sip, set down
- Place ground game in skillet and cook over medium high heat
- Wash hands
- Sip beverage
- Add seasonings
- Sip beverage
- Chop veggies
- Sip beverage
- Warm tortillas in microwave
- Open a new beverage
- Place warm tortilla on plate and top with ground game and favorite veggies, salsa, cheese, and sour cream
- Fold together
ENJOY!!! (sip beverage)
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