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Well its getting to a point where my freezer is getting pretty low on Elk meat. It seems like most of it is round steaks and round roasts which seems to be very tough meat. For future reference I wanted to see how many people ground their round into burger or what other ideas there is to do with it.
If you have access to a meat tenderizer....the round makes great cube steaks!
Roasts in the crock pot or cubes into chili meat or fajitas, flautas, etc..
For round I use a Jaccard tenderizer and then marinate with a sweet vinegar-based solution ( Italian dressing, Vidalia Onion-peppercorn. The acid will help further break down the connective tissue that makes it tough.
Yep, the round is a cut that's a little too nice to grind for burger, but a little too tough for steaks on the grill.
Like Jaquomo, I usually cut round into thin strips for fajitas or stir fry, or cube it for chili in the crock pot.
Pound it out with a meat mallet, then pound a little flour into it. Dip in egg wash, and dredge in breadcrumbs. Fry it medium rare. Top with mozzarella, marinara, and shredded parmesan. Elk Parmesan...your kids will love it !
Best of Luck, Jeff
I grind mine. I use ground meat in my chili though! My family uses a lot of ground meat. We love tacos, burgers, meatloaf, hamburger steaks, hamburger helper, etc...
Greg 2x - I grind almost all but the back straps. With 3 teens we go thru a lot of burger.
All of the above and best cut for making jerky.
I grind everything but backstraps and tenderloins.
The one and only elk I was ever lucky enough to kill was all ground except the straps and tenders......by mistake ! I almost had a damn apoplectic fit when the processor told me. She was an old cow, but I'll bet those steaks would have still been great if they had been tenderized. I'll never know............
Jaccurd tenderizer or my new favorite addition to our kitchen, a pressure cooker.
Tough is tough even stripped. Nothing like fighting a tough fajita popping your jaw to the point of fatigue.
I'm currently in the same position.. couple options I've come up with are Jerky and grind for summer sausage. I'd like to have the grind but I'm not too keen on refreezing. My butcher misunderstood me when I said I only wanted steaks and grind, I was sure the convo leading up to that was clear, Premium steaks and grind.. end results.. more scrap steak (imo) than grind. For future reference if you're unfamiliar w/ the butcher be as specific as possible.
Some great ideas. I'll give some of the recipes a try. Especially the fajitas and Elk Parmesan! I did try to make some jerky with it and it turned out ok. But I'm just not crazy about round steaks on the grill or a round roast in the crockpot.
x2 Greg - We eat a ton of ground too. Burgers, meatloaf and homemade hamburger helper.
I grind a lot of mine too
I also use the Jaccard tenderizer and I marinate with a Foodsaver marinating container. It's pretty amazing.
I like to do mine in the bbq/smoker, inject something if feeling creative. Olive oil basting to start and finish the last 1/2 hour with some kind of bbq sauce to glaze it. Rare to warm raw in the center. Take it out and cover with foil, let it sit to finish and set the juices. Then into the fridge.
Next day get out the slicer and slice it super thin into lunch meat for sandwiches (It's great on french or sourdough rolls). I make a sammich every day for lunch. It goes pretty fast, I have folks asking when I'm making the next batch.
Otherwise like greg, a good deal of a hind goes into ground meat, some with pork belly mixed in, some not.
I'd rather eat burger than a tough steak. Burger is SO versatile: pizza, tacos, spaghetti, burritos, meat pie, meatloaf, etc. etc. etc. I only use the most tender cuts for steak and everything else gets ground.
++ on the Foodsaver vacuum marinator.
Ohiohunter, I have a good friend who is the county food inspector. He told me years ago that the stigma about refreezing meat is an old wives tale and it has no effect on the meat. Since then we've had older roasts, etc ground into burger, mixed with a little kidney suet, and refrozen and it's great.
I even had a bunch of older elk, muley, caribou and whitetail mixed together and ground and it was excellent. Only problem was what to call it on the package label...
I grind everything except back straps.
Might have to do that.... Tell me more about the kidney suet? Better than beef?
I'd label the package roadkill... that'll ensure its there when you want it.
I mix 10% fresh beef suet with my burger and it's awesome!
"I even had a bunch of older elk, muley, caribou and whitetail mixed together and ground and it was excellent. Only problem was what to call it on the package label... "
Meat Medley or Frankenburger would both do the job
I grind most everything except backstraps and maybe a couple roasts.
Here is a good 'Hobo Pocket' recipe for 'chunked' meat
We use ground meat instead and call ours "Combo Dinners" to be PC LOL . Toss that hobo wrap over campfire coals for 8 min each side and yum yum yum!
Beef kidney suet is the purest of suet. Good butchers have a regular source for it locked-in. Our third-generation game processing place uses only that and it won't go rancid over time like regular beef suet. We had a package of 2009 elk burger the other night and it was as good as the day it was ground.
Beef kidney suet is the purest of suet. Good butchers have a regular source for it locked-in. Our third-generation game processing place uses only that and it won't go rancid over time like regular beef suet. We had a package of 2009 elk burger the other night and it was as good as the day it was ground.
Try corning one or two of them round roasts. Just another option.
3-4 days in the fridge after thawing and then leave it a little pink in the middle. A little jaw exercise never hurt anyone. A 'wet' (pot roast-style) style done low and slow is another option.
Sometimes I grind it, cube steak for country fried steak, sausage, jerky, brats or any kind of sausage. I have endless ways to use the rounds, lol. The tenderized steak is a great option for the country fried, elk parmesan, fajitas, stew, etc. Roasts are great too as well as canning it.
We only use the kidney fat and pull it right off the beef on the kill floor then it hangs in the cooler to harden. Once i get enough then I cut into chunks and coarse grind it into plastic lined boxes and into the freezer. I usually start the season with about 12-14 boxes weighing about 30 lbs each. Do it again about mid October then once more in December. For sausage we pull the fat right off the pork chops and shoulders of the pigs and cut them into small quarter or 50 cent size pieces then into bags making them about 10 lbs each. We go through a lot of fat every season!
Grind it. We use a great deal of burger and I always seem to make sausage or grind the rounds. I never slice steak when packaging wild meat, just freeze in chunks with an "info" cut where I would slice if doing so at freezing.
I'll echo the Jaccard - makes a good steak that way. I do most of mine slow-roasted or crock potted with bullion/broth or chile verde for tacos. Submerge and cook for 7 hours in a crock pot for shredded meat for tacos/burritos or 3-4 (depends on size - 3 for deer, 4 for elk) hours slow roasted in broth in the oven at 300 degrees for a roast. Make gravy out of the broth or pour the chile verde on top of the tacos/burritos.
In AK, my roommate and I have been doing moose roasts in the pressure cooker with onions that then liquify and make the broth amazing. I haven't mastered the thing yet, but he does a good job with it.
Get a Dutch oven. Cut meat into one inch cubes and seer in skillet. Add meat. Potatoes, carrots, celery, onion, broth, seasoning and a little tomato paste and cook in oven on 200 for about 8 hours. Trust me.... you will have tender meat. ceramic cast iron Dutch oven is great for turning tough cuts into a great stew. Meat will melt in your mouth
I find the round on my younger Bulls to be one of the best cuts on the whole animal. Surprised you are having that issue. What age is the Bull?
Jaccard??? Don't know that one.
+1 Elkman.
I am a firm believer and preacher on the site about knowing the age of the animal you shot. If you shoot anything over 3 1/2 and are also somewhat picky on tenderness of steaks (let's be honest some folks think a leather shoe is delicious) then I recommend to always steak the most tender cuts and make everything else into burger or longer cooking technique cuts (roasts, braising, etc.).
Some will say they shot a 7+ yo elk and it was very tender. Maybe it was but on average most won't be.
I have not figured out how animal age related to tenderness even after decades. Besides there other factors that can influence the outcome. I ate a UT elk that they aged at 12.5 years that tasted no different than the others. I have I tend to cut fajita type strips thin and across grain for tenderness, have not had tough issues. My son gave me a piece of cold smoked elk recently that was killer, slightly chewy, moist with a ton of flavor. Wish I knew how it was prepared. Thanks for the parmesan recipe. Great thread.
Long list of factors affect meat quality on the plate: age of the animal is one but not the only factor.
I grind one round but steak the other. Jaccard is a great item for the kitchen arsenal.
Loins, tender loins and a chunk or 2 of hind quarter for steaks. Remaining HQ for burgers on the grill. Shoulders, neck and legs for sausage & brats.
Thanks for the input. From what I've noticed is that the Round steak/roast has more of that clear tough film in the muscle making it harder to shred and chew. I think the Jaccard might be the way to go.
Elkman - I think he is around 4 1/2 years old.
I never grind my round steaks. Trim them up perfectly and they are some of the best flavored steaks around in my humble opinion. I like elk steak too much to grind it, even if they can be a little tougher than backstraps or tenderloin. Just my .02.
Glunker if you are eating thin strips like fajita you won't notice as much as when you cook medium rare (steaks) that you will definitely notice - especially the thicker they are cut.
When I say notice I am comparing a steak from a 1 1/2 yo animal vs. 5+yo. If you have never done it and have the luxury do it sometime. It will really give you perspective.
If you want to really see what I am talking about try a steak from an animal from that spring. It will give you a good benchmark of what is tender and what isn't.
I LOVE steaks and meats. I am lucky to eat a lot of amazing meats on biz trips. I am also lucky to have lived in states where I can harvest many animals and also travel to hunt other species. My family always shoots a few animals from that year for special occasions - the meat is unrivaled. Don't even get me started on wild hog piglets (those are the best eating of any NA wild animal).
I am not saying older animals can't be eaten as steaks I am just saying that I am a bit picky when it comes to tenderness.
I love to see guys post food threads because it reminds me of how hunting is so much more than just the one event of killing an animal.
I love food threads also , I enjoy eating the animals as much as I like hunting them . Pat and I differ on the age of the animal thing a little , and I have posted this before , if you will age the carcass for min of 14 days to 21 days at a temp between 38 and 42 degrees Fahrenheit you will be amazed at how tender old animals are. If I process my on meat , which I prefer, I do not grind any meat any more . I use this on shanks and any other cuts that are roast if they may be less tender . Salt the the meat with garlic salt till you think you have to much then put a little more on it . Put it in a crock pot and put enough liquid in it to cover the meat at a 4 to 1 ratio of water and apple cider vinegar. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours . It will fall apart and melt in your month . I eat mine as a sandwich with just bread and mayonnaise. It is best sandwich you will ever eat with deer or elk . If you like you can caramelize onions and bell peppers and have it like Philadelphia steak or have put some BBQ sauce on . But I prefer the pure tast of the meat with just mayonnaise. It is my favorite sandwich in the world .
I have added both beef and pork fat to ground venison and it is good , but does not compare to the above recipe. I have had shank sandwich last 2 days .
This is bone after the meat fell off .
It's amassing what a small pressure cooker will do to tough meat.
Great thread. My favorite kitchen appliance has become a Breville Fast/Slow Cooker. It will slow cook, it has a 'Sear" setting (perfect for browning meat) and it will also pressure cook. If you sear the meat, then pressure cook it; you can cook stew (or chili or a roast) in about 30 minutes instead of having to slow cook it for hours.
I use it for all kinds of stuff, it's incredibly versatile. I have even started with frozen meat and it comes out delicious. We're in the middle of a big snow storm, a perfect day to cook something.
I love the food/recipe threads as well. We are getting hammered with snow in central NY, too so it's a perfect day for stew. Got a ceramic Dutch Oven for Christmas and cooked as Mike-TN suggested (200 degrees for 8 hours) with some broth and tomato paste...Awesome! Thanks.
I grind everthing except backstrap and one or two roasts that usually become jerky.
Cut it into 1 & 1/2- 2" thick steaks and season. put on weber little smoky grill over hot coals. Have the coals on side only Toss in a couple hickory chunks, Brown both sides to sear then move to the side with no coals. close grill vents on bottom and put cover on grill to smother fire 5-10 min. Slice it like a roast and you won't ever grind one again.
backstraps for steaks , roasts for crock pot and to cut up for green chile stew. the rest ground into hamburger for tacos and burgers. Also love ground chorizo and green chili breakfast sausage... Damn I'm hungry...
