caribou cooking tips please!
Caribou
I have some Caribou backstraps and steaks I was given from a bou that I spotted and helped a friend stalk and shoot this fall.
In the past I have always seemed to overcook the bou, probably because it is so lean.
Any suggestions for cooking Caribou steaks or backstraps along with recipes would be appreciated!
Cook it just like this:
Lightly seasoned w/only sea salt and crushed black pepper, grilled on high heat (at hot as you can get your grill) for a just a few minutes per side, depending on how hot your grill is. I had to experiment with my gas grill and screwed up a few whitetail loins before I got it right. I turn each side once, to get cross-grill sear marks.
But the most important thing is to rest the meat for about 5 minutes after you take it off the grill. I transfer the loin to a room temperature plate and cover first with foil and then a slightly damp dish towel.
Slice on a diagonal and serve with some good red wine and grilled veggies.
Damn, now I'm hungry!
Chris,
I am curious about why you "rest" the meat for five minutes after removing from heat....as the meat continues to cook (briefly) even after removed from heat. I frequently encourage people to eat wild game rather quickly after removing from heat, because it tends to get a little chewy as it cools, unless it has been tenderized with a Jacard or Deni meat tenderizer.
Usually, by the time that I have removed the meat from heat, covered it, put it on the table, gotten everyone seated, I don't know if five minutes has elapsed, but the meat usually seems ready to go......but I agree that covering the meat is a great idea.
The Jaccard is a great physical meat tenderizer, and marinades provide a great chemical tenderizer.....
Always fry with butter. It has a low smoke point and will help keep u from overcooking it.
Seasoning for caribou: sage and garlic. If you make a dredge of flour, sage and garlic powder it will also help with moistness.
Jake, when the meat hits the grill all the juices on the hot side are forced to the center of the cut. When you flip the meat, the same thing happens and the moisture increases and is quite concentrated in the middle of the loin or steak. If you take it off and cut it right away all the juicy goodness bursts out and is lost.
But when you rest the meat, it allows the juices to migrate back towards the outside and results in a very, very moist piece of meat, juicy from center to edge.
Of course, as you stated, the meat will continue to cook a bit as it rests, and this too must be considered when deciding how long to actually grill the meat. That is, if you take the meat off when it's done it could overcook while it rests. Accordingly, you must take the meat off just before it is done so that the meat finishes as it rests.
It may sound complicated but a little trial and error is all it takes to get every cut looking like the Mt. Caribou loin in the photo above or like this Dall Sheep loin:
Love the plate! And your choice of wine!
just kill it before the rut!
That Ghost Pines Cab is the best $20 bottle of red I've found. It's my go-to "recession wine".
Caribou meat sometimes needs alot of help. Grilling is okay as long as it is medium rare. If you over cook it you may as well try eating a boot. We make a lot of pepper steak and stroganov out of it. Roast we cook in cream of mushroom and dry onion soup mix. Burger goes for chili, meat loaf and spaghetti. Rory
We marinate the whole back strap in Italian dressing over night. Don't be afraid to try different things in your marinade. It's always fun to experiment with different spices. We wrap the back strap in bacon and cook them over coals or charcoal. Do not over cook. It must be as rare as you can stand it. We prefer medium rare. Also makes great kabobs. Rory
thanks for all the suggestions!
I see a lot of recipes but have never seen one that recommends using a larder. One of my cookbooks recommends using a larder on all roast but I have never figured out what a larder is or where to get one.
....yep , that's how I cook my deer backstraps . Only I cook mine over red hot HOT cherry wood coals ;) Sear them all around , then I put in a covered dish drenched in melted butter while finishing remainder of the meal for a few minutes . I prefer keeping warm till the pink just dissipates .
Nothing better served with corn on the cob cooked same as meat in husk , served with salad and taters ;)
Good day! In case you needed some recipes on how to cook or smoke caribou you could check out this guy, He's way of cooking is really good. I'm a totally a fan and I love watching him cooking, check this link for the video on how to cook caribou https://dausel.co/iINRqi Just my opinion, I hope you guys like it. Please reply or give my comment a like if you do so, feel free to message me if you do have any more ideas on how to cook caribou. Thank you and have a great day! :)
'just kill it before the rut!' x2 ...and add a lot of seasonings because this is also true. 'Caribou meat sometimes needs alot of help.'
All my caribou was so good you couldn't screw it up if you tried. But only a 2 animal sample.
As mentioned, Medium to medium rare is fine with Caribou, Please do not over season or marinade caribou, Enjoy the taste for what it is, Do not try to make it beef or pork ! Many folk try to make various meats into the same boring thing. As it has been said----ENJOY THE RIDE
This will be my first year since 1999 that I wont be hunting caribou. I will really miss it. Some of the best times of my life were spent in caribou camp with JHA!!!
