Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Best cuts of elk?

If you think that's bad, a fall bear may be taken when it's 105 ...

The fact that so many have also asked the same question, tells me all I need to know,

59F is the breaking point on cold shortening according to what I've read. If meat gets down to 59 too fast, it releases large amounts of calcium that causes the fibers to contract. If they contract, the meat is tough.
My opinion is if it's warm, skin immediately to prevent spoilage. If it's cold, leave the hide on for a couple hours to slow the rate of cooling. How long depends on how cold. Of course how you do anything depends on your situation. Ideal handling is seldom possible.

In the packing plants, they use electric currents to prevent it but I've never been inclined to haul an RV battery around in my pack when hunting elk.

I've been thinking about buying a refrigerator just for aging meat. Even a small frig would be big enough for quarters.

I'm thinking of copying and making something like the steaklocker.

People don't know what backstraps really are. Some think it is the chop from the top of the back, others think it is what is really called tenderloin.

Make no mistake about it, the best cut of elk is the tenderloin and cooked to perfection on a smoker grill...

We have a field days every fall and a booth is set up that prepares elk sandwiches and burgers. It is great! I really enjoy the burgers and the elk sandwich is tasty.

The �tenderest� cut of any grazing animal is the tenderloin (Filet mignon)
Second is the backstrap (New York steak & Ribeye)
If you know how to cut a Flat Iron from the shoulder blade, that can be a very good steak as well.

Aging will always make the meat tender. At least a week, two or three is better. Age it at 30-34%, the meat won�t freeze hard until just below 29%.
Top quality beef is sometimes aged as much as 90 days under controlled conditions.

For me, all other cuts are slow cooked with moisture, pot roast, stew ect. Or made into jerky.

In my limited experience...

Tenderloin, then backstraps. I don't think straps have as much flavor though. A grinder makes tender meat!

Brine a roast, make small cuts, put garlic in cuts, then put in smoker. Comes out like prime rib... tender and juicy.

As much as I like game meat, when I really want a steak I want a beef ribeye with Perrini Ranch rub... made at home on cast iron grill

Here is an idea that has merit.

http://www.storeitcold.com/

Last years spike is nice and tender. Older and tougher ones get the dutch oven, stew pot or grinder. Tough meat gets the low and slow treatment.

Hot smoked tri tip is amazing. It is my favorite cut hands down. Tenderloin and backstraps are excellent but a distant second place to me.

Simply stated, all the "best cuts" wouldn't exist if without proper field care and aging care. Not the nursing home kind either.
Not all big game meat is going to be equally tender. Just by the makeup of the muscle and its structure this is not going to happen. But you certainly can -help it along- with your aging process and kitchen techniques.
I found Eileen Clarkes - "Slice of the Wild" to be an invaluable aid in recognizing this and altering the cooking methods accordingly.

Mule Deer posted once that he calls them inner strap and outer strap to make it clear what he means. Good idea. I have adopted that terminology with anyone I suspect doesn't know which I mean.

Shrapnel's method of grilling the tenderloin (inner strap) whole and then slicing it across the grain is my all time favorite for elk and deer. Too bad that the inner strap tenderloin doesn't weigh 50 lbs.!

Another way of distinguishing the two cuts are "hanging tenders" vs. backstrap.
Okanagan is right, I wish they were 75#'s!

Okanagan,

Actually, what you call 'em is an improvement over my terminology, "overstrap" and "underloin." Mine are kind of a joke, but yours makes such perfect sense I doubt anybody would be confused!

Not much Better, On The Grill Than Elk Tenderloin's Wrapped in Bacon. Add Some Pan Fried Potatoes With Onions, And Grilled Corn On The Cob. With Biscuits And You Got a Meal..

The best thing to do with elk meat is trade it for pronghorn meat.

I've been looking at those and wondering if I could make a practical portable cooler with it. I usually drive 5-6 hours to hunt elk, and it can be pretty warm. My truck has a fiberglas cap and I wonder if a guy could build a large insulated box that pretty much filled the back of the truck and install one of these units in it. Would be plenty big, I would think,and you could still store stuff in it when there's no meat to cool.

!

They have instructions on their website on how to build a portable cooler. Airtight and well insulated is the key. Building it on a small trailer would be preferable IMHO because you can do a more permanent job of sealing it.

We have a small orchard plus we raise meat goats. I've been thinking about building something like this for fruit and meat storage.