I'm not at all sure there is a right or wrong way to do this.....simply a matter of what fits your likes.
Oh yes there is an absolute right way and wrong way to eat elk. The taste YOU prefer does not matter. Several of us have made that clear. If you don't eat it the way they like the taste then you are doing it wrong and committing sacrilege against a noble beast.
BTW, if you add sugar to ground cocoa, you are ruining the natural taste of chocolate and are a defective human being.
Ditto if you ever put ANYTHING in coffee...
FWIW re elk, the best I've ever tasted was a Roosevelt from Oregon that had 15% beef fat added. I think it just happened to be an exceptionally tasty elk. I've done 10% beef and about that much pork and up to 20% pork one time. It was all good. Like many, we prefer nothing added for ground elk or deer that goes into pastas, tacos, chili, etc. We usually estimate a scant 10% pork fat on the rest. Totally lean elk or deer makes the absolute BEST chili and I like to grind it a bit coarse for chili.
