Cooking with Game

These are a great way to use up ground elk or venison. Make them up and freeze for a quick addition to spaghetti, stoganoff or any sauce or gravy. Great to make meatball sandwiches with.

I bake them because I hate the greasy spatter of frying, but you could just as easily fry them up.

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Easy Bake Elk Balls

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pound ground elk, beef or venison

1/3 pound ground sausage of any type

2 eggs

3 tablespoons water

1 slice of bread finely cubed and toasted

1/4 cup canned seasoned bread crumbs

1/2 cup minced onion

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In large bowl combine egg, water, bread crumbs, onion, salt and pepper. Add ground meats, broken into chunks, and mix to combine. Form into balls using a small cookie scoop (about 1″ in diameter) and place on a broiler pan. (Line the bottom part of the broiler pan with foil for easier clean up.) Bake for 20 minutes on middle rack. Remove from the oven and use tongs to turn over. Return to the oven and continue to bake another 5 to 10 minutes, until nicely browned. Cool and freeze, or use in your favorite recipe.

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Cheesy Mini Elk Loaves

6 servings of 1 mini elk loaf (My Guy needs 2 of these)

1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs (about 1 slice)
Cooking spray
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup ketchup, divided*
3 ounces white cheddar cheese, diced**
2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish (less if you don’t like spicy)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (again regular to reduce spice)
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds ground elk
1 large egg, lightly beaten

1. Preheat oven to 425°.

2. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add breadcrumbs; cook 3 minutes or until toasted, stirring frequently. Or toast in toaster oven at 350° for 5 minutes.

3. Add onion and garlic to a medium sized microwave safe bowl. Spray lightly with cooking spray and mix. Cover with a plate or lid and microwave 3 minutes on high, stir and microwave another 3 minutes. Or heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and garlic; sauté 3 minutes.

4. Combine onion mixture, breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup ketchup, and the remaining ingredients.

5. Shape into 6 (4 x 2-inch) loaves on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray; spread 2 teaspoons ketchup over each.

6. Bake at 425° for 25 minutes or until done.

* If you like a little more spice, top the loaves with a spicy style ketchup.

** Use any cheese you have, even grated is fine.

Spicy Elk Stew
Serves 10 – 12

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons chili powder
4 teaspoons cumin
3 pounds elk stew meat (I use up all the tough bits and pieces)
3 tablespoons olive oil – split in half
3 cups salsa
1 1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon honey
5 cups sweet potato — peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes (2 – 3 medium)
1 – 11 oz can whole kernel corn
1 – 15 oz can black beans – drained and rinced

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix the flour, chili powder and cumin.
Rinse the elk and pat dry. Lay the stew meat on a cutting board. Sprinkle half of the flour mixture over it. Cover with a gallon size plastic bag cut down each side to form a large rectangle. (This keeps the flour from going everywhere as you pound). Pound in the flour seasoning mix. Turn elk over and pound in remaining flour mixture.

Heat half the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Cook half the elk in oil about 5 minutes, turning several times, until brown on all sides. Remove. Heat rest of oil, add the rest of the elk and brown for about 5 minutes. Remove. Drain any oil left out of pan. Don’t worry about any browned flour/spice mix stuck to the bottom. Put the salsa, water and honey in the pot. Then add the browned elk, sweet potatoes, corn and beans.  Heat to boiling; remove from heat. Cover and bake 1 hour or until elk is tender.

Serve with warm, low carb tortillas.

NOTE:  You can control the “heat” by how spicy the salsa is. Also you can cut down the amount of chili powder, but I wouldn’t cut it by more than half. It’s not that hot and adds  lot of flavor.

ALSO:  If you think your elk is real tough, you can add a little Adolf’s tenderizer to the flour mix. I would suggest 1/2 – 1 teaspoon. Don’t over do it. You don’t want the meat to be  mushy or the stew to be too salty (tenderizer is salty). The tomato in the salsa will help break the meat down. Especially if you make this a day ahead.

Cheddared Elk Steak
Serves 6 to 8

4 pounds elk steak cut about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 in thick
flour
salt and pepper
1/4 cup oil
14 oz can chopped tomatoes (or about 2 cups chopped tomatoes)
2 medium onions, sliced
I cup (or more) grated Cheddar cheese

Poke steak with tenderizing fork. I use a many pronged, spring loaded ones. Season steaks with salt and pepper, then pound flour into the meat on both sides. This is a messy, but necessary step. I sprinkle the flour on the meat, then use a kitchen towel held above it while pounding in the flour with a toothed mallet to try to keep the flour from going all over. Shake off the excess. Brown the meat in the oil, then remove and set aside in 9 x 13 casserole dish. Add the sliced onions to the same skillet and saute slowly for 5 or 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Lift the meat to lay some onions under it, then put the rest on top with a little more salt and pepper if desired. Break the tomatoes up with a fork (mash around in the can) then pour over meat and onions, cover with foil and bake at 275 or 300 for 2 or 3 hours, or until tender. (This is best done the day before, then refrigerated, then reheated before serving.)
Before serving, remove the meat and slice. Pour off some, not all of the liquid. Put the meat back in the casserole. Cover with the grated cheese and return to oven long enough to melt the cheese.
To prepare ahead of time: This is best in flavor and in texture if done a day ahead (except for the cheese topping) and reheated the following day as above.
To freeze: Yes, by all means, this freezes, but don’t add the cheese topping. Add that just before serving.
Other meat that works well is: Swiss or round steak.