Elk Burgers Recipe

by Kim
(Montana)

(This recipe and information is adapted from "Safe Handling of Wild Game" by Susan Brewer, Ph.D. and Charles Stites, M.S., The University of Illinois, 1995)

Meat from any part of the carcass can be ground. Be sure that the meat is used immediately after thawing. Ground game meat, because of its high bacterial content, often spoils faster than other ground meat. Cook meat thoroughly!

2 lb. ground game meat
1/4 lb. suet or other meat fat, cut into small pieces*
1 cup bread crumbs 1/3 cup milk
1 small onion, chopped
garlic salt
pepper

Mix ingredients and fry like hamburgers to at least 160EF (check temperature with meat thermometer). Serve with tomato, onion, or pickle slices on toasted buns.

Serves 6.

*Variation: Use 1 lb. ground beef (70% lean) and 1 lb. ground game meat. Omit added fat.

Elk Burgers w/ Gorgonzola & Carmelized Onions

by Kristy Crabtree
(Sparks, Nevada)

Elk Burgers w/ Gorgonzola & Carmelized Onions

There’s no substitute for a great juicy mouth watering hamburger… well, unless it’s an Elk burger. With just about 80 packages of Elk Burger shoved into three freezers – we have to be a little more creative with our recipes.

This recipe is simply a spin-off of how we made our traditional beef burgers but with a little more flavor and flair.

INGREDIENTS

◦1 tablespoon Dijon mustard or dry mustard
◦2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
◦2 tablespoons A1 Steak Sauce
◦1/2 cup smashed croutons
◦Salt and pepper
◦2 lb ground elk meat
◦Soft Gorgonzola
◦1 Sliced white onion
◦2 tablespoons olive oil or butter
Optional: add .5 pound elk sausage

ADDITONAL

◦Sliced tomato
◦Shredded cabbage
◦Corn dusted hamburger buns
◦Cream-style Horseradish

DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, add mustard, Worcestershire sauce, A1 steak sauce, croutons, salt and pepper to ground elk meat. Mix all ingredients by hand and then form into patties. The sizes of the patties are up to you. I typically get 5 patties out of this recipe.

After forming your patties, place direct on tinfoil. With your thumb, add a small indent into the center of each elk pattie. This will help keep pattie from shrinking when cooking.

Pre-heat the barbecue to high temperature.

Slice onion and place on tinfoil. Add olive oil or butter. Add salt and pepper. Place onion in foil on BBQ (high heat). Cook for 10 minutes – turning onions every few minutes until brown. Continue cooking until onions become carmelized. (Just a side note – add mushrooms and cook in Marsala wine)

I love cooking on the direct heat but sometimes when you have company you don’t want to have to worry so much… I recommend that you cook the burgers direct on the tinfoil.

Cook 7 minutes or until brown and then flip pattie. Continue cooking on other side until brown – 7 minutes. Add cheese to the top of burgers during the last 2 minutes of cooking. Close lid and melt cheese.

Toast buns on grill.

Build burger with carmelized onion, tomato, shredded cabbage and a tablespoon of creamy horseradish.

Elk Tamale Meatloaf

by Brenda
(Montana)

1 pound lean ground elk
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
1 cup cornmeal
3/4 cup whole kernel corn, canned or frozen and thawed
2 eggs, well beaten
1 tablespoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon chili powder
Ketchup
Grated cheese

Brown ground elk until it is no longer pink; drain well. In another skillet, sauté onions in the oil until lightly browned, add to meat. Add tomatoes; bring to boil. Add cornmeal gradually; cook, stirring, for about 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Depending on your taste you can add more or less spices, maybe even a little chopped up cilantro. Blend thoroughly. Turn mixture into a greased loaf pan, top with ketchup and grated cheese halfway through baking. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes.
Serves 6 to 8.

Elk Chalupas (AKA Tostadas):

by Dave (Elk Hunting Tips)
(Garrison, MT)

1 pound ground elk meat
1 medium onion (or to preference)
1/2 teaspoon fresh chopped garlic (or to preference...smash with flat of knife to release flavor)
1T each: Chili powder, Basil and cumin, or your favorite taco seasoning packet or chili powder.

Brown 1 pound of ground elk meat on low-medium heat with onions, garlic and other spices. Stir, mixing often. Turn heat to low shortly after all pink is gone to avoid over browning.

While meat is browning prepare guacamole and other toppings.

Guacamole: Smash one ripe avocado with fork and add salt to taste, or "all-season salt", if preferred. Add garlic and onion powder to taste along with 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise. If desired, add a little lime, cilantro and/or cayenne pepper to taste. Stir until just mixed.

Prepare 6 - 8 corn tortillas as follows:

Fry tortillas one at a time on medium-high heat in about 1/2 inch of oil until each is slightly brown and crisp. Hint: Do not put tortilla in oil until hot. Fry until tortilla slightly starts to turn brown in spots, or you might have a chewy tortilla instead of crispy.

Keep crisp tortillas warm by wrapping in a towel.

Mash a can of beans to make refried beans or use a can of prepared refried beans and heat in small pot.

Each person can build their own chalupa with beans, meat and other toppings as desired.

Serve with diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, shredded cheese and hot sauce.

The order of the layers can be very personal. If you want your cheese melted, put hot beans on first, then cheese, meat, etc. If you don't want your lettuce to fall off in your lap (I hate that!), push it down into the layer of quacamole, or even under it!

Chalupas are called "Tostadas" in some areas of the country. Building them is as fun as eating them. But they should be called Mexican Sloppy Jose's!

Elk Meatballs Recipe

by Kim
(Montana)

(This recipe and information is adapted from "Safe Handling of Wild Game" by Susan Brewer, Ph.D. and Charles Stites, M.S., The University of Illinois, 1995)

Meat from any part of the carcass can be ground. Be sure that the meat is used immediately after thawing. Ground game meat, because of its high bacterial content, often spoils faster than other ground meat. Cook meat thoroughly!

3 slices soft bread
1 1/2 lb. ground venison
2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. oregano
1/8 tsp. basil
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/4 c butter or margarine
1 Tbsp. flour
salt and pepper (for gravy)
1 cup milk

Break bread into small pieces and combine with ground venison, salt, oregano, basil, pepper and onion. Mix thoroughly. Shape into small balls about 1 inch in diameter. Chill for 15 to 20 minutes. Brown in butter or margarine, turning frequently. Cover pan. Turn heat to low and cook for 15 minutes. Remove meat balls. Add flour, salt and pepper to pan drippings. Mix well. Add milk, stirring constantly and simmer 3 to 4 minutes. Return meatballs to pan with gravy and simmer another 5 minutes.

Serves 4

Sloppy Joes with Chili Beans

by Kim
(Montana)

(This recipe is adapted from "Safe Handling of Wild Game" by Susan Brewer, Ph.D. and Charles Stites, M.S., The University of Illinois, 1995)

1 pound elk or other venison, ground
1 Tbsp. shortening
3 Tbsp. sweet pepper flakes
1/4 cup instant minced onion or
1 medium-sized onion diced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/3 cups canned tomatoes
1 cup of kidney beans drained
1/8 tsp. ground pepper
2 tsp. chili powder

Brown the meat in a heavy skillet with the shortening, stirring constantly. Add the sweet pepper flakes, onion, salt, and tomatoes. Stir and cook 10 minutes or until the mixture has thickened. Add drained kidney beans, pepper, and chili powder. Cook 5 minutes or until hot. Serve on hamburger buns.

Serves 6-8.

Wild Game Nachos

by Jackie
(Dillingham, Alaska)

Moose or elk nachos can be made with chile grind beef, just a coarse ground hamburger, then cook with taco seasoning. I microwave velveeta cheese and canned milk till smooth for the sauce. Put a bunch of corn chips on a platter add the meat, chopped onion , slice jalapenos, chopped tomatoes, then pour the cheese sauce on
top, then top with salsa of choice. It works best with really lean meat and you need to use Velveeta or a processed cheese food just like it for a smooth sauce.

Spanish Rice with Ground Venison

by Brenda, Elk-Hunting-Tips.Net
(MT)

Spanish Rice and Ground Elk

This easy skillet Spanish rice with ground meat is a healthy wild game alternative to hamburger helper.

Ingredients:

Elk Taco Casserole with Green Chilies

by Brenda, Elk-Hunting-Tips.Net
(Garrison, MT)

1 1/2 pounds ground elk or venison

1/2 chopped onion

1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic or powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder

salt and pepper to taste

2 1/2 - 3 cups bottled or canned green taco sauce or green Herdez sauce

1 7oz can diced green chilies

1 cup of sliced black olives

1 can (15.25 oz) kidney beans

3 cups shredded pepper jack cheese

4-5 cups crushed tortilla chips

1 teaspoon chopped fresh cilantro (optional)


You can substitute regular chili powder for the chipotle chili powder, but it won't have quite the pizazz.

Brown ground meat with onion in frying pan on medium heat. Mix in all other dry spices. When the meat is just thoroughly browned, stir in cilantro, green salsa, green chilies and kidney beans. Mix thoroughly with spoon or spatula. Remove from heat.

Lightly oil a 9" X 13" casserole dish and add 1/3 of crushed chips. Spread 1/2 of ground meat mixture on top of chips. Sprinkle 1/3 of the cheese over that layer. Repeat above layers (1/3 chips, 1/2 meat, 1/3 cheese). Add remaining chips on top of that along with olives. You might want a little more cheese sprinkled on top of all that again. Lightly sprinkle a little more chili powder over the top for color and added flavor.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Serve with plenty of guacamole and red salsa on the side. Some might like sour cream for this dish.

Ground Elk Tacos with BBQ Vegetables

by Kristy
(Sparks, Nevada)

NevadaFoodies.com

Try something different tonight and barbeque your basic taco toppings: tomatoes, onions, chilies and tortillas. It’s fun, different and best of all it tastes fantastic!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb ground Elk Burger
• 2 tomatoes (cut in half)
• 1 onion (red or white sliced)
• 6 green onions
• mild green chilis (diced)
• flour tortillas
• cabbage or lettuce (shredded)
• 4 radishes (sliced)
• olive oil
• salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground chipotle Chile pepper
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 Bottle Beer (Recommend Dos Equis or Modelo)

DIRECTIONS

1) Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and garlic clove in a skillet over medium heat. Add ground elk and cook for five minutes or until meat begins to brown. Add salt, garlic powder, cayenne pepper, chipotle pepper and cumin to the elk meat. Continue to stir until thoroughly cooked. Turn heat to low and add ½ bottle of the beer to your elk meat. Continue to cook on low while you BBQ your vegetables.

2) Pre-heat barbecue to high temperature.

3) Coat green onions, tomatoes, sliced onion with olive oil and salt. Place vegetables direct on grill. Turn vegetables as needed until they become slightly charred. While cooking your vegetables, place flour or corn tortillas direct on grill and cook about 1 minute on each side until warm. Remove vegetables and tortillas from grill when ready.

4) Place tortilla on plate, add a heaping spoonful of elk burger, add a few red onions, green onion and cooked tomato. I like to then add a few mild green chilies, some shredded cabbage and sliced radish for the additional crunch. Enjoy… I know we did.

Elk Meat Sloppy Joes

1 pound ground elk
1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, or 1 minced garlic clove
1 teaspoon mustard
3/4 to 1 cup ketchup
3 to 4 teaspoons brown sugar
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste

In a medium frying pan on medium heat, brown the ground elk, onion, and green pepper; drain off liquids or let them cook off by making an open "pool" in the center.

Add remaining ingredients. Mix thoroughly. Simmer on low heat for half an hour, or so.

As always, taste toward the end and adjust to your satisfaction.

I use canned green chiles along with green bell pepper. I also add some chili powder.

Serve on buns or bread.

Sweet & Sour Meatball Surprise

Ingredients
- 1lb ground elk
- 1 Egg
- Bread Crumbs
- Chinese Steam Fried Noodles (farkay brand)(uncooked)
- Red Onion- coarsely chopped
- Mushrooms - approx 10 cut in half
- Sugar Snap Peas
- Celery - sliced on a diagonal
- 1 Red Pepper- cut into large pieces

Sauce Ingredients

1 cup- Brown Sugar
3 TBSP - Sugar
1 1/2 cups -Water
1/4 cup- Vinegar
3 TBSP- Soy Sauce

Step One:

Combine ground elk, egg and bread crumbs, form meatballs then placed on a greased baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees until cooked. (approx 15 min.

Step 2: (while meatballs are cooking)

Heat a non-stick pan and sautee all of the vegetables until they are tender crisp, while meatballs and veggies are cooking the sauce can be prepared.

Sauce:

Combine all of the ingredients in a sauce pan and heat until it is boiling. (can easily be doubled if you like lots of sauce).

Assembly:

Choose your casserole dish, at least 2 1/2 quarts. Fill casserole dish halfway with the uncooked chinese noodles, put meatballs on top of the noodles,(i like to kind of push them into the noodles to "hide" them. Pour half of the prepared sauce over top of the meatballs and noodles. make sure to pour evenly as this is what will cook your noodles. Now put your vegetables overtop of the meatballs/noodles, the meatballs can peek through although it is better to completely cover them so they will not dry out. Pour the remainder of the sauce over the vegetables. Bake at 375 degrees for 30min or until it is bubbly.

* Note: a bag of your favourite stir fry veggies can be used in place of fresh ones and rice works just as well with this casserole as the noodles.