Northwest Hunters, Gatherers, and Grillers

The Northwest has a very distinct hunter / gatherer-type culture. About the same time I was out rummaging around for Chanterelles (gathering), there was mass exodus of the "men folk"- and a couple "women folk" here and there- to elk camp (hunting). Now they're back with fresh, wild game to help keep me fat and happy for winter.

Whether you hunt or benefit from friends that hunt, fresh, wild game is a total score. Not only is it delicious, but it's super-healthy. Wild game harvested in the fall is at it's peak in nutritional value- the game has spent all spring and summer following the bloom of forbes, grasses and shrubs. This migratory behavior combined with all that natural feed results in lean, nutrient-rich meat.

Elk is a very dark, nearly fat-less meat. No marbling can be found in these beautiful steaks.

We were lucky enough to have some friends gift us with some top notch elk steaks. So, this week's recipe is simply Planked Elk Steaks on a Winter-Greens Salad.

Ingredients

2 Grilling Planks, soaked

2 Elk Steaks- whichever cut you have/prefer

Fresh cracked black pepper and coarse sea salt to taste

(I used the following ingredients for the Winter-Greens Salad, but really anything you have in fridge would be great.)

Petit Oak Lettuce (from the Costco Artisan Petite Lettuce Variety Pack)

Parmigianino Reggiano (A nice, crystalline one)

Red Onion

Balsamic Vinaigrette: 

        - extra virgin olive oil

        - balsamic vinegar

        - crushed red pepper flakes

        - blue agave

        - green pepper corn

Winter Green Salad Makings

Balsamic Vinaigrette

First: Soak Cedar Planks for an hour or more. For these steaks, I used 7 x 4 (personal size) planks. Preheat grill to high (500°) and rub elk steaks with salt and pepper. 

Next: Sear steaks for 1 minute on each side, then turn grill down to medium heat (300°). Transfer steaks onto soaked cedar planks and put planks on grill. Close lid and allow planks to smolder and smoke- this is how the meat will be infused with flavor.

For medium-rare steaks, plank elk for about 8 minutes.  Because wild game is so lean, it’s best to give it a quick sear, then let it go low and slow. The soaked planks protect the meat from drying out.

Note- if the planks catch fire, don’t panic! Just spray a little water on the flame up and keep on planking or, as I did with particular plank fire... 

Snowy fire control

Finally: Carefully remove steaks from grill, cover with aluminum foil and allow to rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Then slice and serve on atop your green salad. Enjoy!

After resting, slice thinly steak to top salad.  

I paired this entree with the Sawtooth 2006 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, which is an Idaho-grown and produced wine. This Snake River Valley AVA wine has classic Cab Sauv notes with round, dark fruit flavors with a nice peppery finish that went oh-so-well with my planked elk steak. For more information on Sawtooth's wines, check out this link: Sawtooth Winery.

Grown, crushed, fermented, racked, and bottled here in the Gem State. 

The next day, I had some leftovers, so I added the salad and steak to organic whole wheat sourdough bread from the Pine Street Bakery here in Sandpoint. A little stone ground mustard, avocado, tomato and there's lunch! You could also make it as a steak lunch wrap.  Too bad there wasn't any wine left over.  Welcome to your weekend! -KB

Leftovers done right!