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Welcome Elk Meat into Your Diet

A Heart-Healthy Red Meat Alternative

Elk Recipes Index

Elk Crock Pot Roast
Garlic Rosemary Elk
Elk Meat Bourguignon
Elk Lasagna
Elk Meat Loaf

I discovered elk meat on a recent food adventure at the Guelph Ontario Farmers Market. Just as when I was introduced to Ostrich, I was very impressed with the leanness and tastiness of something so much healthier than my beloved beef.

Elk meat is more expensive than comparable beef cuts, but elk farmers claim it is good value for money, and your waist line, because the high protein content satisfies your appetite more quickly. Just look at the calorie and fat comparisons for the same portion of beef, and even skinless chicken!

ELK MEAT NUTRITIONAL COMPARISON
(100 gram cooked serving)

Meat Calories Fat (g) Cholesterol (mg) Protein
Elk 146 1.9 73 30.2
Chicken, no skin 190 7.4 89 28.9
Turkey, no skin 170 5.0 76 29.3
Veal 196 6.6 118 31.9
Beef 211 9.3 86 29.9
Pork 212 9.7 86 29.3
Duck 201 11.2 89 23.5
Source: Ontario Elk Breeders Association

Elk Meat and Venison

Many people think of deer meat when they think of venison. Elk meat is actually a type of venison, along with a few other large game animals of the deer family, like moose, caribou and antelope.

Elk meat is said to be the finest of venison, with a mild taste and virtually no marbling, which results in less shrinkage than other red meats. The sausages and the steaks we bought were considerably smaller than our usual portions, and I really did find them very filling and extremely tasty. The texture of the steaks was surprisingly melt-in-your-mouth.

Cooking Elk Meat

I used the same method for cooking the elk steaks as I recommend for cooking Ostrich meat: basically hot and fast, and never-ever cooking beyond medium-rare, so the meat keeps its juiciness.

However, some elk meat producers and farmers associations recommend starting high and reducing the temperature for these venison steaks, and long, slow, moist cooking for roasts. I can't wait to buy an elk roast to try in the crock pot, after which I will of course share the recipe here!

In the meantime...

The Eramosa Elk Country Store agreed to let me share some of their elk meat recipes with you here.