Eric's Kitchen in NJ: Marinated Elk Steaks

I had only ever had Elk once before when I was young so when the chance to cook it arose, I was very excited! We were visiting my fiance Jenn's hometown and her Dad's good friend Gary had recently returned from a hunting trip in Colorado and had some choice Elk steaks as a result and was kind enough to give us some. He mentioned not to overcook it as it's very lean but that was about all the direction we got so I looked up some recipes online beforehand. There was nothing in particular that blew me away but the Joy of Cooking said to marinate it in a mixture including red wine and rosemary and so that was what I ran with.

Ingredients (serves 2, all measurements are approximate):
2 Elk Steaks (roughly 6 oz. each)
1/2 large vidalia onion
5 oz. sliced baby-bella mushrooms
Marinade:
1/3 cp. red wine (we used a malbec)
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. white truffle oil
1 tbsp. minced garlic
pinch of ground mustard
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 large pinch of rosemary

I marinated the steaks for 24 hours after thawing them to let them fully soak up the flavors and ensure that it wouldn't be too gamy. I used a grill pan to cook the steaks and got it nice and hot with a little pam to keep it from sticking. I seared each side for a couple of minutes until it became a little more firm and then took it off and let it sit for a minute or two. I personally wanted mine medium rare. Meanwhile, I sauteed the mushrooms and onions in some olive oil and minced garlic until they were soft and I slowly added some of the marinade until it started to reduce. I added some more and let the veggies cook in the mixture and made sure it boiled as it did have some of the juices from the meat. They really took on the flavor of the marinade and made a perfect pairing for the meat.

We ate it with the wine we used and some caprese salad. Delicious! I didn't find it even remotely gamy and the rosemary and wine really complemented the natural flavors quite nicely. I know the picture isn't my prettiest but I was more concerned with eating it than arranging!

You could also use this process for venison or lamb.

Eric's Kitchen in NJ: Marinated Elk Steaks