Elk hind quarter

Joined
Feb 8, 2018
I broke down the hind quarter into chuncks of meat. Eye of round, top and bottom round, tri tip, sirloin. Was wondering what you guys all do with the different cuts. I like Steaks quite a bit. Just wondering what you guys do with the sirloin? Heard of some guys just making them into roasts. The top round you can make into Steaks? Just curious what everybody does?
 
I broke down the hind quarter into chuncks of meat. Eye of round, top and bottom round, tri tip, sirloin. Was wondering what you guys all do with the different cuts. I like Steaks quite a bit. Just wondering what you guys do with the sirloin? Heard of some guys just making them into roasts. The top round you can make into Steaks? Just curious what everybody does?
If it's s tastey elk I'll roast all of those cuts. Sear them in a cast iron pan with butter or Gee. Just enough to brown it. Then I put it in the oven on 265 until it reaches my desired temperature (125 if it's just me, 140 if kids are eating it). Just before it's done I cut slabs off a stick of butter and put them on top of the roast pinned with tooth picks so it melts down the roast and doesn't just slide off. When it's done collect the drippings for a dipping sauce.

If it's a nasty elk like my bulk this year. I grind them. Or you can slow cook them in a crock pot. Make sure if you slow cook you add a stick of butter and mix it will once it starts falling apart. The butter will rehydrate the lean and usually dry meat, making it excellent table fare.

My favorite recipe for slow cooking is Missisipi Pot Roast. Don't forget the butter when slow cooking.

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I cut it in half with elk, freeze it as a roast, and usually cut it into a handful of steaks after thawing. They’re a weird shape and you have some of that connective tissue inside but still taste good. I just don’t like cooking or eating roasts as much.
 
I'm a odd duck, but if it's the size of my palm or larger with no sinew or fat lines I'll steak it. I cut my stakes thin and will tenderize most cuts from the legs and just pan fry in cast iron with a little butter. With the thickness I cut them at its about 50-60 seconds per side to keep some red in the middle. I'm not a huge roast fan, so I steak everything I can.
 
I cook the eye of round like backstrap. Top/Bottom rounds usually go to pastrami..tri tip gets smoked. Sirloin is either steaks or a roast.
 
I like the rounds for jerky and the sirloin tip for a roast. I've never intentionally pulled the trip-tip off.
 
Folks love to sneer at sous vide and I'll grant you roasting is better when you can. But we have a busy house, 5 kids and tons of activities, and rarely have time to manage a smoker all day on a Saturday. For me, sous vide is a set-it-and-forget-it answer for almost any roast we do. I drop in whatever it is (it works as well on shank as it does on top round) in the morning, set it to 132, and it's ready by dinner. I do a final sear in a super hot skillet and it's always a hit.

The only thing I don't do that with is taco/stew meat (that goes in the crock pot) or strap/tenderloin. That usually gets a traditional roast, although this one below turned out great sous vide as well. You just have to make sure you don't cook it more than an hour or two. Notice how it's perfectly medium-rare straight to the edge.

ADCreHeDcZzzc0rBpF4dz_0u2iQ9AA5hDARh1FnS5_4iB2AulD8wExLv27hbNzA0RetynBeVIsv2YWX0_mVmIyieIFfT6HPdQhosnSRTl5VT7CCS-zwshdMu3Evx6332yBWjeu1cQ0SYNij-cdtDzZKYUgYUuo4wfV8xULxaGWLTSaQlvs_BBn_w1SUqDy4HIzkjLChLlBtqE3Vjg4htRkx_caos6IQTKisaaCtfcRBP2ghKVs58b9jRjAKTe-aSrG9mAPAPC-34Blbbo9Ndbtmb37HzT-RXGx_IweWzxv82fWeU0cWsezS4v9nA6uomTAkGGuZNCdcubodOwmm5C-SCw4MwOQsdagnXOxXHhawMvpFecZY9fB9yUvfe00IiaqHorSSij4QIPKvIhAo8p_6RD71eX9FMAdSvw-J_6aWlTIwCeZt_5xtjK5mSgfS8tiRPVmFVoqy57LW_ZsJuA-V5L3sl9hVsjWf-AJrFdxXMpZW9usPm43dS9i0uwctXKshKiu3nv0wdzYI0PMCJyr-3J9vNzMAPjujhn7ncXFniPS7lz1jG2zfFGzWO0pbPbP8vjws06LaqUdcODZ-Bavr9v_vJVwf3TGxRvBdkJ11klqhs-IZKXyy2oye0Y0CVfmHStwlrBAI2o64GgBzw5ZjFkOFA79-285LZcaCCIti00IJPpYwTFfFz_83AA1CSohjyH1Zsk1Tkx3pxFEaRJ8ZW2QfPLQ37pGSyMVBI37lyp0md5D3CbplCBOP43H-nyZf3b3bdyg9uM1Bm3p7qPiOHg-oc3ZtRo_wefor1S9BL_geDmgFA34HBD2htxQHmDv4S2qfIKoyWSNG0ZY4GRjBe3ZXkja9NVyoXDRcoVTTeVLOj-J7_SDqgk_BQc4Qj8jnNAjrJ1_I=w1672-h1254-s-no-gm
 
I steak everything I can that has no fascia running through it. I remove all fascia I can from the outer surface first. I do leave the eye of round whole though. If some steaks are small I label them as steak strips or small steaks and we might use them for kabobs or stir fry. High quality trim goes in stew meat bags. The rest goes to grind. If I have a small roast size piece left that I don’t want to steak, I might leave it as is for a roast. We just don’t do roasts much anymore and if we do I’ll also keep one or two from the shoulders.IMG_4346.jpegIMG_4345.jpeg
 
Here’s what I do…

Top Sirloin (might be the best cut on an elk)
-steaks
-fajitas

Sirloin tip (football)
-roast (too much sinew to grind). Slow cook for 6-7 hours

Top round and bottom round
-jerky
-roast
-chicken fried steak
-ground

Eye of round
-ground
-jerky (my favorite cut for jerky)
-steak (tough)

Shank
-slow cook for 6-7 hours

Sirloin cap
-fajitas

Tri tip
-ground. (I love beef Tri tip but I’ve never found a good way to cook elk)

Turkey - grind it all. It’s delicious.
 
Marinade whole muscle, smoke, reverse sear, slice thin. That’s my method 99% of the time. Makes a mean sandwich too.
 
Here’s what I do…

...

Tri tip
-ground. (I love beef Tri tip but I’ve never found a good way to cook elk)
Elk Tri tip is one of my favorite cuts. I usually do a dry brine and smoke to about 120* then reverse sear to a Medium Rare. Sooooo good. I save my smoked brisket fat when I do a brisket and spread some on the tri tip as it smokes to keep it moist. Slice it thin across the grain. I use the leftovers for steak sandwhiches a day or two later.
 
Elk Tri tip is one of my favorite cuts. I usually do a dry brine and smoke to about 120* then reverse sear to a Medium Rare. Sooooo good. Slice it thin across the grain. I use the leftovers for steak sandwhiches a day or two later.
I’ve tried a couple of times and it just seems tough. You’ve piqued my interest though.
 
We usually cut all into steaks but leave the football sirloin as a roast.

We do a good job smoking beef tritip so I tried one this year for venison and it think it's better as steaks, a wet cook method, or if I'd have wrapped it. Just not enough fat to keep the exterior from rind.
View attachment 639296
Next time you do a beef brisket, smoke the fat trimmings at the same time as the brisket. Put the liquid fat rendered down in the freezer until you need it. Spread some of that on the Tritip when you smoke it. Adds the needed fat and is soo good.
 
I’ve tried a couple of times and it just seems tough. You’ve piqued my interest though.
The dry brine helps with tenderness a bit. But I had an old cow that tasted great, but was far from tender before as well. Vinegar helps if you can incorporate it in any way with a marinade etc. Dry aging in the fridge helps a lot with tenderness, as does a several hour dry brine with Kosher Salt (I add garlic powder or fresh garlic occasionally as well).
 
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Folks love to sneer at sous vide and I'll grant you roasting is better when you can. But we have a busy house, 5 kids and tons of activities, and rarely have time to manage a smoker all day on a Saturday. For me, sous vide is a set-it-and-forget-it answer for almost any roast we do.

ADCreHeDcZzzc0rBpF4dz_0u2iQ9AA5hDARh1FnS5_4iB2AulD8wExLv27hbNzA0RetynBeVIsv2YWX0_mVmIyieIFfT6HPdQhosnSRTl5VT7CCS-zwshdMu3Evx6332yBWjeu1cQ0SYNij-cdtDzZKYUgYUuo4wfV8xULxaGWLTSaQlvs_BBn_w1SUqDy4HIzkjLChLlBtqE3Vjg4htRkx_caos6IQTKisaaCtfcRBP2ghKVs58b9jRjAKTe-aSrG9mAPAPC-34Blbbo9Ndbtmb37HzT-RXGx_IweWzxv82fWeU0cWsezS4v9nA6uomTAkGGuZNCdcubodOwmm5C-SCw4MwOQsdagnXOxXHhawMvpFecZY9fB9yUvfe00IiaqHorSSij4QIPKvIhAo8p_6RD71eX9FMAdSvw-J_6aWlTIwCeZt_5xtjK5mSgfS8tiRPVmFVoqy57LW_ZsJuA-V5L3sl9hVsjWf-AJrFdxXMpZW9usPm43dS9i0uwctXKshKiu3nv0wdzYI0PMCJyr-3J9vNzMAPjujhn7ncXFniPS7lz1jG2zfFGzWO0pbPbP8vjws06LaqUdcODZ-Bavr9v_vJVwf3TGxRvBdkJ11klqhs-IZKXyy2oye0Y0CVfmHStwlrBAI2o64GgBzw5ZjFkOFA79-285LZcaCCIti00IJPpYwTFfFz_83AA1CSohjyH1Zsk1Tkx3pxFEaRJ8ZW2QfPLQ37pGSyMVBI37lyp0md5D3CbplCBOP43H-nyZf3b3bdyg9uM1Bm3p7qPiOHg-oc3ZtRo_wefor1S9BL_geDmgFA34HBD2htxQHmDv4S2qfIKoyWSNG0ZY4GRjBe3ZXkja9NVyoXDRcoVTTeVLOj-J7_SDqgk_BQc4Qj8jnNAjrJ1_I=w1672-h1254-s-no-gm
Can’t imagine anybody that enjoys good food with amazing texture properties would sneer at sous vide. It’s the best and we can’t keep people out of the house when I’m cooking.

Heck… I took it to base camp this year and it was the envy of everyone.
Meals are cooked to perfection with sous vide.
 
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