Elk ribs and elk fat

[mad_angler]

Do folks do something like a rib-roll and carry out the rib meat from elk? If so, what do you do with that meat?

Or asking another way... how does elk fat taste? Can you leave it in like moose? or do you have to remove it all like whitetails?

 

[wowzers]

I think they taste fine, even great, but it’s the whole mouth coated with candle wax like feel when you eat them that I don’t care for. I’ve smoked them several times and the results were the same.

 

[Skerhunter]

I do rib rolls and just trim off excessive amounts of fat, but don’t get too picky. Elk is way better than the deer rib rolls I have cooked!

 

[wapitibob]

I have heard you can par boil them before the smoker or oven and it helps a lot.

 

[Axlrod]

Best I have tried for elk ribs bone in or boneless is pressure cooker then broil or grill with sauce. Or slow cooker 10 hrs on low with a chopped up onion & garlic and some bbq sauce or salsa. Skim the fat off after cooking.

 

[Weldor]

I have heard you can par boil them before the smoker or oven and it helps a lot.

Insta-pot works great. Then just sauce them and a few minutes in the oven or smoker.

 

[hibernation]

Yeah, pressure cooking or braising seems to render most of the fat off. Taste isn't the issue, just the waxiness. Crisp em up on the grill, smoker, oven, broiler, whichever. Sauce or dry rub have both worked real well for me.

 

[DawnPatrol]

I’ve done the slow cooker-to-grill method with a lot of blacktail ribs and it has always turned out great. I tried it one time with elk ribs (nice healthy young raghorn bull) and it was, frankly, gross.

Elk ribs are obviously a lot meatier than deer, I think there was just too much fat in there, and maybe I didn’t render enough out? Maybe I left too much of the meat on the ribs to begin with? I don’t know, but it didn’t taste great and the mouthfeel was even worse. I’m not cutting off and packing out whole elk ribs after that experience. I just grind it.