Haute Cuisine Is Home-Grown Elk Feast

Wild Game Graces Grill, Table

One of life's simple pleasures is firing up the grill to enjoy a fine feast outdoors.

It's more of a treat when the main ingredient is wild game, and lately I've enjoyed the finest of fine dining.

A good friend's name was drawn to receive one of the coveted tags for Arkansas' elk hunting season held last fall. The Arkansas Game & Fish Commission issues about 25 permits for hunting elk in Buffalo River country. The elk herd that people enjoy seeing near Ponca isn't in the elk hunting zone.

Only Arkansas residents may apply for the free permits and thousands do. Odds of getting drawn for a permit are slim. Much to the delight of his taste buds and mine, my friend got a tag and killed his Arkansas elk in the Gene Rush Wildlife Management Area. He shared some of the bounty with me.

My gift of Arkansas elk included a couple packages of ground elk and a round steak that would spill over the sides of the largest platter.

I'd enjoyed elk taken out West. Meat doesn't come any tastier or more nutritious and healthy. I couldn't race home fast enough to fire up some charcoal for my first banquet of Arkansas elk.

I sampled the ground elk first. I thought of making elk chili, but elk burgers on the grill won out. That way I'd get the full flavor of the ground elk. Wisps of smoke escaped from the grill lid while I danced on the deck anticipating the feast. My Arkansas elk burger on a toasted bun with a thin slice of onion was delicious.

Relief from a cold spell the next week came with a pot of elk chili. All I can say is it wouldn't be fair to enter this dish in a cook-off. Elk chili would win every time.

Soon as you could say "polar vortex" it was grill time again. All I could think about all day was that elk round steak thawing in the refrigerator. I drove home from work, my turn signal on the whole way, with that steak on the brain.

I carried the elk steak outside when the charcoal was white hot. The meat was the richest red with a white oval bone off-center of the inch-thick steak.

My Arkansas elk round steak covered half the grill. It sizzled and smoked an in minutes was cooked it to perfection. A nice healthy slice of grilled elk steak and a baked potato was a feast no restaurant can match.

Elk, deer, all wild game just can't be beat. It's low in fat and tasty. Ground venison or elk can be used in any recipe that calls for ground beef. When a miracle happens and I get a deer with my bow, it's a happy day when I pull a venison meatloaf out of the oven.

I'll leave some freezer space open in case my pal gets an elk permit next season. Heaven help me if I ever shoot my own Arkansas elk. There'd be so much to enjoy I'd walk around bugling and grow antlers.

FLIP PUTTHOFF IS OUTDOORS EDITOR FOR NWA MEDIA. FOLLOW HIM ON TWITTER @NWAFLIP.

Outdoors on 03/13/2014

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