In terms of culinary qualities, elk meat, or dzerenina as it is also called, is similar to veal or beef, and its taste is close to lamb. But elk meat is distinguished by greater toughness and a characteristic smell of game, which, as a rule, they try to get rid of before starting cooking by soaking the meat in water or marinating it. In addition, before cooking, elk meat is kept in fragrant herbs or berries, which give it a spicy and delicate taste.
Marinade for elk meat
There is a popular marinade recipe for dzerenina, which allows you to make it softer and get rid of the forest “smell”.
Ingredients:
1 kg elk meat
1 carrot
1 onion
one large root each of parsley and celery
2-3 bay leaves
1 tbsp. spoon of 3% vinegar
1 tbsp. spoon of sugar
1 tbsp. spoon of salt
1 liter of water
All the secrets of meat. Watch the video!..
How to marinate elk meat:
Dzerenin should be freed from films and tendons, cut into medium-sized pieces and placed in a deep container.
All vegetables specified in the recipe must be cut into large pieces, placed in a saucepan, filled with water, brought to a boil and cooked for 20 minutes, adding salt, sugar and vinegar.
After the specified time, the marinade must be cooled. Pour the cooled marinade over the meat and marinate it in the refrigerator for one to three days.
As a rule, “young” meat is fried without marinating it. This procedure can be replaced by regular soaking - you just need to pour cold water over the meat for 2 hours.
However, there are exceptions to every rule. So, for dishes that contain dzerenina in the form of minced meat, it should not be marinated.
In general, meat prepared in the above manner can be cooked exactly the same as beef and used in the same dishes. But you need to remember that elk meat is somewhat dry, so to add juiciness to it after marinating or soaking, it is recommended to stuff it with lard sticks.
In addition, it is customary to salt dzerenin only at the very end of preparation, since it contains natural salts absorbed by the animal during its life.
Roast elk
Ingredients:
1 kg pickled dzerenina
10 potatoes
2 onions
1 large carrot
300 g tomato paste
spices to taste
How to cook elk roast:
Pre-marinated meat should be cut into small pieces. In a well-heated cauldron, bring butter or lard to a boil and place elk meat in it.
The meat should be fried until a golden brown crust appears on it, and then, adding 200 g of water, simmer until half cooked.
As soon as the elk meat reaches the desired condition, you need to add diced potatoes and grated carrots to it.
Vegetables, like meat before, should be brought to half-cooked, and then put into a cauldron onion, tomato paste, bay leaf and allspice peas cut into thin rings.
Any game to us, spoiled city dwellers, seems tough, lean and difficult to prepare. Meanwhile, game meat is not only much healthier than well-fed broilers and pigs, it also has an exquisite and refined taste - if, of course, you know how to properly cook elk, wild boar or deer meat. It’s not for nothing that game has been considered a gourmet meat in all countries ever since livestock products took over the shelves. So let's learn - in case a hunter you know gives you wild boar, elk or bear meat for the holiday.
moose soft
There are several techniques to get rid of excess toughness in game. For example, before cooking meat, it is recommended to soak it for several hours - up to a day - in cold water, which should be changed periodically during this time. Before cooking, moose meat is dried with napkins.
If the meat is going to be baked or fried, it must be marinated. The most common marinade is made from mineral water, grape vinegar and vegetable oil, but there are other interesting options. Elk meat can be stuffed with lard or coated with it - then it will turn out surprisingly juicy.
It is very important not to salt the meat until it is completely cooked! Salt makes the elk meat even drier, and then the dish will no longer be salvageable.
And most importantly: any culinary processing of game lasts much longer than that of livestock. Stewing will take three hours, and cooking - from four. So be patient! And if a taiga man appears on your doorstep with a fresh carcass on his shoulder, do not refuse the gift, since cooking elk meat tender is not at all as difficult as it seems.
Elk meat in Lithuanian style
Very interesting recipe! The meat will be stewed, but neither beef nor pork can compare with it.
Residents of Lithuania know the secrets of how to cook elk meat and get a delicious result. A large chunk, 600 grams, is rubbed with pepper and salt. Shallow cuts are made on all sides into which pieces of bacon are inserted. Then the elk meat is poured with dry red wine and left to marinate for half a day. To save money, you can put a piece of meat in a bag, pour a little wine into it, tie it and shake it so that it is distributed evenly. The marinated meat is fried - in fat, not oil, with carrots and onions, transferred to a saucepan, into which two glasses of broth are added. The dish must be simmered for 2-3 hours until the elk meat is soft.
The meat should be served with sauce. For it, a spoonful of flour is fried in a dry frying pan, poured with a hot broth from a spoonful of dried mushrooms and boiled for a quarter of an hour. The liquid is filtered, crushed and fried large onions, mushrooms from the broth and seasonings are added to it. The sauce is boiled for the same amount of time, and at the end half a glass of sour cream is added to it.
Moose meat in foil
Again, before cooking elk meat, it should be marinated - in wine or in the composition described above. Dried elk meat is cut into large portions, which are laid out on separate pieces of foil. A plate of bacon or lard and onion rings are placed on each slice; The structure is salted, sprinkled with lemon, sprinkled with chopped herbs and poured with a spoonful of thick sour cream.
The foil is folded carefully but tightly, and the baking sheet is put into the oven - about an hour and a half, if the pieces are not too large.
Stuffed elk meat
This is just a wonderful way to cook delicious elk meat. However, it takes a lot of time to implement it. Elk meat (three kilograms) is carefully beaten and poured with a marinade of the following composition: a liter of water, a glass of 6% vinegar, a tablespoon of salt and sugar, a pinch of ground laurel, a few peppercorns, two onions and
All this is combined, boiled and cooled. After pouring, a weight is placed on the elk meat, and it is hidden in the cold for 24 hours. Then the meat is dried, rubbed with spices (it is advisable to include cumin in the list), thickly stuffed with lard and fried - similar to the Lithuanian recipe.
Having received an appetizing blush on all sides, the slice is wrapped in foil and placed on a baking sheet, where a glass of water is first poured (it will have to be added periodically).
The dish will sit in the oven for about ten hours, so you will have to be patient, since it is impossible to cook elk meat quickly and at the same time tasty. But as a result, you will feed your family with tender, aromatic and juicy game.
Elk jerky
If you don't know how to cook elk, the beef jerky recipes will work just fine with just a few modifications.
Cut a large piece in half so that each part contains three hundred grams. Place a spoonful of sea salt in the bottom of two trays or bowls and smooth it out. Place a piece of elk meat on top and sprinkle it with another spoonful of salt, evenly over the entire surface. Pour half a shot of vodka into each container, close the lids and refrigerate for two days. The meat must be turned every 3-4 hours. When it is salted, you should wash it in running water, dry it, rub it on all sides with a mixture of peppers and herbs (the composition is to your taste), wrap it tightly in several layers of gauze and tie it with twine. The bundles are hung in a cool place. In the absence of this, they are placed at the bottom of the refrigerator on the grill. After a week, you can actively try the meat.
Elk cutlets
Any other recipe requires soaking or marinating, which takes a certain, and long, time. Cutlets are the only way to cook elk meat quickly, although it is troublesome. And so that they are not too lean, you will have to add lard to the minced meat - half a kilo per kilogram of elk meat.
The meat goes through the meat grinder at least three times (preferably more). The lard and soaked lard are ground separately. The substances are combined, crushed two tomatoes without skin, an onion, two egg yolks, pepper and salt are added. The minced meat is kneaded, placed in a blender and blended until pureed. Balls are rolled out of it, flattened, rolled in semolina and fried like regular cutlets. Due to the airiness of the minced meat, they cook quite quickly. But if you want unprecedented juiciness, you can stop at half doneness, place the cutlets in a frying pan, pour two glasses of cream over them and put them in the oven to simmer for half an hour.
Elk meat with prunes
This elk meat was suggested by a hunter who regularly brings home such game.
You will still have to soak the elk meat, especially if the animal was an adult, over three years old. However, using prunes allows you to reduce the soaking to two to three hours. A pound of elk meat is chopped into small pieces - slightly larger than for goulash. The meat is quickly fried so that the crust appears, but the inside is still raw. At the same time as the elk meat, you need to fry a couple of chopped onions, put it in a casserole, pepper, pour in the juice released from the meat, pour dry red wine over the frying pan and add it to the elk meat. The meat should simmer over low heat for an hour. Then add tomato paste (two large spoons, stir in half a glass of hot water), and add spices. Another half hour of stewing, and add prunes - 10-12 pieces, pitted and sour. At the same time, the dish is salted, and after a quarter of an hour it is removed.
Roast elk
Again, before cooking the elk meat according to this recipe, it is better to marinate it. Just already chopped. A mixture is made of 2 tablespoons of sugar, the same amount of salt, several chopped bay leaves, finely chopped parsley root and peppercorns. Lay out the pieces, sprinkle with this mixture (enough for half a kilo of elk meat) and pour in 2 tablespoons of vinegar diluted in an equal volume of water. So the meat will sit for about nine hours. Then the cubes are fried and left to simmer. Five potatoes are cut into large strips and, together with chopped carrots, are poured into the almost finished meat. Just before turning off, add two chopped onions, tomato paste, allspice and laurel. Finely chopped garlic and herbs are poured into the roast already laid out on plates.
Elk meat in a slow cooker
The beginning is the same - the meat is soaked in water, the films are peeled off, and it is cut into cubes. The elk meat is placed in a bowl with a couple of tablespoons of sunflower oil, and the frying mode is turned on for five minutes to give the meat an appetizing blush. Then the mode changes to extinguishing and the time is set to one and a half hours. When the timer beeps, add chopped onions, grated carrots and mushroom slices. At the same moment, the dish is salted and peppered. “Quenching” is turned on for another third of an hour. Then chopped greens are added, the device switches to heating, and after ten minutes you can set the table. There are other ways to cook elk meat in a slow cooker, but this recipe seemed to us the most successful.
Elk meat in the oven is a tasty dish, but it has its own cooking characteristics. Game must be prepared before cooking, otherwise it will be tough. In some cases, it will be necessary to remove a specific smell from raw materials.
Elk meat in the oven should be baked in a tray with high sides
- Number of servings: 4
- Preparation time: 12 minutes
- Cooking time: 2 minutes
How to bake elk meat in the oven, product preparation
Elk meat is a tough and stringy product. Elks do not stand in a stall, but move around a lot. For this reason, such meat is low in fat. The meat of adult males has a specific smell. If you get a piece of just such an animal, then it will require brighter spices, for example, bay leaf and garlic. Old elk meat will require more baking time.
The first stage of preparation is marinating. This will take a lot of time. It is better to keep the piece in the marinade all night. The procedure is as follows:
- Free the piece from films and veins.
- Mix mustard, vegetable oil, salt, herbs and black pepper in a bowl.
- Pierce the piece with a knife over the entire area to leave small holes. This is necessary so that the marinade is evenly distributed not only on the surface, but also in depth.
- Rub the piece with the marinade, cover the bowl with the meat with film and put it in the refrigerator overnight. If desired, you can keep the workpiece in the marinade for up to 2 days.
Sometimes it’s worth taking a piece out of the refrigerator and rubbing the marinade into it. This marinade is suitable for meat from a young animal. It has a beige-pink color. If you have dark meat, it is better to make cutlets out of it, keeping it in a brighter marinade for at least 2 days.
Oven baked elk recipe
In the morning, you can remove the meat from the refrigerator and rub it again with the marinade that has drained into a bowl. If desired, you can stuff the meat with pieces of lard or smoked brisket before cooking, but this is not necessary. For baking:
- Preheat the oven to 200ºC.
- Wrap the elk meat tightly in foil and add the marinade. It is better to use thick foil or make several layers so that the liquid does not leak out.
- Place the elk in a rimmed baking sheet and place in the oven.
- Baking time – 2 hours.
- 15 minutes before cooking, remove the foil from the top of the piece so that the dish acquires an appetizing crust.
- Turn off the oven and leave the dish in it for another 15–20 minutes.
- Remove the elk meat and cut it into pieces.
It is customary to serve vegetables and herbs with the dish.
Don't know how to cook elk? Bake it in the oven, after lightly marinating it in a special mixture, after which the meat will be very tender, juicy and tasty!!!
The most important secret when cooking elk meat is that the meat must be young. The meat of an adult or old elk, even if marinated for a long time, will still be very tough. Young elk meat is beige-pink in color and is suitable for cooking almost all meat dishes.
Ingredients:
elk meat – 1 kg
mustard – 2 teaspoons
garlic – 3 medium-sized cloves
seasonings for pickling. You can use ready-made seasonings for meat, or you can prepare your own mixture of peppers, basil, dill, parsley, marjoram, and Provençal herbs
salt
olive or vegetable oil - 30-50 gr.
baking foil
How to cook elk meat, recipe:
Prepare the meat. If it was frozen, then you need to defrost it gradually in the refrigerator. Rinse the meat well and remove as much film as possible.
Prepare the marinating mixture. Peel the garlic and pass through a press, mix with mustard, oil and seasonings, salt.
Prick the meat on all sides with a thin knife or knitting needle.
Rub the meat with the resulting mixture.
Place the marinated meat in the refrigerator. It is usually recommended to marinate elk meat for a day, but 7-10 hours is enough. It is better if it is possible to periodically remove the meat, turn it over and rub in the marinade.
The meat was marinated. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Place foil on a baking sheet and wrap the meat tightly in it so that the juice does not leak out during baking.
Bake the meat for about two hours. 10-15 minutes before cooking, unfold the foil so that the meat acquires a crust.
Remove the elk meat from the oven 15-20 minutes after it is ready, so that it is slightly soaked and infused.
Elk is the largest representative of the deer species. This animal lives in the north and central zone of Eurasia, and is still found in Russia, Scandinavian countries, Germany, Canada and the USA.
Until the second half of the last century, venison and elk meat were the main components of the diet of hunters and inhabitants of the northern part of Russia. And knowing how to cook elk meat deliciously is useful for any cook.
The benefits and harms of elk meat
Elk meat is a healthy product. This animal lives far from people and feeds in natural conditions. The production of elk meat in the Russian Federation on a large scale is not organized, so elk meat is more of an exquisite delicacy served in restaurants, and a favorite dish on the table of skilled and successful hunters, than the everyday food of the average person.
Elk meat contains large quantities of B-group vitamins (choline, cyanocobalamin, etc.) and minerals. Elk meat helps normalize metabolism, improve the health of the heart and blood vessels, and improve the condition of the musculoskeletal system. Eating elk meat has a beneficial effect on brain activity and restores strength after physical exertion.
Elk meat is a rich source of nutrients, vitamins and amino acids. Elk meat is a dietary product with a low fat content, useful for normalizing blood circulation and the functioning of the cardiovascular system. It has a specific taste, somewhat reminiscent of lamb. Delicious soups, chops, roasts, and many other dishes are what can be prepared from elk meat. If you have the necessary ingredients, it is possible to cook elk meat both soft and in a harder form.
It is not recommended for young children and nursing women to eat elk dishes. The main contraindication for use is personal intolerance. If you experience stomach pain, an allergic reaction or nausea, consult a doctor immediately.
Taste characteristics of elk meat
In terms of culinary qualities, elk meat is approximately equivalent to veal or beef, and the taste is closest to lamb. It differs from livestock meat by being more rigid and having a characteristic gamey smell (some people consider this a plus, some people get rid of it before cooking).
The meat of an animal that lived to the north is not as tasty as that of an elk that lived closer to the south, while at the same time, elk meat from the north is healthier because it contains more substances necessary for the body. The meat of moose living in forests is tastier than the meat of moose living in swampy, swampy areas..
- Ideally, before cooking elk meat at home, it is recommended to first marinate the elk meat in 3% vinegar for 6-10 hours or soak it in water for 3-4 days.
- To add a spicy and delicate taste, soak the meat in berries and herbs.
- Butchering an elk carcass is similar to butchering a cow. The most delicious and valuable parts are the meat tenderloin and lips.
- Add salt to elk dishes at the end of cooking.
- For juicier cutlets, add a small amount of goose lard or lamb fat to the ground elk.
Recipes
Ingredients:
- 6 medium-sized potatoes;
- Elk bone with pulp - 0.6 kilograms;
- Carrots in the amount of 2 pcs.;
- 2 pcs. sweet pepper;
- 2 pcs. onions;
- 2 petiole celery roots;
- 3 tomatoes;
- 2 bay leaves;
- 7 peas of allspice;
- Fresh herbs, salt to taste.
Cooking at home:
- Cooking elk meat begins with thoroughly washing the meat, after which you need to put it in a large saucepan. Then pour cold water and place on the stove. After bringing to a boil, reduce heat to medium. Add peeled onion (whole), bay leaf, allspice peas. Cook for 2.5 hours.
- Strain the broth, removing the meat and spices. When the elk meat has cooled, it is necessary to separate it from the bone and finely chop it.
- Peel the carrots and cut them into cubes. Do the same with potatoes. Chop the pepper and celery. Add vegetables to the broth. Cook the soup over medium heat until the ingredients soften. Throw in the chopped tomatoes, after adding the chopped meat. Cook until done.
- Remove the pot of soup from the stove. I let it brew for about half an hour, closing the lid and covering with a towel.
Ingredients:
- 0.5 kilograms of meat;
- 2 pcs. Luke;
- 1 tablespoon starch;
- 2 bay leaves;
- 1 tablespoon mustard;
- 1 tablespoon rast. oils;
- peppercorns, add salt to taste.
Step-by-step preparation:
- Cooking elk meat begins by cutting the elk meat into pieces. Then rub with mustard. Leave for 30-60 minutes so that the meat is saturated with seasoning.
- Pour sunflower oil into the pressure cooker. Place it on the stove to heat up. Throw in the chopped pieces for frying. After this, add a little water and leave to simmer over medium heat for 2 hours.
- Peel the onion and cut it into large pieces. Place in pressure cooker with cut sides facing toward elk meat. Throw in the pepper and bay leaf.
- After an hour and a half, check the meat for taste. Add salt. At the end, add a large spoonful of starch to obtain the sauce.
How to cook in the oven?
To obtain an appetizing and juicy dish from stringy and tough elk meat, you will have to try hard and spend a lot of time.
Ingredients:
- 1 kilogram of elk meat;
- 200 milligrams of vinegar;
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil;
- 1 tablespoon salt;
- 8 black peppercorns;
- 2 onions;
- 1 tablespoon sugar;
- parsley root, meat spices, bay leaf - to taste.
Step-by-step preparation:
- Remove the film and rinse thoroughly with water. Beat with a wooden mallet.
- Prepare a marinade from granulated sugar, chopped onions, herbs, black pepper, chopped bay leaf, and salt. Pour the mixture with a liter of water and put it on the stove. Remove from heat and bring to a boil.
- Place the meat in a pan and place pressure on top. Place in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
- Remove meat from pan. Dry with paper towels, then sprinkle with meat spices.
- Place the frying pan on the stove, then pour in the oil and throw the pickled product onto the heated surface. Fry the meat until half cooked.
- Place the meat on a baking sheet, covering with foil. Before putting the elk meat in the oven, pour a glass of water.
- Simmer at minimum temperature for 8 hours. Monitor the water level, adding as needed.
- Remove from the oven, then unpack the foil and place on a plate, garnishing with fresh herbs.
Elk beef stroganoff
Beef Stroganoff is a delicious dish with finely chopped meat as the main ingredient. The traditional base is pork or beef, but if you wish, you can also try making it from elk.
Ingredients:
- 1 kilogram of elk meat;
- 2 pcs. Luke;
- 15 grams of dill;
- 1 tablespoon vinegar;
- 100 gr. sour cream;
- 1 pinch of sugar;
- spices, seasonings - to taste.
Cooking steps:
- Remove the meat from the freezer and defrost naturally. To get rid of excess blood, rinse with plenty of water. Cut into thin strips, removing tendons and film.
- To add a piquant and juicy taste, soak in the marinade. Throw the pieces of meat into a large cup, add salt, sugar, and pepper. Pour tbsp. a spoonful of vinegar, add chopped onion. Place the meat base of the dish in the refrigerator for 12 hours, cover with a plate.
- Take out the cup in the morning. To fry, place pieces of elk meat in a heated frying pan. Brown.
- Reduce heat. Add water, finely chopped dill. You can add sour cream and mix thoroughly.
- Simmer over low heat. The elk meat will begin to release juice. Simmer until it boils, remembering to stir.