Elk Minute Steak Salads

I get elk minute steaks from my grandfather once a year when he shoots his tags up at his mountain property in the Rockies. I LOVE game meat, so this is always very exciting to experiment with straight off the mountain elk meat!

Because of the general sweetness of elk, and its tendency to be tough, marinating it is always going to be a good idea. Cherries, cranberries, mixed herbs (rosemary, thyme, sage, marjoran....) always make good marinades. I marinated these particular steaks in cherries and cranberries with mixed herbs. You can do this for a few hours or overnight.

I wanted to do a dish as a starter, so elk over salad seemed to be a perfect combo. The minute steaks are so small, so when cooking for four one steak each over a small salad was a perfect appetizer portion!

When cooking the elk, you have to just barely sear either side to prevent overcooking it. You can also bake it for 10-15 minutes to achieve a similar consistency.

I sliced the steaks and put one steak per salad. The salad consisted of mixed spinach and arugula (rocket for my friends across the pond), walnuts, and blackberries. I tossed a small bit of olive oil and balsalmic over the greens, but as I was making a sauce for the elk as well, I didn't want to overdo it.

For the elk sauce, I took a bag of cherries and pitted them (my brother actually pitted them...I bribed him!) and sauteed in a pan to cook down. I did keep a few fresh cherries on the side to serve with the salad. Once cooked, I strained out the leftover skins so that only the simmering juice remained. I added balsalmic vinegar and let it reduce down further, until the consistency was no longer "runny". You don't want it too thick, but not as thin as the juice when it starts so that it "sticks" to the food.



When reduced enough, I spooned just a little on top of the elk (which was on top of the salad) and garnished with a few fresh cherries.

It was delicious! Loved the cherry balsalmic reduction. There's nothing like fresh cherry juice when making sauces like that. It was super rich but there was so little that it still worked for an appetizer.

Next time I think I would add shavings of a strong sheeps milk cheese. I am tempted to sprinkle blue crumbles in the salad, but think that the flavors might compete. Again, I'm trying to get back to basics. \

Until next time, don't forget the pepper!