Eating Elk, Backstraps or Round Steaks ?

Walkathon · Feb 1, 2018

Hello Everyone,

Question for all of you elk eaters out there. I don't have much experience with elk and have only shot two, both cows. The elk I shot this year was an adult cow, probably 3.5 or 4.5 old based on her body size in comparison to the rest of the group- big but not quite the biggest, and her ivories match up with 3.5yr - 4.5yr based on the online tool that Montana has for aging them...anyway to my question.

The back straps are probably the toughest I have ever eaten, including a few dozen whitetail deer and probably 6 mule deer. The round steaks, specifically the top round and sirloin are very tender and completely great to eat. I cooked them side by side on the grill to the same doneness, rare to medium rare and couldn't believe the difference. The back straps were a struggle to eat.

So, is this normal for elk back straps to be tough, as compared to the sirloin and rounds? I removed the back straps in the field, probably about 1 hour after she hit the ground and they were in a cooler for 2 days on ice afterwards along with the rest of the meat. The meat was hung in a tree overnight to cool off before I put it in a cooler. Really glad I saved the rounds for steaks/ stir fry after trying the back straps. Tenderloins were totally awesome as expected.

Just curious as to what the rest of you have found.

MThuntr · Feb 1, 2018

Did you remove the silverskin off the backstrap?

whiskeydog · Feb 1, 2018

Vacuum seal them and put them in the deep freezer for 6-12 months...they'll tender right up.

Walkathon · Feb 1, 2018

Mthuntr said:
Did you remove the silverskin off the backstrap?

Didn't realize backstraps had silverskin on them. Just yanking your chain, yes, all silverskin was removed. I have been butchering my deer and now elk for a couple of decades and remove all the fat and all silverskin. This is the only backstrap I've ever had that was tough, I mean very tough and I'm not sure why, especially since the rest of the cuts of meat have been great.

Walkathon · Feb 1, 2018

whiskeydog said:
Vacuum seal them and put them in the deep freezer for 6-12 months...they'll tender right up.

Maybe this will help- I'll leave the straps in the freezer and try them again this summer. Thanks

HighDesertSage · Feb 1, 2018

Did you process yourself or have a butcher do it? I've had more than a few cuts mislabeled.

Walkathon · Feb 1, 2018

ishootdasmallones said:
Did you process yourself or have a butcher do it? I've had more than a few cuts mislabeled.

Butchered it myself

HighDesertSage · Feb 1, 2018

The backstrap is usually my best cut of meat.

For what it's worth, I do all my back straps the same. I make sure they are 1/2 in thick, salt pepper both sides, put the grill on a med low, cook on one side 4 min, turn then baste the other side with a teriyaki glaze, cook 4 min. pull off and let rest. It comes out great.

Aussie_hunter_JD · Feb 1, 2018

Going with the obvious but where did you hit her? How do you age your meat?

Walkathon · Feb 1, 2018

Aussie_hunter_JD said:
Going with the obvious but where did you hit her? How do you age your meat?

Shot her in the lungs. I aged the meat by taking it from WY to MN in a cooler. It was in the cooler before freezing it for about 5 days with a little ice. I have a grate in the bottom of my 150 qt coolers to keep the meat off the bottom. No formal aging process. Hindquarters were transported bone in. It's the same process I've used for probably 20 deer and the one other elk I've shot. The strangest part of the situation is the fact that the round steaks and everything else off the hind quarter is really tender and the backstraps are noticeably tougher. All the meat was handled in the same way. Mostly curious if anyone else has had a similar result.

Poke 'Em · Feb 1, 2018

I had a pronghorn a couple of years ago that was tough as nails. In that case it was the whole animal, not just one cut. It's odd that just the backstraps are tough but not the rest.

Regardless, I left him in the freezer as others have mentioned. He got more tender. Never what I would call "tender," but certainly better than when he was fresh.

JohnCushman · Feb 1, 2018

Try using a jaccard type pounder/stabber on the backstrap chops.

Aussie_hunter_JD · Feb 1, 2018

Yeah that is bizarre, you could just try pounding him out a bit?

Or use it in slices for stirfry, Philly cheese steak and things like that rather than thick steaks.

Crumb · Feb 1, 2018

I’ve only shot one elk and it was also a cow, and I would take any of the steaks off the hind quarter over the back straps for tenderness.

RobG · Feb 1, 2018

I've had two that were super tough. The only common denominator was they were both left in the field overnight and they froze.

rg

TBass · Feb 1, 2018

The longer you can leave meat on the bone, especially as it goes in and out of rigor mortis, the more tender it will be. Also, if it's chilled too fast it can be tougher from cold shortening.

ccc23454 · Feb 1, 2018

I had some backstraps steaks last night and ate leftovers as a sandwich today and that big old elk (not sure which one but they were all big this year

tasted great and was super tender as they always are. Never had a elk strap that was bad, only ones comprimised barely from heat or water in cooler and just needed trimming. I have had nasty tough tenderĺoins on old bulls during rut but never tough b-straps. And never compared them to deer, elk never taste that bad. I debone elk fast after i shot them so not leaving it on bone isnt reason. Aging meat does help but is actually hard to do right, so some is good but limit it. CUSH nailed it for this one, call it weird and tenderize it with a stabber thingy/mallet or use as cube steaks or chopped up. Next year shot a tasty one...

Chris

Walkathon · Feb 1, 2018

Flavor is great, didn't mean to imply that it wasn't. None of the other cuts are tough, just backstraps. I've eaten about half of the backstraps already and will leave the rest of it frozen for the next few months and if its still tough this summer, I'll pound it with my meat mallet, easy enough to do. Thanks everyone for your comments and suggestions.

wyoboypt · Feb 1, 2018

not sure why youre having that issue. But try thawing them and leaving them in the fridge for 5 days or so. always makes mine more tender.

hank4elk · Feb 2, 2018

I had one that was tougher than the rest. Made killer stew.Strong jerky.
I've had some that were strong flavored from bulls & or handling,but that was a fluke.Elk can go rancid if hung too long. Also jerky can go rancid.
They can go bad on the bone quick.
Native Americans loved elk. Kings of the animal world.
But they ate it as fresh as possible & rarely cured it for storage.It went rancid.

Eating Elk, Backstraps or Round Steaks ?

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