Growing up in south Georgia, I was raised on the typical American diet. My mom cooked every meal, which included a meat, a starch, a green and a dinner roll of some sort. And let’s not forget the sweet tea, of course.
Back home, we ate beef, pork, chicken and turkey. Meat was a staple, and we never thought twice about it. Here in Jackson, meat is a staple, too, but there are many more options.
Prior to moving to Jackson, I had heard about elk, so I went on a search for different elk dishes around town; however, before blindly delving in, I hunted out some information.
I visited Dan Marino, owner and operator of Jackson Hole Buffalo Meat Company, to get the scoop on elk. In Wyoming it’s illegal to raise elk for commercial sale, so unless you hunt, elk for sale comes from the surrounding states, such as Colorado, Montana and Idaho. He cuts and grinds all meats daily, in-house.
Comparing it to other red meats, Marino said elk is the healthiest because it’s lower in calories, fat and cholesterol, and higher in iron. His elk are ranch-raised, free-range and all natural. There are no steroids, antibiotics or growth hormones used, ever. And there are just as many cuts for elk as there are for beef — they’re just all leaner!
Marino let me try some elk jerky that they were dehydrating. This jerky put the traditional beef jerky to shame. It had such a mild, light, clean taste with a phenomenal chewy texture. It had a hint of spice and a gorgeous dark mahogany color. I highly recommend natural, elk jerky over processed, beef jerky.
My first taste of elk other than the jerky was the grilled wasabi elk fillet at The Blue Lion. This dish consists of elk shoulder tenderloin marinated in a mixture of fresh herbs, garlic, fish sauce and chile sauce. It’s grilled rare and served over a seaweed salad, finished with a wasabi vinaigrette. The elk was cooked perfectly and was flavorful and very lean and tender. The seaweed salad was a nice contrast in color and texture with its crispy greens.
If you’re like me and want to try elk (without having to hunt for it yourself), then seek out some of these other dishes around town:
The Gun Barrel
Location: 862 West Broadway
Dish: Velvet Elk
Description: Elk medallions pan seared with mushrooms, green onions and sun-dried tomatoes in a red wine demi-glace sauce, served with garlic mashed potatoes.
Price: $29.95
The Cowboy Steakhouse
Location: 25 North Cache Street
Dish: Prairie Harvest Elk Fillet
Description: Fillet of elk with caramelized onions and blue cheese, served with roasted potatoes, garlic spinach, and huckleberry barbecue sauce
Price: $42.00
Local
Location: 55 North Cache Street
Dish: Seared elk medallions
Description: Coffee-rubbed elk, served with sweet potato puree and a huckleberry demi-glace
Price: $32
*Jackson Hole Buffalo Meat Company offers game processing.
*Visit the USDA’s website to find out more information on elk and why it’s the healthy meat choice.
