What are the usable parts of an elk for meat. Obviously the shoulders, hams, straps and loins. What about skirt steak, neck and ribs. The neck seams like it would have a lot of hamburger meat on it. Thanks.

Perry

You pretty well nailed it. Either use the "scraps" you named for hamburger, or made into sausage.

L.W.

Elk meat is so good they should be extinct!!!

Had some elk meatballs for our Superbowl party. They should be declared illegal as a controled substance.

Years ago, I thought deer was the best, Now that I'm older and wiser Elk is number one and Antelope is number 2, deer goes into sausage>

The only problem I've noticed with elk meat is that there's usually so much of it you get tired of eating it after a while.

I have only taken one elk, and it was an older satellite bull. None the less, with the exception of being a bit "chewy" due to age, it is by far the best wild game I have ever eaten. Virtually every muscle on the animal was big enough to cut into steaks...

Do you eat the neck if your starving or is actually a good piece of meat?

Any meat you don't save is meat you'll regret discarding when the rest is gone.

Not speaking from elk here, Just deer meat is something I feel that way about.

AllanD

quote:

Originally posted by Rattlesnaker:
The only problem I've noticed with elk meat is that there's usually so much of it you get tired of eating it after a while.

Pretty sure some gents here can help out against a reoccurance.

quote:

Originally posted by Rattlesnaker:
The only problem I've noticed with elk meat is that there's usually so much of it you get tired of eating it after a while.

This season I killed one, my 14 year old killed one amd my hunting partner (lives 4 doors down) killed one, we have been eating elk non-stop for 4 months and have gone through about 1/2 of it... gotta say.... I ain't tired of it yet!!

(It sure makes the whitetail turn into stew meat and ground real fast though.....)

IV

I never tasted beef till I was about 14 years old. My Dad was a park warden and anything that was confiscated from poachers at that time the warden got to keep. (except for a small part for evidence.) All we ate was elk,moose and the occational buffalo. I prefer a good elk over anything. We ussually go through 1-2 per year.

Leanwolff is right on. I don't waste much at all on any of the game animals. Whatever isn't a steak is sorted into stew meat, jerky, and the rest into burger and sausage. Nate

As to Perry's origional question, the only parts that aren't usable as meat, are the parts that aren't meat, bones and hide, etc. Elk is by far my favorite venison.

DGK

Elk is definately the best that I have had and other than the beef that the inlaws cook has been the only meat (other than the Antelope I grind into sausage) for the last two years for my family of 6. I much prefer it to beef since it is richer in flavor without the greasy texture of beef fat. The neck can be boiled and meat cleaned from the bone for the best barbecue meat you could have.

Deke.

Elk is great, but moose is better. So is antelope.

Both my kids are now of elk hunting age. Four tags..... Hmmm. We're going to need another freezer! Dutch.

I've been lucky enough to have had elk meat for my primary meat for about the last 40 years. I'd rather eat elk hamburger than beef. I've had many a elk steak or roast that was to die for. I do all my own butchering so I know what I'm eating. The more "white" (grisle, fat) that you trim off, the less "wild" taste you will have. My favorite wild meat is bighorn sheep, but sheep tags aren't easy to come by. The moose meat I've had tasted tasted like tough willow bushes. I like all my red meat cooked well on the outside, and rare in the center. Neck meat requires a little extra trimming, but it makes great hamburger.

The backstrap on an elk neck makes for a couple of great roasts. We usually end up cutting them off around the shoulder, then cut the neck seperately. I've seen people save the meat between the ribs, also, but have not done so.

quote:

As to Perry's origional question, the only parts that aren't usable as meat, are the parts that aren't meat, bones and hide, etc. Elk is by far my favorite venison.

Use those bones in your stews and soups. They add minerals and the marrow breaks down into very tasty soup. Much of the problem with todays' diet is the lack of micronutrients we carnivores used to get when we ate the whole thing and wore the rest when we got tired of chewing.