Move Over Turkey, Elk Coming Thru.

Today my hunter friend, Charlie Helquist, brought me a most wonderful surprise...fresh Elk meat (roast, ground and steaks). Thank you, thank you, thank you Charlie...you are an awesome guy and you are appreciated!!!

I was definitely sick of turkey leftovers and was craving meat, so was going to make Philly Cheesesteaks for dinner. With the bonus of fresh Elk meat now in my grasp, I took this as a sign to make the cheesesteaks with the Elk steak.

Opening up the paper wrapped package, removing the meat from a plastic bag, I was still amazed at how beautiful Elk meat was; so lean, red and looking like something only a rich person could afford to indulge in. I sliced it into strips and mixed it with 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce (to bring out more of the rich Elk flavor) plus a half teaspoon each of fine sea salt and ground black pepper; also 1 teaspoon of garlic powder. I then placed the bowl containing the meat into the refrigerator for a half hour to settle. During that half hour, I also prepped a large green bell pepper by seeding it and cutting it into 1/4 inch slices; two large onions were cut into 1/4 inch slices.

Over medium-high heat, I heated up 2 tablespoons of canola oil and added in the peppers and onions. Giving them an occasional toss, I did not add the Elk into the skillet until they just began to soften. I spread the meat on top to allow the peppers and onions to start browning on their edges. Then I began mixing all three together, making sure to turn the strips of meat as they too browned. This all took about 20 minutes to accomplish and then the cheese was added - 16 slices of American Cheese plus 8 slices of Provolone. There was about 2 lbs of meat, so this followed my usual 12 slices of cheese for every pound of meat.

Once the cheeses were completely melted and mixed in with the other ingredients, I removed the skillet from the heat source and let it rest for 5 minutes. The cheese sauce thickened and all was ready to be served into sub rolls.

Spectacular! The Elk meat was so tender; all the ingredients had married so well that no one item overwhelmed in taste. Charlie, once again...THANK YOU!!!

Mary Cokenour