When I fill my tag on a beautiful elk one of the first thoughts that crosses my mind amongst many others is, "I CANT WAIT TO COOK THE TENDERLOIN!" Such a delicious piece of meat and a perfect way to celebrate a successful hunt and getting meat in the freezer to feed your family.
I hunt for lots of reasons. Tradition, passion, perseverance, feeding my adventurous side. Its my happy place to be in the woods and the memories made out there during hunting season are irreplaceable. Even during non hunting seasons. Above all though I hunt to feed my family. Its an empowering feeling to know you have put meat in the freezer to prepare for your loved ones for the coming year. I appreciate all the hard work that goes into it as well. Rather than grabbing something wrapped in plastic out of a grocery store, I go out in whatever weather conditions that are handed to me and ethically hunt an animal to harvest. The hunt of the animal can lead you into some far places and the attempts and fails just fuel your fire to wake up the next morning and try again but once you have succeeded its is glorious. Approaching the animal you harvested with much anticipation and excitement. Once eyes are laid upon your trophy the celebrating and hugging with high fives and hollering begins. Sometimes tears of happiness. Your hunt has been a true success and your hard work has paid off. Doesn't mean your hard work is over though, after some pictures to keep for treasuring the memories made it becomes all about the meat. Although the hunt may have been targeting what the animal has on its head to measure its trophy quality when you have succeeded and harvested the animal the meat is top priority. Horns last forever, wild game meat requires lots of care. It truly becomes a labor of love. You sometimes work long into the night packing out your trophy and its meat on your back to get it home. Even once you've pushed your muscles to the limits packing out a heavy load numerous of times on your back the work isn't over. Once home you break the meat down and process the meat into steaks, roasts etc. Then wrap it all up in little packages and put in the freezer. The whole process is hard work but it leaves you empowered. Conserving the wildlife for the benefit of the land and providing to my family after conquering yet another hunt. Specially after a hard hunt, it is emotional every time I fill my tag because I feel truly blessed that luck played in my favor so I could provide to my family but when a hunt has been hard and trying with lots of miles hiked the feeling of success is overwhelming. After explaining all of this I'm sure its obvious how special and important this all is to me. Its not just a hunt, its not just about the horns, its about more than just those examples even though they play a part. Its a well rounded process for me and for reasons like that make me love hunting so much. Its in my blood.
To make a long story short this recipe does this piece of meat pure justice without fussing to much with the meat itself. The whiskey sauce compliments its perfectly as well. This recipe is a keeper and absolutely delicious! Even for non-hunters this recipe follows suit with beef tenderloin and will go great with the sauce as well! I hope you have enjoyed understanding how special meals like this are to my family and all the steps it takes to get to this wonderful meal around the table!
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| Grab your knife, grab your fork! |
Elk Tenderloin With Whiskey Cream Sauce
For the meat
1 Elk tenderloin
Montreal steak seasoning
Garlic salt
Olive oil
For the sauce
1 Onion chopped
8 Tablespoons of butter
1 Cup whiskey
1 Cup beef broth
1/2 Cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 Teaspoon garlic powder
Dash of salt n pepper
*Thicken with a dash of gravy flour if needed.*
Take your tenderloin and drizzle with a little olive oil. Spice the meat with all the spices to your liking. Doesn't take much just sprinkle to lightly coat the meat. Allow to sit and become close to room temp marinating in extra juices and spices on a dish.
Caramelize your onions in a pan over medium high heat with the butter. Once onions are translucent turn down heat and slowly stir in your whiskey. Allow to simmer until half of mixture evaporates and strong whiskey smell subsides. Once that has happened stir in the beef broth and allow to simmer and thicken. Stir in heavy whipping cream allowing it to continue to bubble. Sprinkle some salt n pepper and let sauce simmer and continue to thicken. If sauce seems to still be a little loose add some gravy flower quickly whisking it in.
Heat your grill to a a medium heat for grilling meat. Once heated start to grill your meat. Allow 5-8 minutes on each side depending on size. Spoon on extra spices and olive oil from the bottom of the dish during the cooking process for extra flavor. Remember to take your meat off a little early since it will continue to cook as it sits. Let it sit as a whole piece for about 5 minutes before slicing down.
Cut against the grain and serve with whiskey sauce drizzled over the top! Enjoy with a beer or cocktail and some heavenly side dishes!
Bon Appetit and live, laugh, love and HUNT!
