With one tag filled, we have been trying to clean out the freezer from last year’s cow elk and mule deer. We have one more antelope tag to fill here in the next week and 2 cow elk and 1 bull in the next month. That’s a lot of meat and we need all of the freezer space we can get.
So what’s for dinner tonight? I love mashed potatoes and it’s no secret I love elk backstrap. Like any recipe, you can always change things up a bit to make it out of this world ‘fantastic’.
I happened to have a few gold potatoes, some fresh baby spinach, kale and swiss chard in the fridge, a couple cloves of garlic, some butter and a perfect portion of elk backstrap.
Now when we butcher our antelope, elk or venison backstraps, we cut the backstraps into 4 or 5 inch chunks. Then we double wrap in plastic wrap and save in ziploc storage bags. I’ve found over the years that this method keeps our meat fresh with very minimal to no freezer burn. Plus the portion sizes seem to be the best for us and our family. I’m a little stingy and want to enjoy as much of the meat as possible without waste.
This recipe is very simple and like any recipe, you can always change things up. Venison and antelope backstrap works too. Enjoy!
INGREDIENTS
- Elk Backstrap (4 inch in length cut into 1/4 inch steaks)
- 6 gold potatoes (cubed)
- 1 cup baby spinach (chopped)
- 1 cup swiss chard (chopped)
- 1 cup kale (chopped)
- 2 cloves garlic (diced)
- 5 Sage leaves (chopped)
- 5 tablespoons butter
- Grated romano cheese
- Salt and pepper
DIRECTIONS
Slice your backstrap into ¼ inch steaks. Salt and pepper and set aside.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add your potatoes and cook until tender. Drain potatoes and set aside. In the same pot on medium heat, add 4 tablespoons of butter, chopped sage leaves and chopped garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Add spinach, swiss chard and kale. Cook greens until they become tender and wilted about 5-7 minutes. Add potatoes to greens and mix together with a wire potato masher. Top with a little grated romano cheese or parmesan cheese. Put lid on and turn off the heat.
Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add remaining butter to skillet. Once your skillet is nice and hot, add your backstrap steaks. Remember to quickly cook the meat. These are tender and thin pieces.
When you’re done… place a heaping pile of potatoes in the center of your plate and place a few backstrap steaks on top and dig in! It’s all healthy for you… well maybe minus the butter. HAHAHA!
