In late October, I had the pleasure of evaluating a western Missouri lake with several colleagues. One evening, after we'd finished sampling this beautiful, aspiring lake, Dr. Wes Neal, Extension
Fisheries Biologist and Research Professor at Mississippi State University and I were talking about different recipes and the fact each of us loves to cook.
He was telling me he'd recently modified a recipe for a dish called, "Mississippi Pot Roast" and used it with some wild game. I told him about some elk roasts vacuum-packed in my freezer that were about to turn a year old. He was confident his recipe would work in a slow cooker, so I gave it a shot.
As a qualifier, I've cooked elk a grand total of five or six times in my entire life. Everyone who reads this recipe can prepare elk way better than this guy.
But we gave it a shot and it turned out really well.
Cook it in an Instapot or a slow cooker. One important tip, if you don't let it cook long enough, the lean red meat won't be tender. If you cook it too long, it becomes too dry to enjoy.
Ingredients:
Slow Cooker big enough for your selected roast cut.
We used 2 pounds of elk roast
1 oz. Packet of Ranch Dip
1 oz. Brown Gravy Mix
1 small bottle Pepperoncini peppers
1 Stick of butter (use the real thing)
Directions:
Put the roast into your slow cooker. We didn't brown it in a skillet first, but you can if you want. Since elk is so lean, we didn't brown it.
Sprinkle the Ranch Dip mix and Brown Gravy mix on top of the meat and rub it evenly across the top.
Put the peppers (you don't have to use all the peppers, especially if the cut of meat is small, like ours was) on top of the roast.
Add juice from the pepper jar. This adds a tangy flavor, plus the vinegar helps tenderize the meat
Add the whole stick of butter.
Cover and cook on low for at least 8 hours, then check to see if the meat is done. If not, let it cook slowly another hour or two, until it becomes tender.
When finished, shred it like pulled pork.
It makes great sandwiches or sliders. We served ours with aromatic rice, but mashed potatoes work well, also. We also steamed some broccoli to go with it. It made for a couple of healthy meals. One tip, read the contents of your mixes and make sure there's not too much salt. If the roast is too salty, not only does it take away from the flavor, it adds a drying effect. Also, if you want to cook it more traditionally, like my mother (and probably your mother), add carrots, potatoes, and onions when the roast is about two hours from the finish line.
