Rourke's Random Musings

After breakfast one morning at the Ferry Building Farmer’s Market, Jen and I wandered into Golden Gate Meat Company. They had an unusually large amount of game meat, so we spent some time salivating over the selection and trying to one up each other by finding cool and unusual meats. We ended up walking out with about a pound of ground elk.

I reshaped the ground elk into proper, thick burger patties. Jen showed me how to do this by mushing them up into balls in my hands and then flattening them some by throwing them from hand to hand. I then placed the patties into a griddle pan over medium heat (6-7 on our stove) with a little olive oil.

I didn’t use a thermometer, I didn’t stick to a set amount of time, and I didn’t cut into the burgers until it was time to eat. I monitored for doneness by watching the outside change color and by pushing on the top middle of the patties. I ended up cooking for about six minutes a side, most of which time the patties were covered with a round pot top that was too small for the square griddle pan I was using. This helped keep some of the heat in so the burgers cooked inside. Immediately before the last four minutes on the second side, I covered the patties with provolone cheese.

Google claims you should cook elk meet slowly, so I stuck with low heat and a long cook time.

After the patties were done I put them on buns from Acme Bread Company with slices of heirloom tomato from Capay Organic and just a little mayo.

I have to say, this turned out really well. I’d definitely do this again, and the only things I’d do differently next time are adding bacon and raw onions. The buns were truly awesome, and the elk meat was really tasty. Elk is somewhat gamey and very flavorful without being nearly as greasy or heavy tasting as beef.