The story of the Football! I was in Texas at an Outdoor Solutions “From Field to Table” culinary event. We were teaching hunters how to fabricate wild hogs. I would break down a hind leg and teach the hunters how to identify each muscle. As each hunter butchered a hind leg they would bring the muscles to Greg’s (owner of Outdoor Solutions) son Eddie and his buddy Cedar. The hunter would identify the meat while Eddie and Cedar would vacuum seal and mark the bag. Eddie soon learned how to memorize the muscles by “memory by association” he quickly identified this muscle as the “Football” by its shape. Now at every “Field to Table” event the first muscle the hunters memorize is the sirloin tip, also known as the Knuckle but now known as the “Football”.
Recipe by Chef Albert Wutsch
We use RecTec pellet smokers/grills for all of our outdoor cooking and all of our wild game is processed using Made With Meat equipment.
Boiled Elk Sirloin Tip
Ingredients:
- 4-5 lbs Elk Sirloin Tip/Knuckle/Football
- 2T Oil
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- 1C Onion Large Dice
- 1pt Red Wine
- 1qt Beef Broth
- 1 can Diced Tomatoes
- 2 Bay Leaf
- 1tsp Kosher Salt
- 1tsp Cracked Black Pepper
- 1tsp Onion Powder
Additional Vegetables After Initial Cooking
- 1pt Onion Large Dice
- 1pt Celery Large Dice
- 1pt Carrot Large Dice
- 1qt Whole Baby Potatoes
Method:
- Remove all fascia off muscle
- Rub with oil and season
- Sear meat in hot oil in pot
- Add 1 C of onion
- Deglaze with wine and broth, add tomatoes
- Blend seasonings and add
- Bring to a boil, cover and let simmer for 4-6 hours until fork tender
- Once tender, add remaining vegetables, cover and cook for another hour
- Adjust seasoning, flavor and consistency as needed
- Remove meat and pull into chunks, place back into broth ASAP
- Serve with vegetables in broth with a dollop of horseradish sour cream, chopped chives and toast points.
Substitutions: Add mushrooms, substitute fresh garlic, add fresh thyme right before service, use large dice potatoes instead of baby potatoes.
Cooking Options: Cube meat and prepare stew instead of boiled meat. To lessen cooking time try using a pressure cooker. If using legs and thighs of turkey or goose, pull meat from bones and tendons after cooking.
Tip: After the meat has been cooked, keep meat in liquid as much as possible to prevent evaporative cooling loss of moisture resulting in dry meat.
