Cold-Smoked Elk Steaks

by Levi Strayer of Smokehouse Products

A smokin’ twist to a classic elk steak recipe!

Elk tenderloin and backstraps often produce the best steaks around our neck of the woods, so when it came time to dig out some backstraps from the freezer, I wanted to make sure we used our favorite recipe. When it comes to smoking meats or fish, I’ve grown up using the Big Chief and Little Chief smokers. Well now there’s the Smoke Chief. The Smoke Chief is a cold-smoke generator that attaches to any grill to add smoke—just like you’d add salt and pepper. That’s what I’m going to do with our elk steaks.

After the steaks marinate for 24 hours, I’ll use the Smoke Chief to smoke the meat before I start cooking it. If you smoke the steaks when they’re raw, just 20- to 30 minutes of smoke time will give you a deep smoke flavor. 

Ingredients:
2 pounds elk tenderloin or backstrap
1 cup red wine
½ cup balsamic vinegar
½ cup orange juice
2 tbsp soy sauce
3 cloves of garlic

Directions:
Trim any excess fat from the meat and cut your steaks into your preferable size. Mix the red wine, balsamic vinegar, orange juice, soy sauce and chopped garlic cloves in a bowl. Add the steaks to the marinade and refrigerate for approximately 24 hours.

Remove the steaks from the marinade and place them on the grill without turning on the heat. Attach your Smoke Chief to your grill (often through the rotisserie hole) and turn it on. Fill the Smoke Chief with ½ cup of Smokehouse Cherry BBQ Pellets. Close the grill as the smoke begins pouring out of the Smoke Chief. Smoke the steaks for 20- to 30 minutes and then remove the meat from the grill.

Turn on your grill to med-high heat. Place your steaks back on the grill and cook for approximately 5- to 6 minutes on each side (depending on the thickness that you cut your steaks). Flip your steaks only once. Mix-up your favorite salad (with smoked peppers) for a nice side dish. Easy and delicious… enjoy! 

Visit Smokehouse Products for more smoking recipes.