When it comes to game meat, buffalo is often the first thing people turn to, but elk is also a huge staple in Wyoming. If you’re hunting large animals, Wyoming’s most famous hunting area is the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, which is also known as the Serengeti of North America. Around the center of this area lies Jackson Hole, which is a valley filled with a selection of elk, bighorn sheep, mule deer, and black bear game.
As for my hunting for the meat, I did have to shop around a bit to find elk, but finally located it at a specialty grocery store – frozen, but still elk. The meat itself is very lean, so you have to add some fat to it to make it juicy, which they were – after I folded into the middle of each pattie a hunk of butter. They were delish – smothered with homemade tomato chutney, bread and butter pickles and melted havarti cheese.
- 1 1/2 pounds ground elk meat
- 1/2 red onion, diced into small pieces
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 3 Tbs cold butter, cut into 4 pieces
- 4 slices of cheese, if desired
- 4 hamburger buns – I used brioche buns
- Condiments
- Add the onion, salt and pepper to the ground meat and shape into 4 evenly sized patties. Add a hunk of butter into the center of each pattie and fold them in half, enclosing the butter into the center of the pattie, being sure that it’s completely enclosed or it will leak out.
- Grill the burgers for about 4 minutes per side or until they’re medium temperature (about 140 degrees). During the last 2 minutes on the 2nd side, add the cheese to melt.
- Serve with any of your desired condiments – I served them with tomato chutney, red onion and pickles.
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