Chile-Rubbed Elk Roast

Purely Primal is just over two years old now.  Follow this link to take a look back at some of the earliest recipes posted here – ones that we still make on a regular basis in our kitchen.

This recipe is another one that uses the “low and slow” method to bring a cut of lean game meat to perfect medium-rare while keeping it tender and moist all the way through.  A home-ground chile powder rub takes center stage for the seasoning, and cooking on a pellet or charcoal grill with plenty of wood smoke adds another dimension that is hard to resist.  Also note that this recipe is for two cuts of meat – totaling about five pounds – as we were having company for dinner and I wanted plenty of leftovers for lunch.  If you want to do this with a single cut for smaller portions, simply reduce the rub amounts proportionally.  Cooking time shouldn’t change too much, but keep an eye on the thermometer for the second phase of cooking to keep from over-heating.

Gather Up:

• 5 lbs boneless elk roast – we’ve got a 2-lb tri-tip and a 3-lb boneless shoulder roast here
• 1-1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp dry ground mustard
• 1/2 tsp coarse black pepper
• 2 dried arbol chiles
• 3 dried ancho chiles

Preheat the grill to 200 degrees indirect heat.  If you are using charcoal, prepare a smoker tray with some of your favorite smoking chips.  Remove the stems and seeds from the dried chiles and place them in a spice mill or clean coffee grinder. Run them in the mill until a coarse powder is formed – don’t worry if there are some larger bits left as it makes the rub more rustic.  Combine with the other spices in a small prep bowl and mix together well.

Generously rub all sides of the roasts with the chile mixture.  It might be wise to use some food serving gloves to do this, as the combination of moisture on the meat and fresh-ground chiles will leave globs the spicy mixture caked to your fingers and it is a bit of a pain to wash completely off.  When the roasts are fully rubbed, insert a meat thermometer into the center of the thickest cut.

Place the roasts directly on the grill.  Hold it at 200 degrees for 30 minutes, then add fuel to bring the temperature up to 300 degrees indirect heat.  Maintain 300 degrees until the thermometer reaches 135 degrees internal in the larger roast (about 35 minutes longer).  Remove the meat and let rest, tented in foil, for an additional 5 to 10 minutes before carving and serving.  With the two different sized cuts, this left us with a good mix of medium and medium-rare cuts (and even some in the middle that was a bit more rare) – good for a variety of palates – and all were juicy and moist.  Also note that the “heels” have the most rub on them, so they will have a little extra kick for someone that likes their food on the spicy side.