🌡 Cook to 130–135°F (54–57°C). Medium-rare, and worth defending. Elk carries almost no fat to keep it moist, so every degree past 140°F costs you texture you cannot get back. Whole muscle from a healthy animal is safe at this temperature; ground elk is a different matter and needs 160°F.
—
Not rated yet
Ingredients
- 1 elk backstrap, about 2 lbs, silverskin removed
- 1 tbsp coarse salt
- 1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
- 1 tsp juniper berries, crushed (optional)
- 2 tbsp neutral oil, for searing
- 3 tbsp butter
- 4 garlic cloves, lightly smashed
- 3 sprigs thyme or rosemary
Directions
- Trim off every scrap of silverskin. It will not render and it shrinks hard in the pan, curling the loin as it cooks.
- Salt the backstrap on all sides and leave it uncovered on a rack in the fridge for at least an hour, ideally overnight. A dry surface is what lets it brown later instead of steaming.
- Heat the oven to 250°F. Add the pepper and crushed juniper, set the loin on a rack over a tray, and cook until the centre reads 120°F — roughly 45 minutes to an hour depending on thickness.
- Rest it while you get a heavy skillet properly hot with the oil, until it is just beginning to smoke.
- Sear the loin hard, about 45 seconds a side, turning until it is browned all over. It is already nearly cooked, so this is about crust and nothing else.
- Drop the heat, add the butter, garlic and herbs, and spoon the foaming butter over the meat for 30 seconds.
- Pull at 130–135°F, rest 10 minutes, then slice across the grain. Slicing with the grain makes even a perfectly cooked backstrap chew like rope.
Notes
Reverse searing exists because a lean loin cooked hot from the start develops a thick band of overdone meat under the crust. Starting low brings the whole piece to temperature evenly, so the sear is the last 90 seconds rather than the whole cook. If you have a thermometer with a probe, use it — thickness varies so much along a backstrap that timing alone is guesswork.
Kit for this recipe
Links to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases — it costs you nothing and helps keep the website free for all.
- Instant-read thermometer Every recipe here is written to a temperature, not a time.
- Leave-in probe thermometer A backstrap varies so much along its length that timing is guesswork.
- Wire rack and sheet pan For the low oven stage and for drying the surface in the fridge.
