Southwestern Elk Pozole
Courtesy of Chef John McGannon, wildeats.com
Hunting is and should always be considered an honorable endeavor. In its truest form, hunting doesn’t end with the kill. Rather, hunters should have a connection with their meat from start to finish. And once all the backstraps are gone, you’ll likely be staring down at lots of burger and elk shoulder in the freezer. This recipe is best made with the latter.
Pozole is a Mexican stew served at special occasions. There are many versions, but all will have dried chilies (ancho) and hominy corn. It’s a very nutritional way to use those tougher cuts. And you might very well get hooked on this for your next elk camp, especially on those brutal days when you and the elk are hunkered down. It warms the soul just thinking about it.
Ancho Chile (base for the pozole)
20 ancho chilies (poblanos)
4 med onions, diced
4 tbsp fresh minced garlic
1 tbsp ground cumin, toasted
1 tbsp ground coriander, toasted
1 cup orange juice
2 qts water (or stock)
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp dried oregano
To refresh the chilies, lightly toast them in a 325 ° F oven for a few minutes. They will be much easier to stem and seed. Once you remove the stems and seeds, place all the ingredients into an appropriate sauce pot. Bring to a simmer, clean the scum off the top and continue to simmer for about 30-40 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before processing in a blender. Blend smooth and strain, adjusting with salt and pepper.
Hold ingredients to use in the pozole or store in the freezer for later. This is a great staple to have on hand for whenever you’re looking for a rich, sweet, slightly spicy addition to whatever you’re cooking. This replaced ketchup in our house long ago.
Southwestern Elk Pozole
2½-3 lbs diced elk shoulder, bottom or eye round, silver skin removed, drained overnight in a colander
¼ cup oil for browning the elk
salt and pepper to taste
4 celery stalks, diced
3 med onions, diced
4 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp toasted ground cumin
1 tbsp toasted ground coriander
4 qts water, stock or broth
1 qt ancho chili coulis
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp dried oregano
3 cups white corn hominy (canned or frozen)
4 ears of fresh corn on the cob, roasted over an open fire, until slightly charred, cut from the cob
In a hot sauté pan quickly brown the diced elk meat in the oil. Do this in small batches until all the meat is browned. Place the meat and the rest of the ingredients except the two corn products into a large, heavy-gauge pot. Slowly bring this to a simmer. Clean any oil and scum that forms on the top and continue to cook for roughly two hours. Add the corn and cook an additional 30-45 minutes or until the meat is tender. Adjust the seasoning and serve with your choice of garnishes or cool and freeze for later. Pack this in gallon Ziploc bags and freeze. Dishes like this are the perfect hunting camp meal. Once it’s cooked all you have to do is reheat. In fact, with compound flavors like this, they actually get better after they sit for a while.
John McGannon is a RMEF life member, host of wild game cooking seminars at Elk Camp and owner of WildEats Enterprises.