WHY ELK MEAT?  

 

 

 

 

 

Prepared Elk Roast

Lean and flavorful, elk meat is lower in fat than beef, pork, chicken, and even some seafood according to health experts. Considering that the fat intake for most Americans exceeds the recommended daily allowances established by the American Heart Association, elk meat is a healthy, attractive alternative.

Elk by nature take in a lot of their diet from native grasses, trees, and bushes. Even domesticated elk do not tolerate a diet of heavy, rich grain but derive most of their food from oats, grass, and hay. This in turn creates very lean tissue.

Most elk meat purchased today in butcher shops or at restaurants is actually red deer from New Zealand. New Zealand supplies the majority of the world with this type of meat. Red deer is a cousin of the elk and tastes very similar, but is not truly elk… just close. Elk farms in New York and all across the United States are working to grow sufficient numbers of elk to create a consistent supply of elk meat for North American consumers.

 

Elk Meat's Nutritive Values Compare
Favorable to Other Meats We Eat

Elk meat is a healthy meat choice. It's lower in calories and fat then many other meats. Also a good source of protein and iron, while having a cholesterol level that compares favorably with many of the other meats we eat regularly.
elk meat is healthyAll nutrition values were taken from the USDA Nutrient Database for Standard Reference** which is the most current source available for these values. It's hard to make a direct comparison between the meats we have listed because many of the meats are available in a multitude of cuts. What we have tried for are close comparisons. Elk meat easily looks like a healthy choice.
 

Meat

WT
(g)

KCal*

Protein
(g)

Fat
(g)

Iron
(mg)

Chol
(mg)

Elk, roasted

100 g

146

30.19

1.90

3.63

73

Deer, roasted

100 g

158

30.21

3.19

4.47

112

Beefalo, roasted

100 g

188

30.66

6.32

3.05

58

Turkey, light meat & skin, cooked, roasted

100 g

197

28.57

8.33

1.41

76

Turkey, dark meat & skin, cooked, roasted

100 g

221

27.49

11.5

2.27

89

Chicken, roasting, meat & skin, cooked, roasted

100 g

223

23.97

13.39

1.26

76

Chicken, roasting, meat only, cooked, roasted

100 g

167

25.01

6.63

1.21

75

Beef, round 0" fat (1)

100 g

177

28.59

6.04

3.11

78

Beef, round 1/4" fat (2)

100 g

234

26.78

13.24

2.90

80

Pork, fresh, loin, lean (3)

100 g

223

28.72

11.16

0.98

71

Pork, fresh, loin, lean & fat (4)

100 g

255

27.43

15.28

0.94

73

1 - Beef, round, bottom round, separable lean and fat, trimmed to 0" fat, select, cooked, roasted
2 - Beef, round, bottom round, separable lean and fat, trimmed to 1/4" fat, select, cooked, roasted
3 - Pork, fresh, loin, center rib (roasts), bone-in, separable lean only, cooked, roasted
4 - Pork, fresh, loin, center rib (roasts), bone-in, separable lean and fat, cooked, roasted

* - In the U.S., energy in foods is expressed in kilocalories (kcal). The scientific definition of a kilocalorie is the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water one degree Celsius from 15° to 16° at one atmosphere. The true calorie, sometimes referred to as a "small calorie," is the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of one gram of water one degree Celsius from 15° to 16° at one atmosphere. A kilocalorie is equal to 1000 calories. While the term "calorie" technically applies to the "small calorie," in common usage, such as in reference to food energy, the term "calorie" is actually a kilocalorie. Internationally, most countries express food energy in kilojoules (kJ). One kcal equals 4.184 kJ. The USDA Nutrient Database for Standard Reference contains values for both kilocalories and kilojoules.

** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. 2001. USDA Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 14. Nutrient Data Laboratory Home Page, http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp

 

 

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS

Elk can be substituted for red meat in any conventional recipe and prepared by grilling, roasting, broiling, stir-frying, or pan-frying. The main concern is to keep this very low fat, delicious meat from becoming dry. It is helpful to cook elk meat at a lower temperature than other commercially available forms of red meat. Because it is very lean, it will cook through more quickly. Plan for faster cooking times when preparing elk compared to other red meats.