Elk or Venison Flank Steak Tacos
I have played around with this cut of meat with many preparations, and this is about the only way I make it now. This thin flap of meat between the last rib and the haunch of the animal is usually the first piece of meat that is trimmed off and thrown away. While you can use this cut on a deer, this recipe is for elk, which yields a lot more meat. You would need to have two deer for this to work with deer or antelope. It is typically a very tough piece of meat, so this dish requires a long cook time with several steps. This dish is also a great example of using all the possible cuts of meat from an animal. My favorite way to eat it is in a taco, but it is excellent over rice as well.
Ingredients
Both sides flank from an elk
2–3 Anaheim chili peppers or green chili peppers
2–3 tomatoes
1 ½ onions
2 dried chipotle peppers
2 tablespoons of Meat Eater’s Chupacabra Green Taco Seasoning
4 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon oregano
1 lime juiced
10–15 6” corn tortillas
1 white onion
1 bunch fresh cilantro
12 ounces cotija cheese, crumbled
Directions
The flank muscle is the muscle from the last rib to the front of the hind quarter on an elk or deer. You will want the flank muscles from both the right and left side of the animal for this recipe. Trim any large pieces of fat and silver skin.
Heat smoker or pellet grill to 250 F. Season both sides of the flank steak with MeatEater’s Chupacabra Green Taco Seasoning. Cut your chili peppers, tomatoes and onions in half. Once the smoker is at temperature, place the steaks and vegetables on the grill. Smoke for about 1 to 1 1/2 hrs.
Remove the stems and seeds from the two dried chipotle peppers. Submerge them in 1 cup hot water. Place a heavy bowl on top of them to hold them under the hot water.
Heat oven to 280 F. Pull vegetables off the smoker and puree them in a blender with the 2 dried chipotle peppers and the one cup of water used to rehydrate the chipotle peppers. Place meat in the bottom of a lightly oiled dutch oven or cast iron pan, and pour the puree mixture over the meat. Cover with a lid or foil and cook in the oven for 3 hours.
After cooking, remove the meat and slice into strips on a cutting board, and then put them back in the dutch oven or pan. Stir gently to coat in sauce.
Dice the white onion and cilantro and put into a bowl. Crumble or grate the cotija cheese. Add both of these as toppings to either the tacos or meat over rice.