# Elk Ribs



## wyogoob

Nothing wrong with elk ribs. If I get a calf, or an adult elk close to the road, I save the ribs.

Here's some elk calf ribs off the chest. (They would be spareribs on a hog.)

Pulled the flap up (like the piece on the bottom right) and trimmed the "hidden" fat away and then added some rib rub. Let the ribs dry on the rack, no smoke, for an hour. Add a little vegetable oil and/or some beef broth to the pan:









Hickory smoked at 200° for 6 hrs:









Medium rare at this stage. You could add some BBQ sauce and cook a little longer, but they are not all that bad just like this:


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## tapehoser

Biting my tongue and holding back the tears....


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## drsx

mmmmmmmmmmm...... Looking good!


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## Greenhead_Slayer

Anyway you'd teach my wife how to cook Wyogoob?


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## wyogoob

Greenhead_Slayer said:


> Anyway you'd teach my wife how to cook Wyogoob?


Sure.


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## wyogoob

*Smokey, Fall Off the Bone Elk Ribs*

I finished the ribs in the oven; basted in BBQ sauce for 3 hours at 195°. What little wild game fat I didn't trim away, melted off. Before serving, I brushed on a fresh slobbering of hickory-flavored BBQ sauce and warmed them up in the microwave. Served them with fresh squash and home-made coleslaw.

They are smokey, fall-off-the-bone, fantastic!


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## wyogoob

*Spike Elk 3-2-1 Ribs*

Some more ribs off of a spike elk:


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## wyogoob

*3-2-1 Elk Ribs*

Took the nice meaty elk ribs and slow cooked them in the smoker.

Smear oil on the ribs and add a little rub.









Cook at 200° for about 4 hours, one pan of sawdust is plenty of smoke. Then add your favorite BBQ sauce. Cover in foil and cook for another 3 hours.









They're really good. Give it a try this hunting season.


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## JERRY

Looks fantastic. I think I will have to try that. Thanks Goob! 8)


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## wyogoob

*Remove as much fat as you can from the ribs*



JERRY said:


> Looks fantastic. I think I will have to try that. Thanks Goob! 8)


thanks JERRY

I don't save ribs from every elk. Younger animals naturally are more tender and have less fat. These are short ribs, the part directly below the loin. There is a lot of meat on them, an inch thick in places.

I recommend trimming off as much fat and white skin as possible.

enjoy


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## StillAboveGround

That's just plain mean...


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## wyogoob




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## Dunkem

I think I can smell those . Lord they look good ,should be on a cover of a gourmet cook magazine :EAT:


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## wyogoob

Elk ribs if trimmed up and cooked right can be delicious.

bump


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## Critter

Some people just don't know what they are missing when they leave the ribs up on the hill. 

Nothing better than peeling the meat off of them with your teeth and smacking your lips after eating them.


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## Raptorman

These look fantastic, where do you cut those off of?


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## Packout

Hey, we have the same plates. The ribs look great. Thanks for sharing the ideas.


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## Critter

Raptorman said:


> These look fantastic, where do you cut those off of?


Those are elk rib, you cut them off of the ribs. A lot of hunters miss out on a lot by leaving them one the hill.


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## Gumbo

They're meatier than I would have expected. What's that green stuff they're sitting on?


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## Raptorman

Thanks Critter, I think I got that part. I was meaning are those at the front of the rib cage or where?


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## Critter

Raptorman said:


> Thanks Critter, I think I got that part. I was meaning are those at the front of the rib cage or where?


I was just being a little sarcastic. The picture looks like they are from towards the back of the ribs. But you can get just about the same amount of meat off of any of the ribs. You just have to realize that there is meat on them that just isn't between the bones but also on the skin side as well.


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## Raptorman

Oh ok cool, I will have to look at that next time. I will be honest I have never thought there was much there so that is good to know. I love ribs so I will for sure get that meat next time.


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## wyogoob

*rib meat map*



Here, I color-coded elk ribs on this meat chart.

The pink cut has the most meat. The yellow is the most tender. The blue ribs are OK but require a lot of trimming. Pink cut is the least tender.

.


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## Raptorman

Perfect, thanks Wyo that is a good reference


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## wyogoob

These ribs were taken from the yellow area on the meat cutting chart above. Gonna smoke them tomorrow:


Using Grandpa Tims Racoon Rub this time:


Grandpa Tim's Raccoon Rub is pretty spicy. I might have too much rub on these.

I like smoky elk ribs so I don't smear oil on them if I want the smoke to "go thru" the meat. Oil keeps the smoke from penetrating the meat very deep.

.


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## wyogoob

*Bull Elk Ribs*

Well I smoked them a little longer than I should have. They are well done.



I'll have to eat them all myself...he, he, he, he.


.


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## wyogoob

My goal was to smoke the ribs using the 3-2-1 method:

3 hours at 220°, no BBQ sauce, with oak/pecan smoke
2 hours at 220° covered, no smoke
1 hour at 220°, light basting of BBQ sauce, uncovered.

I think I went a little longer on the second step.

.


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## wyogoob

*crabapple sauce elk ribs*

Here's a new one: crabapple elk ribs:

Take some elk ribs and remove all fat, white skin, and the membrane from the inside. These ribs come off the blue area on the diagram in post #23 of this thread. Dig around and remove any hidden layers of fat. A "flap" of meat will develop as you remove the layer of fat between the bones and the rib meat as shown in the picture below: 


Pull the flap back over the rib bones and sprinkle a dash of salt on the meat. In a small skillet over medium heat melt the butter. Add applesauce and the white wine and then cook for 5 minutes, stirring continuously. I used homemade crabapple sauce. Pour one-half of the mixture on the bottom of a greased baking dish add the ribs and then pour the remainder of the glaze on the top of the ribs. Top with some quartered crabapples if you have them. Add sliced carrots or your favorite vegetable to the dish if you want:


Cover the dish and in a pre-heated oven cook for 2 hours at 300° or until the meat falls off the bones:


If you want, set aside some of the sauce from the dish and let cool. Skim off any of the fat that has risen to the top and set up. Re-heat the sauce and drizzle on the ribs, au jus style:


Pretty good stuff Maynard!

.


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## wyogoob

wyogoob said:


> Nothing wrong with elk ribs. If I get a calf, or an adult elk close to the road, I save the ribs.
> 
> Here's some elk calf ribs off the chest. (They would be spareribs on a hog.)
> 
> Pulled the flap up (like the piece on the bottom right) and trimmed the "hidden" fat away and then added some rib rub and a little vegetable oil:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Hickory smoked at 210° for 6 hrs:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Medium rare at this stage. You could add some BBQ sauce and cook a little longer, but they are not all that bad just like this:


FYI: These ribs came from the bottom of the blue area on the meat map in post #23 of this thread.

.


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## wyogoob

*ribs on a bed of lettuce just like on TV*



Gumbo said:


> They're meatier than I would have expected. What's that green stuff they're sitting on?


Sorry I didn't answer you Gumbo. The green stuff is just the outer leaves from a head of iceberg lettuce.

.


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## 35whelen

how is elk fat compared to deer fat? it have that waxy mouth coating texture?


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## wyogoob

35whelen said:


> how is elk fat compared to deer fat? it have that waxy mouth coating texture?


Yes, elk rib fat will leave a waxy coating in your mouth. Hopefully, what little doesn't get trimmed off melts away during the cooking process.

.


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## wyogoob

Timing is good to bump this thread.

.


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## 3arabians

wyogoob said:


> Timing is good to bump this thread.
> 
> .


Not really...just looked this over and it looks awesome. Sadly, on Saturday we left two rib cages on the mountain. One- a calf ribcage. 

We didn't have room on the horses with two to packout anyway. Maybe next time.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk


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## paddlehead

Cant wait to get a cow on the ground to give this a try!


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## LostLouisianian

Hey goob any chance you would turn gay and marry me....-_O--_O--_O-*()**()**()*-~|--~|--~|-


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## wyogoob

Cleaning out the freezer I found some elk ribs! Cooked them in an InstaPot.









Tender








Mo tender








Elk n barley soup.


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## wyogoob

Bump. 

Read this before you throw them big game ribs away.


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