Blog Details

This slow cooker elk roast with root vegetables turns even the toughest cuts into fork-tender perfection. Our guides at Granite Peak Outfitters have been cooking wild game in camp and at home after Idaho backcountry hunts for 25+ years.

WILD GAME RECIPES

Fall-apart tender elk roast that cooks itself while you are in the field

This is the recipe every elk hunter needs in their back pocket. Take a tough cut — shoulder, neck, or rump roast — throw it in the slow cooker with vegetables and broth before your morning hunt, and come back 8 hours later to a meal that feeds the whole camp. The low, slow cooking breaks down the connective tissue in these working muscles, turning budget cuts into fork-tender perfection. We make this at least once per hunting trip at Granite Peak.

Ingredients

• 3-4 lb elk roast (shoulder, chuck, or rump)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, quartered
• 4 carrots, cut into 2-inch chunks
• 4 potatoes, quartered
• 3 stalks celery, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed
• 2 cups beef broth
• 1 cup red wine (or additional broth)
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Season the elk roast generously with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over high heat and sear the roast on all sides until deep brown — about 3 minutes per side.
2. Place onion, carrots, potatoes, celery, and garlic in the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker.
3. Whisk together beef broth, red wine, and tomato paste. Pour over the vegetables.
4. Set the seared roast on top of the vegetables. Tuck rosemary, thyme, and bay leaves around the meat.
5. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours (or HIGH for 5-6 hours). The meat is done when it shreds easily with two forks.
6. Remove the roast and let rest 10 minutes. Slice or shred the meat and serve over the vegetables with the cooking liquid spooned over top.

Pro Tips from Our Guides

• Don’t skip searing the roast. That brown crust adds enormous depth of flavor to the entire dish.
• Elk shoulder and neck roasts are the best cuts for slow cooking. Save the backstrap and tenderloin for quick-cook methods.
• The cooking liquid makes an incredible gravy — strain it and thicken with a cornstarch slurry if desired.
• This recipe freezes beautifully. Make a double batch and freeze portions for easy weeknight meals.

We start this in the lodge at 5 AM before heading into the Selway. By the time hunters return at dusk, the whole place smells incredible.