By Halloween. The ranch kids in Roundup go house to house in costumes and collect candy, the same thing kids have always done, the same thing I did. I didn't have a strong opinion about Halloween at twenty-two years old except that it marks the end of the outdoor season in earnest — after Halloween it's coats full-time, mud season is starting, the days are short. November is coming.
Elk season opened Saturday. I went up into the Crazies — the Crazy Mountains, east of White Sulphur Springs — the way I do every fall. I've been hunting this area since I was sixteen with Patrick. He can't make the trip anymore; his knees won't handle the terrain. I went alone, which is different than going with him and not as good, but some things are yours to do alone when the person you did them with can no longer go.
I saw four elk in the first two hours — a cow and three bulls, the bulls in velvet still and not yet what you'd call a shooter if you're after antlers. I'm not after antlers. I'm after meat. I took the cow at three hundred yards, a clean shot, and spent the rest of the day quartering and packing her out. It took four trips. My leg was telling me about it by the end of the second trip and by the fourth trip it was making a speech, but I got her out and drove home in the dark and hung the meat in the shop.
There's a particular satisfaction in that — in having done the whole thing yourself, from the shot to the packing to the hanging. The meat is real. The work is real. The elk chili I'm going to make from this animal is going to be real in a way that purchased food never quite is.
Seventy-four days dry. The elk is in the shop. November is coming.
The chili will come later — there’s a whole winter’s worth of elk hanging in the shop, and I’ll get to it. But the first meal from an animal you packed out yourself on four bad trips down a mountain ought to be simple. A roast. Salt, heat, time. You don’t cover up meat you earned like that with a dozen spices. This top of the round is how I start every elk season — it tells you everything about the animal, and after the day I had in the Crazies, sitting down to it alone felt like the right way to close the circle.
Top of the Round Roast
Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes | Total Time: 2 hours 45 minutes | Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1 top of the round roast (3-4 pounds), elk or beef
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and halved
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 cup beef or game stock
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Instructions
- Prep the roast. Remove the roast from the refrigerator 45 minutes before cooking and let it come to room temperature. Pat dry with paper towels. Combine salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and smoked paprika in a small bowl. Rub the mixture evenly over the entire roast.
- Sear the meat. Preheat oven to 325°F. Heat olive oil in a large oven-safe Dutch oven or roasting pan over high heat. Sear the roast on all sides until a deep brown crust forms, about 3-4 minutes per side. Remove and set aside briefly.
- Build the base. Reduce heat to medium. Add the garlic clove halves to the pan and cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Pour in the beef stock and Worcestershire sauce, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in the Dijon mustard.
- Roast low and slow. Return the roast to the pan. Tuck rosemary and thyme sprigs around the meat. Cover tightly with a lid or foil and place in the oven. Cook for 2 to 2-1/2 hours, or until a meat thermometer reads 135°F for medium-rare (elk and game are best served no more than medium). Baste with pan juices every 45 minutes.
- Rest and finish. Transfer the roast to a cutting board and tent loosely with foil. Let rest for 15-20 minutes. Place the pan on the stovetop over medium heat, swirl in the butter, and reduce the pan juices by half to make a simple jus.
- Slice and serve. Slice the roast thinly against the grain. Spoon the pan jus over the slices. Serve with roasted root vegetables or whatever you have on hand.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 285 | Protein: 38g | Fat: 12g | Carbs: 2g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 520mg