Elk Recipe: Coffee Rubbed Elk Tri-Tip with Salsa Macha

If you haven’t tried a coffee rub on a piece of wild game, then I can assure you that you’ll want to make that a New Years resolution. And, although coffee rubs can vary quite a bit in strength and flavor, the rich flavor of elk can handle it all. Recently I’ve been on a real tri-tip kick. Whether it’s beef or wild game, the flavor is tremendous, and the texture is incredible when barbecued correctly. This elk recipe is versatile for all types of wild game cuts, but there’s a great harmony between the tri-tip and the earthiness of this rub and salsa on the plate.

Salsa macha isn’t your ordinary run of the mill salsa with a bunch of tomatoes in it. In fact, there aren’t any tomatoes in it at all. This deep flavored salsa is a mixture of nuts, seeds, dried chilis, oil and garlic. If I had to sum its flavor in one word, I’d say “earthy” probably does the best job. Essentially, this salsa is more like an infused version of a chili oil, packed with tons of extra flavor from roasted peanuts, toasted garlic and sesame seeds. When blended together, it’s the perfect topping for a bold piece of grilled game. And, I should also mention that it holds really well for plenty of future uses.

Salsa Macha Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon of Sesame seeds
• 3 Garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 dried guajillo chilis, stems and seeds removed
• 2 dried ancho chilis, stems and seeds removed
• 5 dried chile de arbol, stems and seeds removed
• ½ cup of unsalted peanuts
• 1 Tablespoon of dried Mexican oregano
• 1.5 cups of vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar
• Salt to taste

Elk Tri-Tip with Coffee Rub Ingredients

• 1 elk tri-tip, silver skin removed
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon coarse salt
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 2 tablespoons dark chili powder
• 3 tablespoons medium roast coffee, fine ground

To start, take all of the dried chili, slice the stems off and remove all of the seeds. If you end up with a few seeds, it’s ok! Next, rough chop the chilis into small pieces, about a quarter of an inch. This salsa does get blended later on, so it’s not incredibly important that everything is cut perfectly. Using a large skillet, heat the oil, peanuts, sesame seeds and garlic over medium heat. With the end goal to lightly toast these ingredients, I like to stir the ingredients from time to time to ensure that nothing gets too dark, since that will impact the flavor of the salsa. Once everything is lightly toasted, add the dried chilis and Mexican oregano, turning the heat off completely.

This oil is still extremely hot, so it will continue to toast up the chilies and will bring the flavor out while it sits there and steeps. After about 10 minutes, carefully transfer the hot oil mixture to a food processor or blender and add the vinegar. Blend until you reach your desired consistency. Personally speaking, I like my salsa macha to still have a fair amount of texture to it, so I don’t blend too thoroughly; but it’s all personal preference. Serve warm or hold in an airtight container in your refrigerator for three weeks.

Combine all of the dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl and mix well to make sure that all of the spices and coffee is blended well. An hour prior to cooking, season the elk generously with the rub and allow the meat to come to room temperature. This will help tremendously during the cooking process.

When I grill a larger cut of game, I really like to use a two-zone fire. If you have the option to do so, it really gives you a bunch of flexibility to control your cook, and for this cut of meat, I like having that. Using the cooler side of the grill, I like to smoke the elk for about 15-20 minutes. After that, the rest is finished over the hot side, which is about 450 degrees, until the elk gets a nice crust on the exterior. Due to this cooking method, the exterior will have a great crust, while the middle of the tri-tip will still be rare to medium rare, depending on what you prefer.