Straight From the Ranch

I’ve never been a particularly spiritual person. Yet I am starting to believe that John and I did something very good in a previous life – we’re talking Mother Teresa-level good – to deserve the string of luck we’ve been having lately.

Case in point: We were invited to a weekend away at the Three Forks Ranch, a luxurious retreat for fisherman, hunters and spa-goers alike on the Colorado-Wyoming border. We stayed in a suite nearly as big as our apartment (and with better closets!) that had panoramic views of the vast sky, surrounding mountains, and nearby Little Snake River, which weaves its way through the 200,000-acre working cattle ranch.

A main focal point of the weekend was taking our group of city slickers, dressing us up in waders and rubber boots, and sending us to the river for some catch-and-release fly-fishing. Personally, I excelled at casting a line while on land, but got a serious case of stage-fright on the river, screwing up my one close call at reeling in a fish by engaging in lots of squealing and erratic gestures with my pole.

John, on the other hand, was a natural, catching seven fish – each one bigger than the next. By the end of the day, the fish were practically swimming up to him in retreat.

Next, we were taken clay-shooting, which oddly I’d never come across in my East-Coast-liberal-Jewish-suburban-theater-camp-going upbringing. No matter, I showed no natural talent for it. In fact, after a full hour of shooting, I was no less unnerved by the noise or the kick-back from the gun, and there was lots more squealing and twitchiness.

As for John, he wasn’t just good. It was like he was born with a damn shot gun in his hand. It got to the point where I couldn’t help but wonder whether all those overseas trips that were ostensibly about recycling and composting were merely an eco-cover for his assassin duties.

Alas, between all the fishing and shooting and fumbling and screeching, we got to partake in activities for which I do have  natural talent – namely eating and kibitzing. Every night we joined our group, which was composed of a bunch of smart and charming journalists, and retired to the wood-paneled dining room for a three-course feast.

Despite our remote location, the meals were every bit as haute as you can find in a big city, with similar kinds of elaborate preparations and fancy flourishes. Perhaps that’s why my favorite meal was a bit more country, or at least its star ingredient was something you don’t find on a lot of L.A. menus – elk.

I found elk to be tender and far less gamey than venison. It was similar to beef and had a really appealing flavor. For the preparation we enjoyed, the chef – Katie Wilkinson – soaked the elk tenderloin in a brine of brown sugar and currants for two hours before rubbing it with a chile-coffee mixture, and roasting in the oven.

The end result made me regret my two misbegotten years as a teenage vegetarian.

Chef Wilkinson was kind enough to share her recipe with me. Yet, sadly, there’s not a lot of elk meat being sold at our local Trader Joes and Rambo-John wasted all that energy shooting up clay discs rather than stocking up our freezer.

Hopefully, you have a better elk-source wherever you live. This recipe is worth repeating.

Chile and Coffee-Rubbed Elk Tenderloin with Cardamom Rice and Currant Sauce

Serves 4

The following recipe is courtesy of Executive Chef Katie Wilkinson of The Lodge and Spa at Three Forks Ranch.

Elk Tenderloin

2 quarts water

½ cup salt

1 ½ cup brown sugar

½ cup dried currants

1 elk tenderloin, about I pound

1 cup ground coffee

1 tablespoon ancho chile powder

¼ cup brown sugar

Salt to taste

1 tablespoon grapeseed oil

Cardamom Rice (recipe below)

Currant Sauce (recipe below)

1. Combine the water, salt, brown sugar and currants in a large bowl to make a brine. Soak the elk tenderloin in brine for 2 hours.  While the elk is brining, combine the coffee, ancho chile powder and brown sugar in a bowl and set aside.

2. Remove the elk and rub with the chile-coffee rub.  Season with salt.  Heat the grapeseed oil in a sauté pan and sear the elk tenderloin on all sides.  Roast in a 400-degree oven for 12 minutes, or until internal temperature reaches 135 degrees. Let rest for 5 minutes before slicing.

3. To serve, place some Cardamom Rice on each plate. Place equal amounts of sliced tenderloin on top and spoon the Currant Sauce over the elk.

Cardamom Rice

6 cardamom pods

1 ¾ cups chicken stock

½ yellow onion, minced

1 tablespoon grapeseed oil

1 cup Arborio rice

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon ground cardamom

1 tablespoon lemon zest

Salt and black pepper to taste

1. Combine the cardamom pods and chicken stock in a pot.  Bring to a simmer, remove from heat and let the liquid sit for 1 hour. Remove the cardamom pods from the stock.

2. Sweat the onion in a sauté pan with grapeseed oil.  Add rice and stir.  Add the cardamom chicken stock and bring to a simmer.  Cook, covered on low, until the rice has absorbed the liquid.

3. Stir in the butter, ground cardamom and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Currant Sauce

2 cups veal demi-glace

¼ cup currants

1. Place the ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer and reduce by one-quarter.

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