I pinned a few pulled pork recipes in December thinking I was going to try an elk roast in the crock pot on Christmas Eve. I wanted to make pulled elk sandwiches. I thawed out a decent sized roast a couple of days before Christmas Eve but I was skeptical. A fatty pork roast is one thing but elk is probably more lean than chicken breast!
I had to gamble! My father-in-law filled his cow elk tag and now we have a freezer full of lamb, elk, and antelope! I threw the roast into the crock pot with a packet of onion soup mix and a bottle of semi-dark beer. All the different crock pot/roast recipes I studied said 10 to 12 hours on low. But after 8 hours I had to see how the roast was doing. I lifted the lid and stuck a fork in the roast to see if it was even close to shredding consistency. It was like trying trying to stick a knife into a NERF football! I panicked! I asked Ben if he wouldn’t mind driving to Famous Dave’s to pick up a couple of pounds of their chopped pork so we would have something to put feed to our guests!
I decided I would continue to cook the elk for another 2 to 3 hours just in case it might magically begin to fall apart. It did. After two more hours in the crock pot I set it out on a cutting board and it did exactly what it was supposed to do. Just like beef, pork, and chicken, it shredded apart beautifully! And it was delicious. We each treated ourselves to a chopped pork and an elk sandwich. Oh well, now I know:-)
This roast was beyond easy! It made me wonder why I don’t use that darn crock pot more often. It is certainly the ideal time of year for it!
