Old Timber Outdoors
More elk recipes

Elk shoulder roast

Smoked and Pulled Elk Shoulder Sandwiches

An elk shoulder roast rubbed and smoked over hardwood, then covered with stock and onions and cooked on in the smoker until it pulls apart.

Serves
8
Hands-on
1 hr
Total
8 hr
Skill
Confident cook

Cooks on: Smoker · Lunch, Dinner

Ingredients

  • 4 lbElk shoulder roast, tied if loose
  • 2 tbspBrown sugar
  • 1Onions, thickly sliced
  • 8Burger buns
  • 1 tbspSalt, kosher
  • 2 tspBlack pepper, coarsely ground
  • 1 tbsp smoked paprika
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tbsp yellow mustard
  • 1½ cups beef or game stock
  • 2 tbsp cider vinegar
  • 3 to 4 chunks hickory or oak wood
  • 1 disposable aluminum pan, about 9 by 13 inches
  • 1 large sheet heavy-duty foil
  • 1 cup barbecue sauce, plus more to serve

You'll need

  • Smoker
  • Instant-read thermometer

Contains

Gluten. Barbecue sauce, mustard and buns vary by brand and can contain soy, egg, sesame or fish. Check the labels.

Method

  1. Bring the smoker to a steady 250°F with the hickory or oak chunks. Pat the roast dry and coat it thinly with the mustard. Mix the salt, pepper, brown sugar, smoked paprika and garlic powder and rub it over every surface.
  2. Set the roast in the smoker and smoke 3 hours, keeping the temperature near 250°F, until a deep red-brown bark forms.
  3. Scatter the onion in the aluminum pan, set the roast on top and pour in the stock and vinegar. Cover the pan tightly with the foil. Lean elk shoulder dries out if it stays bare until it is tender, so the liquid carries it the rest of the way.
  4. Return the covered pan to the smoker and cook until a probe or fork slides into the meat with almost no resistance and a chunk pulls apart easily, 3 to 4 hours more. That usually happens somewhere around 200°F inside, but the feel decides, not the number; if it still resists, give it more time.
  5. Rest the roast in the covered pan 30 minutes.
  6. Pull the meat apart with two forks, discarding any sinew. Toss it with the onions and ½ cup of the pan juices first, so the lean meat soaks up moisture, then with the barbecue sauce. Taste and add a pinch of salt if needed, and serve on the buns with more sauce.

When it's done: fork-tender

It is done when a fork slides in and the meat pulls apart with little effort. Tough cuts pass 160°F long before they turn tender, so keep going until they do; if it is still firm, it needs more time, not more heat.

If it goes wrong

Temperature swinging
Keep the vents steady and add fuel a little at a time. Short spikes are fine; long stretches above 300°F dry out lean elk.
Meat sliceable but not pullable
It is cooked through but not yet tender. Keep it covered and give it another hour.
Bark too dark or bitter
Use fewer wood chunks next time; lean elk takes on smoke quickly.
Pulled meat dry
Toss it with more of the warm pan juices before the sauce, and keep it covered until serving.

Leftovers. Refrigerate pulled meat within 2 hours of coming off the smoker. Reheat to 165°F with a splash of the cooking juices.