Simple and Delicious Moose Tataki

Tataki has always been one of my favorite way to enjoy tuna or steak. This moose tataki can be done in 10 minutes with your latest catch!

One thing to note when cooking meat for tataki is that your goal should be to create a nice bark around the meat, but not to cook the inside. The way to do so is to have your skillet as hot was you can and only cook each side for 1 minute. The center of the steak will stay raw!

I know what you are thinking: It’s not safe to eat raw meat! Yes it is not. Just like driving your car or eating sushi in a restaurant. However, in all these cases, there are ways to mitigate the risks. Of course, it will never be 100% safe, but here are my recommendations to make it as safe as possible:

1. Clean meat: When you harvest your catch, do not gut shot your animal. Make sure the meat is free of any stomach content.
2. Clean butchering: Pay very careful of not contaminating your meat by properly removing the entrails and keeping a clean work environment when butchering it.
3. Freeze the meat: To remove the risk of parasites sometime present in meat, freeze the venison below -20C (0F) for at least 2 days before consuming. This should take care of most of the harmful parasites.
4. Clean kitchen: When you cut the meat for the tartare, make sure your board, your knife and the bowl you put the meat in is perfectly clean.
5. Safe work: Only when you are ready to cut the venison, remove it from the refrigerator and return it in the refrigerator when it is cut. Keep the meat as cold as possible until serving.

If you are ready to eat a wonderful tataki, let’s go ahead with the recipe!

Simple Moose Tataki

Course: AppetizersCuisine: JapaneseDifficulty: Easy

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

5

minutes

Total time

15

minutes

Ingredients

• 400 g of moose steak (I used sirloin steak, but fillet would be great too!)

• Salt and pepper to taste

• 1 tsp of vegetable oil

• 2 tbsp of low sodium soy sauce

• 2 tbsp of ponzu sauce (or 1 tbsp of lime juice)

• 1 tsp of sesame oil

• 1/2 white onion, very thinly sliced

• 2 cups of arugula (optional)

Directions

• Heat a skillet under high heat. Pat dry the steak and sprinkle with salt and pepper. When the skillet is super hot, coat the bottom with the vegetable oil and add the steak.
• Cook the steak only to give it color, about 1 minute per side. The center will still be rare. Let the steak rest for a 2-3 minutes. Slice the steak thinly at an angle. Cutting at an angle will make the slices larger and more tender.
• In a small bowl, mix the soy sauce, the ponzu sauce and the sesame oil.
• In a serving plate, place the onions, then the moose slices. Add the sauce mix on top. Optionally, serve with arugula, sesame seeds, fried garlic slices, or hot pepper flakes.

SUBSTITUTIONS – Since we do not always have success when going outdoors or not everyone practices hunting, fishing or picking. here are a few ideas to substitute the harvested ingredients:

• The moose steak can be replaced with any grocery bought steak (I recommend fillet mignon or sirloin).
• The venison steaks can be from any venison, such as deer, moose, elk, caribou, etc. Just make sure to freeze the moose for at least 1 week before eating raw wild game meat.

Philippe April-LeQuéré

Hey! I am an outdoor enthusiast who loves cooking natural ingredients and share his passion… About Me