Daring Cooks January: Elk and Tofu Satay

... and suddenly it was time for the January Daring Cooks Challenge.

We pushed this one so close to the deadline that we quite nearly thought we wouldn't get it done.  Fortunately for us, satay doesn't require tons of active cooking time, so we were able to pull this one right out of our magic hat.

We love satay, but we wanted to give ourselves a bit of a challenge. The first thing we did was identify the protein sources we'd be using.  Originally, I thought we might go completely vegetarian (and local).  After all, we can get locally produced tofu from our friends at The Simple Soyman, and root veggies are still coming to us pretty strong from the Milwaukee Winter Market.  But, then we remembered that we can get local elk from Golden Bear Monarchs Elk Farm. Since neither of us had ever actually eaten elk (that we could recall),  we decided to please the vegetarians and meat eaters alike -- and make it a local tofu and elk affair (AKA "turf and earf").

We went all-out and picked up a pound of elk tenderloin. Although it wasn't the cheapest cut of meat, it was so gorgeous and tender that we knew it wouldn't need an all-day marinade -- which would come in handy, since we were in a bit of a time crunch.  We sliced the elk into 1 inch-wide strips.

We also picked up a pound of extra firm nigari tofu -- which we drained well by wrapping it in a towel and putting it beneath the weight of about 3 ceramic plates. After about 1/2 hour, we removed the tofu and sliced it into 1 inch-wide lengths.

Although the marinade departed from the usual Thai ingredients we were used to seeing for satay, we were intrigued. We doubled the recipe, since we were doing two pounds of protein. And, since we're chile-heads, we added four Thai bird chiles (dehydrated from last summer's backyard garden harvest) to the mix, as well as a dash of fish sauce.

And we whipped the recipe together in no time by throwing everything in the blender.

Then we threw the marinade in two gallon-sized plastic bags and tossed it with our elk and tofu.  Everything sat around in the fridge for about 5 hours.

While we were waiting for the marinade to work its magic, we threw together two sauces -- peanut sauce, because we like it, and tamarind sauce, because it just seemed like the right thing to do.  And you've gotta have at least two dipping sauces, right?  Both came together fairly easily (and were downright tasty).

Of course, then there was another matter -- the weather. We got quite a bit of snow over the holidays, so our yard was a virtual snow drift. The temps were hovering in the low teens (with a nasty wind chill).  And yet, we really wanted to grill our satay.  So, we brushed off our trusty Weber and dragged out the charcoal.

While the grill was heating up, we laced the goods on well soaked bamboo skewers and put on our mittens.

After grabbing a couple of beers out of our fancy-dancy "Canadian fridge," we were ready to start grilling!

Darkness was falling quickly, and we were getting worried about the photographic aspect of our project.  Fortunately, one of the great things about satay is that it doesn't take long to cook.  We wanted to keep our elk nice and tender, so we grilled it up medium rare (about 3 minutes/side). And we grilled the tofu just long enough to give it a nice sear.  The shot we got out there in the dark isn't great -- but you get the idea.

Just as we thought our fingers would freeze off, the tofu was ready.  So, we piled everything into a pan and headed indoors to eat.

The perfectly grilled elk was pink in the center, and perfectly tender.  The tofu was well seasoned with a nice crisp crust on the edges.  The flavors of coriander and cumin seemed strange at first, but the seasonings really played well with the dipping sauces, and we loved the zip that the Thai bird chiles brought to the table. The tangy tamarind was particularly good with the tofu (as well as the sweet potato fries we had on the side), and the peanut sauce made everything finger licking good.
The verdict? Simple. Fast. And delicious. 
Why not dig your grill out of that snow drift and try it out yourself?

Cuppy's Recipe: Satay Marinade and Two Sauces

Be sure to check out all the other Daring Cooks posts... lots of variation in the recipes this time around!

The January 2010 DC challenge was hosted by Cuppy of Cuppylicious and she chose a delicious Thai-inspired recipe for Pork Satay from the book 1000 Recipes by Martha Day.


©BURP! Where Food Happens