Tacos are a common ground in the food world. I'd venture to say 99% of people like tacos in one form or another. It may sound like a bold estimate, but when you think about the multitude of taco variations that exist it's clear there is something for everyone. Don't like flour tortillas? Use corn. Don't like corn? Use flour. Don't like either? Use lettuce, who cares? No matter what you decide to use as your delivery vessel, the contents are what matter...so go crazy. Tacos are king when it comes to letting your diners experience autonomy at the dinner table.

All that said, here is what I did for our elk taco night. It came out great, but I strongly encourage you to adjust where desired.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• Meat

• 1 lb of Venison stew meat

• Hank Shaw blackened catfish seasoning (trust me, use this because of the celery seed)

• 1 diced yellow onion

• 1 tablespoon fat (I used beef tallow)

• Beef stock (enough to cover meat in pot)

Preparation

Generously coat the meat with the blackened seasoning. Add the fat to a medium/high heat pot and sear the elk until the edges are nice and browned. You want a good crust as it will create your gravy later on. Remove your browned pieces and set aside while finishing remaining cuts. Once all of the meat is browned and removed, add your diced onions to the pot. Stir the onions and cook until translucent. Add the browned meat and juices back to the pot, stirring everything together. Once incorporated, slowly add the beef stock until the meat is just covered with liquid. Allow the liquid to come to a boil, then simmer allowing the liquid to reduce and thicken. You should add water throughout the process to prevent burning (ask me how I know). Cook until your meat is fork tender and the gravy has thickened to your liking.

At this point you should have super tender elk meat in a thick gravy that will nestle into your taco like a warm bed for your toppings. From here you can go crazy with whatever your typical taco toppings tend to be, but below are what we decided to use.

Toppings

• Grape tomatoes rough chopped

• Fresh basil

• Red onion thin sliced

• Steamed corn off the cob

• Thin sliced cucumber

• Lime juice to taste

Directions

• Heat your tortilla in an ungreased cast iron skillet

• Place meat/gravy in taco as base

• Top however you want, I'm not the taco police

• Enjoy the universal crowd pleaser that is TACOS!

-Kevin Johansen, Fall Obsession Pro Staff