Elk - Grilled Backstrap

My Nevada friend also sent me some elk backstrap from an elk he shot in the fall of 2019. The backstrap is also known as the loin and runs the length of the backbone. It is the best meat on the elk, except perhaps for the tenderloin which is tucked underneath the backbone just forward of the pelvis.

A spike elk buck at Hardware Ranch in northern Utah. 

I marinated it with Bragg Organic Vinaigrette Dressing and Marinade, which my friend sent me, about three hours before I grilled it. 

Elk backstrap.

The elk is very lean, so I cooked it just long enough to give it a nice outer texture and leave it rare on the inside. 

We ate it together with the pronghorn antelope I posted about yesterday. Although both were mild, the elk had no gaminess whatsoever and I preferred it to the antelope in the head to head matchup. But both were excellent.