Llama Steak

So my brother-in-law went to Exotic Meats and bought me a bunch of game meat for christmas. An awesome gift for someone like me and many thanks to you, Danny. One of the things he got was llama steak, which I didn't cook for a good long while because I had no idea how it behaves in the kitchen. Unfortunately, even The Google failed to turn up any real useful information on preparation methods. If anyone ever actually reads this blog and has some info I don't, please forward it. That being said:

I essentially treated this like a filet. Llama is very lean, yet for some reason didn't cook nearly as quickly as I imagined. I pan seared them in a high-heat cast iron skillet with nothing more than a little salt and pepper (don't forget to put just a little olive oil on the steaks first), maybe five minutes to a side. Again, llama is lean, so there won't be a lot of fat drippings. The steaks started out fairly thin, but they thickened with cooking, and in the end look very similar to filet minon and are similar in texture as well. It's safe to eat rare, but if you like your meat a little more cooked I suggest butterflying them. Be careful though, because like any lean meat I imagine it's easy to overcook. Quite good with a red wine reduction.

An odd side note: The cut I had contained what LOOKED like a layer of fat running laterally across the entire center. Turns out it's actually a layer of tendon or something similar. This makes me think butterflying might be a good thing with this meat, simply to avoid having to try to cut through this layer. I have no idea what the anatomical explanation for this is.

The flavor is very similar to beef, though richer and denser, and obviously gamier.

-Caine