Venison Kofta
Summer is the perfect time to have that grill up and running—at least—two or three times a week, and this Venison kofta is the ideal recipe for that regimen.
This recipe makes for an easy dinner when it's served alongside pita bread, rice, grilled onions and a yogurt dipping sauce.
Kofta is a Middle Eastern grilled skewer, usually filled with spices and other ingredients. You'll find many variations and ingredient lists online for this, but use what you have, and substitute what you can. This recipe will work with any ground meat you have, including elk, antelope, turkey and rabbit, among others. It can even be altered to have fish on the skewer.
However, this iteration utilizes venison because, frankly, I have some ground venison leftover from last season, and I'm trying to clean out as much as I can before hunting season gets here this year. It's also delicious...very delicious.
I highly recommend grilling over a live fire, charcoal or propane, but if you don't have a grill, you can make it work on a flat-top skillet. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground venison
- 1/4 of a medium-sized onion, finely grated
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Pita bread
- Lemon slices
- Cooked white rice
- Yogurt sauce
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine ground venison, onion, garlic and spices. Mix well and refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour to let the flavors combine.
- If using wood skewers, soak in water for an hour before grilling.
- Start and set your grill to medium-high heat.
- Take a handful of venison and mold it onto your skewers until they are about 1 inch in thickness. Repeat with the rest of the meat mixture.
- Grill for about 5-7 minutes on each side, turning continuously.
- Place pita, brushed with butter or olive, on the grill until it’s warmed, careful not to burn
- Garnish with chopped cilantro, yogurt sauce and a squeeze of lemon.