Mediterranean Spiced Ground Venison Kofta

 

As a chef, when I meet people who are not familiar with my background, one of the most asked questions I get is, “so what's your specialty?”. The days of regional cuisine has been eliminated by the globalization of products from around the world. What used to create cuisine was the products that “were” indigenous to that specific region of the world and in today's world those ingredients are celebrated throughout the world. This dish is one such celebration. It's Middle Eastern and Mediterranean influences are a perfect complement to all our wild game meats. The refreshing herbs, with a touch of heat from the chilies and a light acidic balance from the yogurt is a winning combination.

 

2 lb. ground venison

1 cup toasted pine nuts or almonds, rough chopped

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 cup chopped scallions

½ c cilantro/fresh mint, coarsely chopped

2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 tsp ground allspice

1 tsp ground nutmeg

1 tsp ground red chili or 1 fresh jalapeno, seeds removed finely diced

2 tbsp sea or kosher salt

2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

8 skewers

HERBAL YOGURT SAUCE

2 cups plain, unsweetened yogurt

2 clove garlic, finely chopped

4 tbsp extra virgin oil

1 tsp toasted coriander seeds,  ground

1 tsp toasted cumin seeds, ground

 2 tbsp fresh mint, chopped

1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

juice of 2 lemon

2 oz red wine vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

GRILLED PITA

8 pita breads, lightly grilled

 

IMPORTANT TIP - Defrost your ground venison in the refrigerator, it should take a couple of days. The slower you defrost your meat the closer it will be to its original condition. Once defrosted, place the ground meat in a colander, place the colander in a bowl, cover and return to the refrigerator and let sit overnight. This will allow all the capillary blood to drain out. It is the excess blood that causes the “mud or liver” (gamey) flavor to your meat. It is also the reason why freshly ground game meat doesn't hold together when grilling. You DON'T NEED  to ADD anything to your ground game meat (ground fat, breadcrumbs, eggs etc.) You simply need to REMOVE the excess moisture (blood). In doing so you'll get multiple benefits, you'll remove the gamey flavor AND your burgers will stick together

 

Method: Lightly toast the nuts on a low heat in a dry fry pan, until fragrant, cool and coarsely chop.

Put the ground venison, nuts, herbs, spices and seasoning in a bowl and thoroughly mix all the ingredients.

Using damp hands firmly shape the kofta into 4 oz. oblong balls and skewer them for ease of cooking. In another bowl add the yogurt and all the ingredients for the yogurt sauce. This sauce can be made the day before, (in fact it will get better if it sits overnight).

On a medium high heat, barbecue the koftas for about 7 mins to medium rare. Remove from the grill and allow to rest to redistribute the internal juices. While the Kofta is resting you can lightly grill the pita.

 

Serve with the yogurt sauce and a healthy green salad with cucumbers, red onions and tomatoes.

 

Venison Kofta will expand your vision of what to do with all that ground meat you have in your freezer AND you won't have to go half way around the globe to get it.