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Grilled Venison Kebabs

By Hank Shaw

July 06, 2008 | Updated May 19, 2015

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Skewered venison is about as old school as it gets. Whatever humans were before they were fully human realized shortly after mastering fire that sticking the meat of whatever deer were before they were fully deer onto a stick and roasting it was pretty darn tasty. Some things don’t change.

I file this recipe under the “Large Roasts” category because I cut the kebab chunks from a leg roast. The reason is because I tend to cut roasts that give me a block of meat with a pretty consistent grain — this allows me to control how tender my chunks will be because I can shorten or lengthen the meat fibers in each piece by cutting. If you want to do this recipe with beef or any other store-bought meat, use a chuck or rump roast. Don’t buy stew meat.

[recipe_name]GRILLED VENISON KEBABS[/recipe_name]

[summary]As for the sauce, it is one of the many variations on green saucesI work with frequently. What makes this one special is the choice of herbs: I use some pretty esoteric herbs here, but you can use any flavor combination you’d like. The key is to have variety, and varieties that work well together. NOTE: Rosemary, dill and lovage are prima donnas and will dominate your dish. Avoid them here.[/summary]

[yield]Serves 4[/yield]

Prep Time: [preptime time=45M] 45 minutes[/preptime]

Cook Time: [cooktime time=15M] 15 minutes[/cooktime]

• [ingredient][amount]2 pounds[/amount] [item]venison[/item] or [item]beef roast[/item] (anything from beef to bison to antelope to caribou would work here.)[/ingredient]
• [ingredient][amount]12[/amount] [item]cipollini onions[/item] or other button onions[/ingredient]
• [ingredient][amount]4[/amount] small [item]zucchini[/item], no wider than the width of two fingers[/ingredient]
• Olive oil
• Salt

SAUCE

• [ingredient][amount]2 tablespoons[/amount] [item]basil[/item] leaves (about a dozen)[/ingredient]
• [ingredient][amount]2[/amount] [item]green onions[/item] or [item]scallions[/item][/ingredient]
• [ingredient][amount]1 tablespoon[/amount] [item]fresh oregano[/item] leaves[/ingredient]
• [ingredient][amount]1 tablespoon[/amount][item] fresh hyssop[/item] leaves (you could use savory or parsley)[/ingredient]
• [ingredient][amount]1 tablespoon[/amount] [item]fresh mint[/item] leaves[/ingredient]
• [ingredient][amount]1 tablespoon[/amount] fresh anise hyssop leaves (you could use [item]fennel fronds[/item] here)[/ingredient]
• [ingredient][amount]2[/amount] [item]garlic cloves[/item][/ingredient]
• [ingredient][amount]1 teaspoon[/amount] [item]anchovy paste[/item] (or 2 anchovies from a can)[/ingredient]
• [ingredient][amount]1/2 cup[/amount] [item]olive oil[/item][/ingredient]
• Juice of a lime

[instructions]

1. Cut the meat into 2-inch chunks; you can go a little larger, but do not go smaller.
2. Peel the onions. If you have trouble, soak them in hot water from the tap for a few minutes to loosen the skins.
3. Chop the zucchini into large chunks, roughly the size of the meat.
4. Toss all three ingredients with some olive oil — maybe 2 tablespoons — in a bowl, then salt them to taste. I use about a teaspoon of salt here.
5. Let this sit while you fire up the grill. It takes me a good 45 minutes to get my charcoal grill started, hot and ready. If you have a gas grill, just wait to let the kebabs marinate.
6. Meanwhile, make the sauce. Dump all the herbs, garlic and anchovy paste into a food processor and buzz it until combined. You may have to stop and scrape down the sides from time to time before everything “catches” and begins to process normally. Once everything is pretty well chopped, start adding the olive oil slowly. Now the sauce will combine nicely. Stop and scrape the sides. Add as much oil as you want — up to a full cup — and buzz it pretty hard. You want a lurid green sauce.
7. Taste the sauce to see if it needs more salt than the anchovies provide, and add some if need be. Set it aside until later.
8. At some point before you grill, skewer your meat, onions and zucchini on metal skewers. If you don’t have them, be sure to soak wooden skewers.
9. Grill over a hot, uncovered fire. How long? Depends on your fire and how big the meat is, but I’d say no more than 10 minutes total. Turn the skewers to cook on all sides. Do not overcook the meat, as it will become dry and unhappy. once it’s done, take the skewers off and let them rest.
10. This is the time to add the lime juice to the sauce.
11. To serve, take the meat, onions and zucchini off the skewers and pour over the sauce. Eat this with crusty bread, fingerling potatoes or polenta. You could even chop it up, mix it with the sauce and serve it in a hoagie roll.

[/instructions]

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