My wife and I made this dish for the last #wishfishwildgame potluck dinner, in December. And they turned out so good we made them again a couple weeks later.
Usually I'm not a fan of "hiding" wild meats in dishes that have excessive sauces, but I would not put this dish in that category—it's a delightful way to enjoy your Maui Nui Venison. The Red Curry really brings these venison meatballs to life.
Since Venison is lean, you can add 0.5 lb of high-quality ground pork to every 1 lb of ground venison. This adds flavor, fat, and stretches the meal further for feeding more hungry mouths.
The recipe for the red curry is adapted from Sarah Forte's SK Cooking Club.
Meatball Ingredients:
- 1 lb. Maui Nui ground venison
- 1/2 lb. ground pork
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup almond meal
- 1 yellow onion (finely chopped)
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
Meatball Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 375 F.
- Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and add the onion. Saute for about 4 minutes and add the garlic, salt, and pepper. Cook until translucent.
- Add the onion and garlic mixture to a large bowl with the venison, pork, egg and almond meal. Mix well.
- Scoop the meatball mixture out into even balls on your cookie sheet.
- Place in the oven for 20 – 25 minutes until the meatballs are golden brown and internal temperature reads 160 F.
Red Curry Ingredients:
- 1 Tbsp. of avocado oil
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 Tbsp. of minced ginger
- 1 yellow onion - thinly sliced
- 1 red bell pepper - thinly sliced
- 1 Tbsp. of red curry paste
- 1 can of full-fat coconut milk
- 2 Tbsp. of soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp. of honey
- 1 lime - juiced
Red Curry Instructions:
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Add the garlic, ginger, onions, and bell pepper; cook for 3–4 minutes, stirring often.
- Add the red curry paste, coconut milk, soy sauce, and honey; mix to combine.
- Reduce heat to a low simmer, then add the venison meatballs. Simmer for 8–10 minutes or just until the sauce has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Stir in the lime juice.
- Serve over rice and top with cilantro and lime.
