Mozzarella Stuffed Elk Meatballs in a Chilean Red Wine & Tomato Sauce

After trying out elk meat last month and loving it, I decided to give it another shot, this time with ground elk. I love to cook meatballs when I have any type of ground meat. Earlier this month I gave you North African venison meatballs and Piedmontese meatballs, so I wondered what can I do differently with this meat? Hey, why not stuff them! So with that idea, off to the market for some fresh ingredients.

Instead of traditional Italian tomato sauce, I had a bottle of a very dry, full bodied Chilean Cabernet Sauvingon along with some fresh vine tomatoes to form my base. I also decided to make very large meatballs (2 1/2 inches) so I could stuff them with plenty of fresh mozarella cheese. In the end, the meal had intense and interesting flavors, and I will try this again very soon, perhaps with another type of meat. Enjoy!

1 -½ lbs ground elk
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium white onion diced
3 garlic cloves diced
1 teaspoon thyme
1/2 sprig fresh rosemary
4 slices white bread crust removed
1/2 cup milk
1 egg beaten
½ cup fresh grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
Mozzarella cheese rolled into small balls (maybe the size of a large cherry)
6 fresh vine tomatoes, diced
¼ cup fresh basil, chopped
½ cup dry red wine of your choice

DIRECTIONS
1) Heat 2-3 tablespoons olive oil in cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add diced white onion and 3 diced garlic cloves. Cook until onions are soft and translucent, add thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper and then remove from heat. Set aside to cool.

2) In a separate bowl tear bread into small pieces and soak in milk for 5 minutes. Drain the milk from bread by squeezing it out and place bread in another bowl. Add elk meat, egg, parmigiano-reggiano, and onion mixture and mix together with your hands.

3) Begin to form meatballs, being sure to add a mozzarella cheese ball in the center of each meatball. The meatball sizes are up to you. You can make them small, medium or large depending on how you want to serve this dish up. Place meatballs on a cookie sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour.

4) Add remaining oil to cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Place each meatball into skillet and cook on all sides. Remove meatballs from pan when browned.

5) Add ½ cup dry red wine to skillet to deglaze pan. Add tomatoes and ¼ cup fresh chopped basil. Bring sauce to a simmer, add meatballs and reduce heat to low. Continue to simmer on low heat for 20 minutes.

6) Serve alone or with the pasta of your choice and garnish with basil.

As we move along into the month of September in which I have featured quite a few wild game dishes, I got together with fellow Chef Jim Takacs and we decided to do a dinner party. But this was no normal dinner party because it was going to have a few interesting items on the menu. I thought the idea of doing something a little different would be fun. And since I still have a couple of products left over  from my Fossil Farms trip, I was more than ready to get it rocking in the kitchen! So far I don’t think I have cooked anything extreme for you. I have done elk and deer meat which I don’t view as extreme game meat. But tonight I give you some thing different. Alligator.

Jim’s panko crusted quail

When most people I know here in NYC hear alligator meat, they cringe at the thought of eating it. It is viewed as a scary monster-looking reptile that will eat a human in a heartbeat. While this may be true, humans make more meals out of gators than they of us (which is extremely rare). Farm raising alligators for food has been around since the early 20th century, and the meat has been consumed by humans for centuries, especially in southern cooking. Now I know that so far I have not diminished the “ewwwww” factor yet in some of you, especially my daughter, but read on. Alligator meat actually looks and taste like chicken. I know you have heard this before but it is true. Alligator meat is lean, and is a more concentrated source of protein than some other meats. Like chicken, alligator meat is also low in fat and a good source of protein.

The dishes I chose for “game day” were North African venison meatballs, which can be viewed HERE, and Alligator Etoufee. I mean, you don’t get any more Cajun than alligator. On a trip to New Orleans, my girlfriend and I went on a swamp tour in the bayou and actually saw people out hunting gators in the wild (post is here). Actually this trip was the very first time I’d eaten gator meat, and I liked it. I must admit it was a dangerous move to attempt to cook a meat I’ve never prepared before for a bunch of people that I would meet for the first time. But after watching the Giants beat the Eagles and my beloved Yankees kick the crap out of the Red Sox, I knew the day was off to a good start.

Cant you just smell this food?

Upon arriving to the dinner everyone was antsy to get it started since I was late (as usual). I was pleasantly surprised by the courses that were on deck. The first dish was prepared by Adam which was a freshly grilled rabbit marinated with olive oil, garlic and rosemary and served with a polenta that had fresh pecorino romano cheese and grated zucchini, topped with a roasted tomato with garlic and fresh oregano. This was an absolutely great dish, and we were off to a good start. Next up was the alligator (fingers crossed), Swoosh! I nailed it, and it had just enough Cajun “kick” to wake up everyone’s taste buds. The meat was very tender and the Etoufee was very flavorful, totally Cajun! Next up Jim prepared panko crusted quail on ginger wasabi cole slaw and garnished with sriracha sauce, which I thought was a very clever and delicious dish. On to the venison meatballs that were definately a hit with its nice African flavors. Then Jim put out the last dish which was roasted shredded duck served with cashew butter and sorrano pepper jelly sandwich with an arugala, roast beet and fig salad. Yummy! Carol wrapped up the night with her delicious strawberry cheesecake. It was so good that I wish I had grabbed a slice to go. Overall all of the food was fantastic, I had a chance to catch up with a childhood friend (Whaddup Kim!), my NY teams ruled, and I ended my day happy. I wish every Sunday was this good. :) Special thanks to Jim & Andrea for hosting, also Adam, Alyssa, Kim, Steve, Carol, and Jerry.

Update: My good friend Jim Takacs passed away on June 22 2018. I just want to express my deepest sympathies to his family and many friends. Rest in peace brother.

Adam also added rabbit sausage to this great dish

Carol’s cheesecake

Game Day!

I am no stranger to cooking African food; I actually love to cook it! The spices and fresh herbs combine to make any household smell like a restaurant. Lately I’ve been on a wild game kick as you’ve seen in my last post. But before I took that trip to Fossil Farms, a childhood friend of mine who goes hunting every season, gave me some of the deer he bagged on a trip (shout out to George Perkins). Venison is a meat that is mild tasting and similar to elk but less “gamey”. I have made venison in various ways because he gives me so many different cuts to be versatile with. For tonight’s dish we will use some ground venison which is much leaner than ground beef.

Venison meatballs are ready to go!

You might want to add venison to your diet if you are a meat eater because not only is it delicious, it is also a healthier alternative to the meats we normally eat. I did my research and found that venison, elk, and buffalo were probably the first red meats eaten by man/woman (after mastodons).Venison is not only low in fat and cholesterol, but high in vital nutrients like B vitamins, iron, and phosphorus. Venison is resistant to disease and does not live on a diet of antibiotics and steroids.

Deer are indigenous to North and South America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, which is the inspiration for tonight’s dish. Now I love African food because of the bold, flavorful spices and herbs that are common to the cuisine. The spices used in North African food resemble ingredients used in a variety of dishes from India and southeast Asia. Spices such as cumin, coriander, tumeric, and fresh herbs such as cilantro and ginger are used in most dishes. Some people I know steer clear of African food because they say it’s too spicy, but when you cook at home you can “tweak” it, and spice it to your taste. I like my African food with a kick (lol) so I go full speed ahead with the spices! I decided to cook North African meatballs  since i love venison and meatballs, I have cooked venison steaks and tenderloins before, but never ground venison.

Cant you just smell this food?

This dish was alive with flavors but yet it didn’t overpower the mild venison meat, which, by the way melted in my mouth. I served it up with a sundried Tomato and Lentil Cous Cous and there you have it, a North African dish made in Brooklyn! So overall, I think it was a great dish and I look forward to bringing you more of these fabulous dishes.Feel free to drop by and subscribe to this blog and request this recipe, Bon Appetit :)