Sweet Apricot and Curry Venison Kebabs

Feast your eyes (and stomachs) to another great recipe from Martenique Scott of the Omuwiwe Hunting Lodge in Namibia: venison kebabs marinated in curry, turmeric, apricot and onions. Thin slices of beef fat, which dripped and charred over a hot fire, added sweet juicy flavors to neighboring venison cubes. There were definitely no leftovers!

To the right is the original dish made with oryx, sent to us from Namibia. Thank you to the Omuwiwe Hunting Lodge for sending us this wonderful recipe. It was one of the best venison dishes we've ever made!


And thank you to my best friend Briana for coming over to cook with us. Briana is new to wild game, so Rick and I are very glad that she liked it!

Prep/Marinating Time: at least 4 hours

Cooking Time: about 10 minutes

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

Marinade 

- 1 tbs. oil
- 1 large onion, chopped

- 1 cup of white wine vinegar

- 1 cup of water

- 2 tbs. sugar

- 2 tbs. mild/hot curry powder (we used mild)

- 1 tsp. kosher salt

- 4 tbs. apricot preserves

- 1/2 tbs. turmeric

- 1 tbs. corn starch (plus 1-2 tbs. of water to make a slurry)

Kebab

- 1 1/2 - 2 lbs. of venison roast

- 1 large onion

- about 1/4 lb. beef fat, cubed/sliced

- about 12 wooden skewers, give or take (pre-soaked in water to prevent burning)

I. Marinade

1. In a medium saucepan, heat 1 tbs. of oil. Fry chopped onion until softened and slightly golden. 

Then add all other marinade ingredients, except the corn starch. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 15 minutes. 

3. In a small bowl, whisk 1 tbs. of corn starch into 1-2 tbs. of water, making sure there are no lumps. 

Add the slurry to marinade and mix well. 

Simmer marinade for another 5 minutes, or until thickened. 

*Always allow cooked marinades/brines to cool completely before adding to raw meat. 

II. Assembling Kebabs

1. Clean venison roast of all silver skin and fat. Cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes. 

2. Run beef fat under cold water. Rinse off any blood. Then cut into thin cubes or slices.

You are welcome to omit the fat. However, it will really take away from this dish. Remember, fat is flavor. 

We didn't find any beef fat for sale at the grocery store. However, we asked the butcher and he gave us the fat for free. So just ask your butcher. He may have some scraps left behind.

3. Slice and quarter onion, like so. 

4. In a medium-sized bowl, combine cubed venison and beef fat. Add 3/4 of the cooled marinade and mix well with your hands. Reserve the rest of the marinade for basting. 

5. Marinade for 4 hours, covered in the refrigerator.

Remove from fridge one hour prior to grilling to allow the meat to come to room temperature. 

After 4 hours, it's time to make some kebabs!

6. With wooden skewers (or metal), skewer onion, meat, fat, onion, meat, fat, and so on.  

7. Arrange on a hot grill and cook about 3-5 minutes on each side, or until about medium-rare to medium. DO NOT OVERCOOK. 

Baste with remaining marinade. 

Your backyard will smell like heaven.

Serve with your favorites sides and some red wine. We had bottles of zinfandel and Merlot.

The charred beef fat just melts in your mouth... and will give your venison a sweet juiciness that it's never had before. 

We hope you will enjoy this recipe as much as we did!