Venison Steak Souvlaki with Tzatziki Sauce Overhead Shot

Venison Steak Souvlaki with an Amazing Tzatziki Sauce

This Venison Steak Souvlaki with an Amazing Tzatziki Sauce uses marinated and grilled venison to satisfy your craving for Greek food!

Celebrated for its wholesome simplicity, Greek food has some of the healthiest recipes in the world. But it's the way they marinate meat, then roast it, that has me regularly yearning to indulge in the rich and flavorful world of Greek cuisine. So why not use some of that deer meat and elk meat in my freezer to make Venison Souvlaki.

I cook wild game and fish at home for a living, but I still find myself searching for "Greek food near me" on my phone at least once a month. So last week, when my wife suggested I take a night off and we go out to eat at GP's Greek Kitchen here in Fargo, I jumped at the chance to devour one of their Old Fashioned Gyros and some Chicken Souvlaki.

WHAT IS SOUVLAKI?

Souvlaki is marinated meat such as beef, chicken, pork, or lamb, grilled on a skewer, then placed in a warm pita or over fresh vegetables and smothered in tzatziki sauce. I love the Chicken Souvlaki at GP's Greek Kitchen so much that I had to try to recreate it with some of the pheasant I have in my freezer. I did just that a few days ago at an event where I cooked for the Capital City Lady Birds chapter of Pheasants Forever. The chicken souvlaki at GP's Greek Kitchen is delicious, but my Pheasant Souvlaki with Homemade Tzatziki Sauce was both mouthwatering and satisfying because the meat came from a memorable bird hunt here in North Dakota. When I cook with fish and wild game I have harvested myself, the meal is that much more gratifying.

STEAK SOUVLAKI

I decided to continue my Greek food binge and recreate a traditional steak souvlaki using some elk steak from my once-in-a-lifetime North Dakota elk hunt. The marinated steak was so melt-in-your-mouth tender and juicy that I decided a Venison Steak Souvlaki with Tzatziki Sauce had to be the obvious choice for my cooking demonstration at the Red River Market at Broadway Square in Fargo on Saturday, August 19.

A simple marinade and some fresh ingredients from your backyard garden or farmer’s market is all you need to make this simple, healthy, and flavorful Greek Souvlaki. When you're NOT in the mood to cook, and you find yourself searching for "Greek food near me" on your phone, be sure and head to GP's Greek Kitchen. But if you want to stay in and easily recreate a Greek souvlaki to add to your venison recipes repertoire, be sure and try this venison souvlaki the whole family will love.

TZATZIKI SAUCE

Tzatziki sauce is an indulgent dip that is creamy, tangy and positively addicting! An integral part of Greek cuisine, it's best known for its cucumber-infused flavor. For this venison souvlaki recipe, I slathered the tzatziki on the warm pita with the meat and fresh vegetables. But I also love dipping Venison Gyros in it, or using a few dollops to garnish Greek Nachos. Our 8-year-old daughter loves to sit in front of a big bowl of tzatziki sauce and use carrot sticks and cucumber slices to shovel it in her mouth. And although I do appreciate Greek restaurants like GP's Greek Kitchen making it by the bucket full to feed all of their hungry patrons, tzatziki sauce really does taste best when it's homemade. And my tzatziki sauce recipe is very simple to make right in your own kitchen!

MORE VENISON RECIPES

If you are looking for more great ways to use that fish and game in your freezer, don't stop with this venison souvlaki! I also have a delicious and easy-to-make Shawarma Spiced Deer Shank Recipe and a Venison Gyros Recipe if you want to try more venison recipes with pita bread. Or you can find all my Venison Recipes here.

If you are headed our way for North Dakota deer season, check out the North Dakota Game & Fish Department website. And if you want me to come along with you as your camp cook, photographer, or butcher, you can find out more details here.

If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #wildgameandfish

Did you enjoy this Venison Steak Souvlaki with Tzatziki Sauce recipe? Be sure to leave a 5 star rating RIGHT HERE!

5 from 29 votes

Print Rate

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Greek

Keyword: greek souvlaki, souvlaki, steak souvlaki, tzatziki, tzatziki recipe, tzatziki sauce, tzatziki sauce recipe, venison souvlaki, what is souvlaki

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 6

Inactive time: 1

Total Time: 1 21

Servings: servings

Author: Jeff Benda

Ingredients

Venison Steak

1 ½ pounds venison loin (backstrap)
¼ cup Greek olive oil
juice of ½ lemon
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh oregano (or 1 tablespoon dried)

Tzatziki Sauce

1 medium cucumber
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup whole milk plain Greek yogurt
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
Juice of ½ lemon
⅛ teaspoon black pepper
⅛ teaspoon onion powder
⅛ teaspoon celery salt

Souvlaki Filling

6 oblong pita or naan
¼ cup Greek olive oil
½ cup Greek feta cheese, crumbled
2 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
½ red onion, thinly sliced
2 red bell peppers, seeded and thinly sliced (or 16-ounce jar roasted red bell peppers, drained)

Instructions

Chop venison steak into 1-inch cubes and place in a large zip lock bag.
In a mixing bowl, make the marinade by whisking together the oil, lemon juice, honey, garlic, salt, pepper, and oregano. Transfer the marinade to the zip lock bag with the venison steak and press as much of the air out as you can, and seal. Marinate in the refrigerator and chill for at least 1 hour or up to 12 hours.
To make the tzatziki sauce, peel and finely dice the cucumber. Transfer to a bowl lined with cheesecloth or a dish towel and sprinkle diced cucumbers with ½ teaspoon of the salt and give them a light stir. Set aside and let the cucumbers release some of their juice while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the remaining ½ teaspoon of salt with all of the remaining ingredients.
Use the cheesecloth or dish towel to squeeze out as much juice as you can from your diced cucumber, then add the cucumber to the yogurt mixture. Mix until well combined, cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to 12 hours.
When ready to cook the venison steak, thread the steak pieces onto wooden or metal skewers and discard the marinade. (Do not use the marinade to baste the meat while cooking due to contamination concerns.)
Grill the venison steak kebabs on a hot grill for about 3 minutes on each side until the steak reaches an internal temperature of 130 degrees F using an instant read thermometer. Transfer the venison steak kebabs to a plate to let the meat rest for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, grill the pita for 1 minute on each side, remove and brush each with olive oil.
To assemble the souvlaki, take a warm pita, add 2 tablespoons of tzatziki, 2 tablespoons feta cheese, some sliced tomato, onion, peppers, and one steak skewer. Slide the skewer out of the meat. Serve it warm on a plate as you see I did here, or wrap it up in parchment paper or aluminum foil and serve just like they do in Greece!