Venison Steak Souvlaki with Tzatziki Sauce
This Steak Souvlaki with an Amazing Tzatziki Sauce uses marinated and grilled venison for the best Greek meat dish.
Servings: 6 servings
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!
