We are fortunate to have a freezer full of moose meat from the Yukon. A beautiful moose that my spouse and his sister bagged in September (after 3 unsuccessful hunting trips in the past few years).
So we have moose sausages and stew meat and, of course, ground. I was craving meatballs so I searched my cookbooks for some recipes. One recipe from Sheila Lukins’ All Around the World Cookbook – called for allspice and nutmeg. No thanks! I do not enjoy nutmeg at the best of times, and certainly not in my meat.
So I charted my own course.
My thoughts on wild game are that one should not try anything too wild. The meat is wild, so when experimenting, go tame. That said, pecorino is a sharp and dramatic flavour but it worked. (I want to take a moment to thank the AMAZING Pemberton Valley Supermarket that always has pecorino in stock. PVS – you are the BEST.) As for spices, I went for dry mustard, paprika, S&P, oregano and basil – and not too much of any. And of course parsley. I rarely make anything that does not call for parsley or cilantro, my faithful culinary companions. When I do not have any of these two in my fridge, sure enough, I embark on a recipe that calls for one of them. So those two are always, always on my grocery list. Serve these meatballs with Pemberton mashed spuds and some broccoli or another green veggie. A good and satisfying fall dinner! Fall cheers to the hunters and the farmers! And thank you to Lisa always for being the amazing host of this food blog site!
Flavourful Gluten-free Moose Meatballs: (yield: 4 servings)
1 lb ground moose meat (or beef)
½ cup finely grated pecorino romano
1/3 cup pure olive oil
¼ cup fine chop parsley
2 small Pemberton eggs or one very large egg
¼ cup almond meal
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp basil
½ tsp oregano
½ cup finely chopped yellow or red onion
Method: put all ingredients, except for olive oil, in a large bowl. Mix well and form into 1 tbs balls.
Heat 1/3 cup pure olive oil in large skillet with sides at least 4 inches high (oil splatters). Heat oil on medium heat. Gently place meatballs in pan. Do not rush but gently rotate the balls so they brown and cook thoroughly.
Serve with Pemberton russet mashed potatoes and a green steamed veggie. Enjoy!
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