Venison bulgogi tacos are a delicious fusion that combines Korean flavors with everyone's favorite handheld Mexican dish. Juicy venison bulgogi meat is layered with zesty pickled cabbage, fiery sriracha mayo, and crisp vegetables, all enveloped in a tender flour tortilla to create the most delicious combination of flavors. These unique wild game tacos come together in 30 minutes and are a great way to spice up taco night!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe:
Easy to Make: With just 20 minutes of prep time and 10 minutes of cook time, this recipe is a great weeknight option. You can make the toppings as easy or as extravagant as you want depending on your personal preference!
Adventurous: Bulgogi is a popular Korean dish that consists of thin slices of beef marinated in a simple soy sauce-based marinade which is then grilled or stir-fried. This easy recipe uses a similar marinade cooked into ground venison. The outcome is succulent meat with a ton of flavor that serves as an excellent foundation for these delicious tacos. The tangy pickled cabbage, spicy sriracha mayo, and crisp fresh veggies balance out the sweetness of the meat. The combination of all the ingredients inside soft tortillas results in a perfectly flavorful and satisfying bite!
Meal Prep Friendly: If you're looking to speed up weekly meal prep time, make a big batch and use the leftover taco meat for Korean Bowls or Bibimbap. Store the cooked meat in an airtight container and heat it up when you need it!
Ingredient Notes:
- Ground Venison: Any ground wild game meat or domestic ground meat can be used in place of ground venison. Elk, antelope, moose, lean ground beef, turkey, etc. will all work.
- Pork Lard: Homemade pork lard is my cooking fat of choice for wild game, but you can use your preferred cooking fat or oil.
- Street Taco Tortillas: You can use any size and type of tortilla in place of the street taco tortillas. You can also use corn tortillas or hard taco shells.
- Vegetables: If desired, the vegetables on these tacos can be substituted for different ones. Cucumbers, red onions, bell peppers, or your favorite taco toppings can be substituted.
Step by Step Instructions:
How To Make Pickled Cabbage:
Pickled red cabbage is super simple to make and adds so much flavor, color, and crunch to these venison tacos. It's a great addition to poke bowls, venison street tacos, bibimbap, and more!
Pro Tip: Pickled cabbage lasts in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Keep a jar on hand to add to lots of delicious meals!
How To Make Venison Bulgogi Taco Filling:
Bulgogi marinade is made up of a few simple ingredients and is uncomplicated to prepare, yet it imparts an abundance of flavor to the meat you're cooking. The garlicky marinade adds a sweet flavor to the meat and is the perfect complement to the earthy flavor of ground venison. It's a super fun alternative to the classic taco seasoning (chili powder-based). Follow the simple steps below for this easy ground venison recipe!
Pro Tip: Since the meat will continue cooking after adding the marinade, it's unnecessary to fully brown the meat beforehand.
Other Easy Ground Venison Recipes to Try:
Putting it All Together:
Once you have your delicious venison bulgogi meat and fresh toppings, it's time to assemble your tacos. Add a scoop of venison taco meat to the tortillas, drizzle with sriracha mayo, and top with pickled cabbage and other fresh veggies or your favorite toppings and a squeeze of lime juice. These imaginative venison tacos are guaranteed to provide a delightful burst of flavor that you'll want to add to your Taco Tuesday rotation!
Recipe FAQ's:
Adding moisture like a sauce or marinade can help keep ground venison moist. Avoid overcooking the meat as well to help it retain its natural moisture. Ground venison is a lean meat and can dry out quickly if you overcook it.
Ground deer meat is a very versatile ingredient that is great for tacos, burgers, sausage, meatballs, hand pies, and more!
Ground venison can vary widely in flavor depending on the animal, its habitat, meat care, and more. For particularly strong-tasting ground venison, adding a sauce like the bulgogi marinade in this recipe can add great flavor to the meat while masking some of the stronger flavors.
Tough cuts of meat with a lot of connective tissue are popular choices for grinding. Shanks, shoulders, neck roasts, etc. are popular choices. But, tough cuts of meat like venison shanks are also great for braising like in this Elk Osso Buco recipe.
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Recipe:
Ground Venison Bulgogi Tacos
Ingredients
Taco Filling:
- 1 tablespoon pork lard (or other cooking fat)
- 1 lb ground venison
- 3 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- ½ tablespoon sugar
- ⅓ cup green onions, sliced
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
Pickled Cabbage:
- 2 cups red cabbage, thinly sliced
- ½ cup white vinegar
- ½ cup water
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
Sriracha Mayo:
- 3 tablespoon mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon sriracha
Other Ingredients:
- ¾ cup radishes, thinly sliced
- ¾ cup carrots, cut into thin matchsticks (or shredded)
- ¼ cup green onions, sliced diagonally
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves
- 12 street taco flour tortillas
- lime wedges (optional, for serving)
Instructions
Pickled Cabbage:
- Place vinegar, water, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan. Heat on the stove until sugar and salt have dissolved and mixture is simmering.
- Pack cabbage into a pint-sized glass jar.
- Pour vinegar mixture over cabbage. Let cool at room temperature for 30 minutes. Place lid on jar and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.
- Pickled cabbage will last in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Sriracha Mayo:
- In a small bowl, whisk together sriracha and mayonnaise until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Taco Filling:
- Heat lard in a large sauté pan. Add ground venison to the hot pan. Break the meat into crumbles while incorporating seasonings into the meat. Cook until lightly browned, 3-5 minutes.
- While meat is cooking, combine soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, sugar, green onions, and garlic. When the meat is browned, stir in the sauce mixture. Cook until sauce is bubbly and starts to thicken, about 3-4 minutes.
- Set aside until ready to assemble tacos.
Assembly:
- To tortilla shells, add taco filling. Drizzle with sriracha mayo. Top with pickled cabbage, radish slices, carrots, green onions, and cilantro. Squeeze lime wedge over tacos, if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
- Any ground wild game meat or domestic ground meat can be used in place of ground venison. Elk, antelope, moose, lean ground beef, turkey, etc. will all work.
- Homemade pork lard is my cooking fat of choice for wild game, but you can use your preferred cooking fat or oil.
- You can use any size and type of tortilla in place of street taco tortillas. Corn tortillas or hard taco shells can also be used.
- If desired, the vegetables on these tacos can be substituted for different ones. Cucumbers, red onions, bell peppers, or your favorite taco toppings can be substituted.
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