Mozzarella Stuffed Elk Meatballs

Joe and I both love gamy meats.  Duck, rabbit, anything that has some more flavor to it.  Since it is a bit harder to come by at stores, we normally just enjoy it when we go out to eat.  This time, we got our hands on some fresh elk.  On of our neighbors, and a good friend, went elk hunting a couple months ago somewhere up north in the mid-west, and came back with an elk.  After purchasing a freezer and getting the meets in, he started digging in.  He was ever so kind enough to offer us some, and we couldn't have been more excited.  We had never had elk so we started off with some meatballs.  We randomly had some fresh mozzarella at our house so with that, we googled elk stuffed meatballs and found the perfect recipe to copy (and change a bit!).  We were warned not to overcook so we were careful of that, but the meatballs turned out amazing.  The original recipe (found here) makes it with a marinara sauce that looks yummy but we didn't want to have to go to the store.  We will most likely do that next time. For now, here is what we did...

Ingredients

• 1lb ground elk burger 
• ½ teaspoon fennel
• ½ teaspoon oregano
• ½ teaspoon sage
• ½ teaspoon marjoram
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 red onion diced
• Olive oil
• Bocconcini fresh Mozzarella ball cut in cubes

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Combine all 8 spices above and mix into the ground elk burger. Cover and let sit for 30 minutes to an hour.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add diced red onion and continue to cook until onion softens and begins to caramelize about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Add onions to ground elk and mix together.
4. Take a handful of ground elk meat and begin to form a large meatball that fits in the palm of your hand. Add 1 bocconcini to the center and continue to pack meat around the cheese until you have a nice sized meatball. Repeat until done.
5. Bake for 20 minutes

We simply ate these with some veggies on the side and they were so flavorful!  Enjoy!