Ranch Venison Pitas
Make no mistake, the pouch of ranch and the classic tzatziki sauce is what makes this recipe come together. Of course, the fresh vegetables, warm pita bread, and ground venison doesn’t hurt either. Ranch venison pitas are incredibly easy to make and just might become a weekly option in your house, if you enjoy them as much as we do.
There are a few secrets to this recipe that need special attention to make sure your ranch venison pitas are a success, but like most of my recipes, the real secret lies in making it your own way anyways.
Ingredients
- 1 lb of ground venison
- 1 packet of ranch dressing mix
- Pita bread
- Plain yogurt
- Dill
- Lemon juice
- 1 whole cucumber
- 1 can of diced tomatoes
- diced mixed bell peppers
- 1 diced onion
Directions
To get things started, just brown ground venison until done. Once done, add in one tablespoon of plain yogurt and the pack of ranch. Stir all this together until even. The yogurt and ranch make a nice creamy sauce that coats the ground venison nicely.
Next, it’s time for the sauce. I actually make the sauce about an hour in advance of browning the meat for a couple reasons. I’ll let you in on a few of my secrets.
To get the sauce started, combine a healthy amount of dill to about one cup of yogurt, a well-diced cucumber, and lemon juice.
You need to allow the cucumber juice time to blend into the yogurt to flavor the sauce. After about an hour, the sauce gets a distinct dill and cucumber flavor. The flavor just doesn’t really develop if you don’t let it set for an hour. Place all this in the refrigerator so it’s nice and cold when added to the pita at the end.
Now comes the best part: Layer your pitas with venison on the bottom, followed by your favorite fresh vegetables. Top it all off with the tzatziki sauce and you are all set.
Recipe by: Brad Smith
