Lamb Kofta Jerky And Coleslaw Wraps

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This flavorful outdoor meal comes to you from 2021 when I was preparing for my backpacking trip around Wy’East (Mount Hood) on the Timberline Trail.

#groundlamb #onion #cumin #coriander #lemonjuice #redcabbage #carrot #cilantro #plainyogurt #garlic #cinnamon

It all started when I found Lamb Koftas With Yogurt Dressing by Nagi over at Recipe Tin Eats and it quickly became a dinner I ate several times a month. It was so packed with flavor that I knew it would perfect for backpacking trips. It not only combined two things I had already been doing for awhile (jerky and coleslaw) but added my new addiction: dehydrated yogurt!

From Wikipedia:

Kofta is a family of meatball or meatloaf dishes found in Balkan, Middle Eastern, North African, South Caucasian, South Asian and Central Asian cuisines. In the simplest form, koftas consist of balls of minced meat – usually beef, chicken, pork, lamb or mutton, or a mixture – mixed with spices and sometimes other ingredients. The earliest known recipes are found in early Arab cookbooks and call for ground lamb.

There are many national and regional variations. There are also vegetable and uncooked versions. Shapes vary and include balls, patties, and cylinders. Sizes typically vary from that of a golf ball to that of an orange.

I soon found myself adding the spice combination I used in koftas to a variety of dishes just like when I fell in love with Ras El Hanout. I keep them preassembled in a mason jar for when inspiration strikes!

When making kofta at home, I will often do a double batch so I can eat some for meals during the week and then prepare some for future trail trips. I skip the breadcrumbs, of course, when making the koftas both at home and for the jerky.

For the coleslaw, I used her Cabbage, Carrot & Mint recipe for inspiration. It was very similar to the regular coleslaw I was making but with the addition of mint and lemon juice for a boost of flavor. I opted to swap out the mint for cilantro for my slaw and loved it.

For the yogurt dressing, I just left out the olive oil from the original recipe so I could have a crisper result for rehydrating but bring a packet of olive oil on the trail.

On trail, I add hot water to everything right in the same cup or bag. If you want to actually add the yogurt as a dressing on top of your coleslaw, you could rehydrate that separately but it will take longer than the other ingredients.

I usually eat the meal right out of the bag but for a treat I will sometimes use tortillas like these coconut based ones by the Real Coconut. I think you can find them at Whole Foods but I bought them at Grocery Outlet.

Lamb Kofta Jerky and Coleslaw

This lamb kofta coleslaw with yogurt dressing meal is an explosion of flavor after a hard day of hiking on trail. It’s also a good way to include more vegetables and probiotics into you diet!

Prep Time
20 minutes

Dehydrated Time
6-8 hours

Total Time
38 minutes

Course: Dinner, Snack

Cuisine: Gluten Free, Nightshade Free, Nut free, Paleo, Soy free, Whole Food

Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients

Kofta Jerky

1 pound ground lamb
1/2 grated onion
2 cloves minced garlic
2 tablespoon chopped fresh coriander (can use parsley and up the ground coriander)
1 tablespoon cumin
2 teaspoon coriander
1.5 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoon salt

Coleslaw

4 cups shredded red cabbage (green works, too)
1 cup shredded carrot
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Yogurt Dressing

1 cup plain yogurt (can use dairy free)
1 clove minced garlic
1 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

Lamb Koftas

Combine all the jerky ingredients in a bowl and mix well.
Using a pastry bag, jerky gun or ziploc with a tip of the corner cut out, squeeze thin sticks of the meat mixture out onto lined dehydrator trays. You can also roll the meat mixture between two pieces of parchment paper and then cut through with a knife to make strips.
Dry on the meat setting until the inside is dry (dark) when broken open. Roughly 6-8 hours depending on the thickness of the meat. The jerky will be a darker color, shrink and bend without breaking.
Bake jerky in a preheated oven set to 275 degrees for 10 minutes until a thin meat thermometer inserted in the middle of a piece of jerky reads above 160 degrees.

Coleslaw

Combine all the ingredients and let rest for 20 minutes in the fridge to meld the flavors.
Lay the coleslaw mixture out on a lined dehydrator tray as thin as you can.
Dry on the vegetable setting until the coleslaw is crisp, usually about 4-5 hours.

Yogurt Dressing

Combine all ingredients and let rest for 20 minutes in the fridge to meld the flavors.
Pour out onto a lined dehydrator tray.
Dry on the a low setting (115 degrees) and let dry for 8-9 hours depending on how thick it is. You can dry at the same time as the coleslaw at the higher temperature but if you want the probiotics the lower temperature is best.

For The Trail

In individual bags, place 1/2 cup dry coleslaw mix, 3-4 lamb kofta jerky sticks and about 1/4 cup dehydrated yogurt. I use these bags exclusively now in the snack size.
At camp, add boiling water to cover and let rehydrate.
Add a packet of olive oil.
Enjoy as is or on a tortilla of your choice!

*A lot of dehydrators dry meat at 145-155 degrees. However, current food safety recommendations call for meat to reach an internal temperature of 160 and ground meat to 165 degrees for 10 minutes in order to kill foodborne pathogens that may remain in the meat. After drying the meat (particularly ground meat), preheat your oven to 275 degrees, place on a baking sheet and flash heat for 10 minutes to bring the internal temperature of the meat to 165 degrees. Test with a thermometer. You will find different information on the internet, the USDA says to do this step first and the National Center For Home Food Preservation says after is fine. Backcountry Paleo wrote up a whole post on safety steps for jerky here.

Editor’s note: so what is the white stuff on my tortilla? I have only done it once with this meal but I brought along some pieces of faux feta by Violife because there had been a really good deal at Grocery Outlet. Violife is one of the best fake cheeses out there if you really have a craving and don’t mind something more processed and can do potato starch. I ate it the first night into our trip and it was delicious.