Best venison meatloaf recipe with barbecue sauce here. Looking for a deer meat recipe that is pure comfort food. Next to our Crockpot venison chili that is great with it ground or in bite size pieces, this popular Old Fashioned dinner is lean with bold flavors.
Deer meatloaf this could also be called, but the other term is a bit easier to swallow if you are a fan of Bambi and all. 😉 We live in an area where there is a lot of wildlife, and hunting. With that said I’ve found you can make all sorts of traditional recipes with more unusual meats. Here’s one of our favorite Ground Venison Recipes. (affiliate links present)
Venison Meatloaf
Now if you want to make a Spicy Meatloaf Recipe out of this meat just use the sauce listed in this recipe on top. There are tons of ways to add flavor and/or heat, and a number of different cooking methods as well. This is “old fashioned”, in a loaf pan and baked in your oven.
If you wanted to get the top super crispy in a countertop appliance, cut this recipe in half and follow our Ninja Foodi meatloaf instructions instead. that uses the air fryer function to cook it which means baked on sauce and a bit of crunch all the way around when you don’t bother using a pan.
Recipe with Ground Venison
Typically this dish is what to make with ground beef, but variety of meat mixture one a very lean meat. Because it is lower in fat content it will need to be watched closely so it doesn’t dry out. Adding some sauce to the top will help to moisten up each slice too. That can be just ketchup or barbecue sauce. Baked on to the top at the end will caramelize it a bit which is nice.
- 2 lbs venison ground
- Olive oil
- 1 onion diced
- 3 tbsp minced garlic
- Italian breadcrumbs
- 2 eggs
- Worcestershire sauce
- 3 tbsp parsley fresh, diced
- Old Bay
- 1/2 tsp granulated garlic
- Salt and pepper
- 1/2 c barbecue sauce more when served to
Now How Long to Cook Meatloaf depends on the thickness of course. If you want it thinner in a square pan it won’t take quite as long. In a muffin tin cuts to a fraction of the time and comes out in portioned pieces from the get go. It will take about 45 minutes start to finish or so which is a quick meal overall with time to make a side or two along the way.
Meatloaf with Ground Venison
If yours isn’t ground you would need to make something like our Venison Cube Steak instead. Another great idea, or you could ask your local butcher if they can grind it for you. Stand mixers do have an attachment you can buy too that will do this too if you want to do it often it would be worth getting one of those.
- Preheat the oven to 370 F. Fry the onion with oil in a pan to soften for 4-5 minutes, stirring.
- Place ground deer meat, eggs, fried onions, bread crumbs, salt and spices in a deep bowl.
- Put parsley in the bowl as well, reserving some for serving. Mix everything thoroughly.
- Line a loaf pan with non stick foil.
- Add the minced meat into it and smooth until thickness is the same all the way across pan.
- Place in the oven and bake for 35 minutes.
- Spread the sauce on the meatloaf, and put it back in the oven for 5-10 minutes until caramelized and internal temp is 160 degrees F in the center.
- Allow to sit in pan to cool on a rack after removing for 10 minutes before lifting out, slicing and serve with more sauce over the top.
Now you don’t have to use a loaf pan either. To tweak an ordinary old fashioned dish you can Bundt Pan Meatloaf instead! If you wanted to use just 1 pound just cut everything in half but the timing would take closer to 3/4 of the timing listed below.
What to Make with Venison
Making this into a classic Meatloaf Wrapped Bacon doesn’t really change the timing but adds a texture and flavor you’ll love. With any tweak you would always want a large bowl to mix everything together as well as a meat thermometer to test when it is safe to consume.
160 degrees Fahrenheit is your goal for ground venison recipes, no more. Higher than that and it will begin to dry out so be careful near the end. You can use this same mixture to make venison burgers with it too though! That takes closer to 15 minutes to cook and you get the same flavors.
OR make into smaller pieces to cook Meatballs in Oven with this same mixture!! Served on top of a bed of mashed potatoes this is a killer finger food idea y’all. Now jump to recipe below and try it in different shapes and sizes after you enjoy this one.
Venison Meatloaf Recipe
Equipment
- 1 9×5 loaf pan
- 1 Bowl
Ingredients
- 2 lbs venison, ground
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 tbsp minced garlic
- 1/2 c Italian breadcrumbs
- 2 eggs
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 3 tbsp parsley, fresh, diced
- 1 tsp Old Bay
- 1/2 tsp granulated garlic
- 1/2 tsp salt and pepper
- 1/2 c barbecue sauce, more when served too
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 370 F. Fry the onion with oil in a pan to soften for 4-5 minutes, stirring.
- Place ground venison, eggs, fried onions, breadcrumbs, salt and spices in a deep bowl. Place parsley in the bowl as well, reserving some for serving. Mix everything thoroughly.
- Line a loaf pan with non stick foil. Place the minced meat into it and smooth until thickness is the same all the way across pan. Place in the oven and bake for 35 minutes.
- Spread the sauce on the meatloaf, and put it back in the oven for 5-10 minutes until caramelized and internal temp is 160 degrees F in the center.
- Allow to sit in pan to cool on a rack after removing for 10 minutes before lifting out, slicing and serve with more sauce over the top.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
