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It Is Possible To Prepare Deer Meat In A Way That Wildgame Haters Will Love It

Deer meatloaf is one of those dishes that you either really love or really dislike. Actually deer or venison, in general, is something that you either like to eat or you absolutely hate with your whole heart. It’s a little like politics and religion. You choose a side and then you stand on it.

My mother made the BEST meatloaf of anyone. Although she would have NEVER used deer meat. However, because she did make the best meatloaf it stands to reason that I would follow in her footsteps and make the second-best. Mine, though, is hers resurrected. And it’s tweaked with minimal changes with the biggest difference of meat choice. Ground Chuck vs. Ground Deer Burger!

I consider myself to be a good cook just like her. However, when you’re trying to convince a person to try a new recipe it can sometimes be tricky. That being said if you’re trying to convince a “deer meat hater” to try something you’ve cooked you’ve got your work cut out for yourself.

I should know because although I am surrounded by family members that live and breathe to eat anything that includes deer meat, I’ve also got family and friends that refuse to even TOUCH it. I mean absolutely REFUSE to even TRY it.

Deer Meat Is For Even The Pickiest Eaters If Prepared Right

I mean to tell you that I have done everything I know to do to convince them that it truly tastes good. Actually, in some cases, it tastes better than beef. But they hold fast to their misconceptions. And lay down the law that they will NOT ever, and I repeat EVER eat, much less even try one single solitary bite of deer meat.

I’ve even gone so far as to threaten that “one day when you’re starving to death you will surely come knocking on my door for food and I all I’ll have is deer meat. What are you going to do then?”

I have a sister-in-law who assures me that she would die of starvation before she would ever put one bite in her mouth.

I’m waiting for that day and I hope to live to see it. Because I KNOW that when you’re hungry, and I mean really HUNGRY, you WILL eat whatever is there in front of you. And that includes deer meat.

Which brings me to the point of this post.

I have many recipes up my sleeve when it comes to wild game but one I am most proud of and one that I’ve tweaked over the years is my Deer Meatloaf, otherwise known as Venison Meatloaf.

It’s simple to fix and I promise you that your family will request it again and again.

Deer Meatloaf is a family favorite

Just a couple of months ago I had a spurt of energy and decided that I would make one of our sons and his wife a meatloaf for supper. They had just had a baby and I thought it would make things a little easier for them not having to worry about fixing dinner.

Well when our youngest son heard I was making meatloaf for the middle son, well then HE wanted one also. So, okay, now I’ll make TWO.

No problem. I’ll just thaw out ANOTHER pound of deer burger. No big deal.

There’s always a chain reaction no matter what you do. When our second oldest son found out I was making the middle and the youngest sons their own meatloaves, well you can guess what transpired next.

Yep, you guessed it. Another son. Another thawed pound of deer burger. And another meatloaf. I was hoping I had enough crackers and eggs. Thank God I did.

I did make three meatloaves that day. And everyone was happy. But it just proves that when you have a recipe everyone loves, they will request it over and over and truly never get tired of it.

My Deer Meatloaf Recipe is one of those recipes. Your family will make you pull it out time and time again, and although you will get sick of making it, your family won’t. And nothing would make me happier than if you would let me share it with you.

Deer Meatloaf Recipe

Ingredients:

1lb ground deer burger

1.5 sleeves of crushed saltine crackers

1 Cup diced green pepper

1 Cup diced onion

2 eggs

Barbeque sauce

Ketchup

Garlic salt, salt, pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

In large bowl, and I mean LARGE, mix burger, onion, green pepper, crackers, eggs, and seasonings together. Put in a couple of squirts (big) of bbq sauce and ketchup.

There’s no easy way to do it but to get your hands right in there and mix it thoroughly.

Shape it and place it in a glass Pyrex dish sprayed with Pam. I usually put a cup of water in the dish with the uncooked meatloaf for moisture. It keeps the meatloaf moist while cooking.

I am told that my meatloaf is the moistest, so listen to me. I’m an expert on this subject. Not really. But through trial and error, I have learned how to make moist meatloaf. Yours won’t be dry and you’ll be glad you did it like that.

Back for an hour.

After 40 minutes take a cup and a half of bbq sauce and brush on top of the meatloaf and let it continue backing for the remaining 20 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes before cutting.

Voila!! Yummy! Mash up some potatoes. Throw a little gravy and green beans with it and you’ve got supper.

The extra work will be worth it

Deer meatloaf is a little time consuming with the preparation of cutting the green peppers and onions. Crushing the crackers can be a pain too but you’ll have leftovers to eat on the next day. We make deer meatloaf sandwiches out of what’s left for lunch the following day and grab some potato chips as a side.

No matter what time of day you decide to eat it, your family will thank you and you’ll find that even the ones who don’t like meatloaf will end up having a change of heart on the subject.

And if you’re really lucky you’ll convert an “anti-deer-meat-eater” to join you for a plate of fresh-baked deer meatloaf. If they do, I promise they’ll be back for seconds.

As for me and my house we shall eat gravy… every chance we get

Who doesn’t like gravy? Better yet, who doesn’t like finding a recipe that will stand the test of time in their family? My creamy country gravy recipe is one for the books.

I grew up with a mom who made gravy at every dinner meal. My parents didn’t have a lot of money so Mom’s thinking was that she needed to fill our bellies with as much as she could with the little that she had.

As a mom now myself, and with our every growing family, we eat the gravy. Usually on our deer steaks but we definitely eat it with biscuits and gravy.

And although I use whatever sausage I have on hand, deer breakfast sausage is my fave. Very little grease and ooh-la-la, that flavor. As I tell one of my little granddaughters it’s “yum to tum.”

I consider myself to be a good cook. Actually I consider myself to be a GREAT cook. But I have BEEN KNOWN to over season things once or twice. Maybe THREE times. Possibly FOUR, but no more than that, depending on who you ask.

We live and then we learn…sometimes the hard way

However, there might have been this one time that, ironically enough, it was opening morning of rifle season and we had a whole KITCHEN FULL of people. We had all just come in from our morning hunt and I was going to make biscuits and gravy for everyone.

A little back story. My father-in-law, who was there that morning also, had just had a heart attack the year before and had three, I believe, stints put in. He was watching his diet, sodium in particular.

That morning my cooking skills were on display because there were a couple of people that I didn’t really know that well. I was in performance mode.

We all know what happens to us when all eyes are on us, at least for me. I tried way to hard to impress and ended up, ACCIDENTALLY, putting too much salt in the gravy. I tried to mask it with more milk but that didn’t dilute it enough.

I served it like that hoping no one would notice. But they did, althought they did a REALLY great job of pretending it was edible. I watched each and every face as they took that first bite.

No one said a word, except for my father-in-law. He took that first bite and said, “Damn, Kelly! Are you trying to give me another heart attack? That gravy’s salty.” With that, everyone laughed. Even me. But even today, when I make this recipe, I hold that salt shaker in a little bit different position so that I don’t add too much.

For the record, I like salt.

My creamy country gravy recipe is really simple and one that you’re going to want to keep in your recipe arsenal. It’s so easy and has so few ingredients. Because it’s a favorite recipe in our family I wanted to share it with you.

Creamy Country Gravy Recipe

1/2 Cup  Canola Oil (I don’t think olive oil would work)

1/2 to 3/4 Cup  All Purpose Flour

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Ground Black Pepper

4 Cups Milk

In a large skillet (because there will end up being so much) heat the oil over a medium heat. 

Carefully whisk in flour, pepper, and salt. I usually put my flour, salt, and pepper in a bowl separately and blend it first before adding it.

Stir until smooth, making sure it’s blended well and browned. 

Gradually stir in the milk and stir, stir, stir making sure there are no lumps forming.  It will bubble some but keep stirring until its the consistency that you desire and then take off the heat.

Moms really do always know best

One thing my mom taught me about making gravy, and believe it or not it was the ONLY thing she let me cook as a child (except macaroni and cheese out of the box) was that you have to stir CONTINUALLY. Because if you don’t it will clump up on the bottom of the skillet and be lumpy, not smooth.

I want to also say that when I make this recipe for biscuits and gravy I brown up some sausage before hand and add it in WHILE the gravy is being cooked.

So…listen to me, but especially listen to my mama. She put the “good” in being a good cook.

And that’s it!!! Perfect every time! Just remember to watch that salt!