This venison meatloaf recipe is super moist, delicious, and simple to make. Made with hearty ingredients and topped with a homemade glaze, this venison recipe is sure to please your crowd.
It’s meatloaf season, y’all! The hubby has been out hunting twice this year already. No deer yet and our freezer is pretty bare, so I called up a friend of mine to loan me two pounds of ground venison so I could make our favorite meatloaf. Friends who give you venison are the best kind of friends. Thanks Melinda! 🙂
It’s no secret that we are a venison eating family. Within the past couple of years on Cleverly Simple, I’ve shared my eight top recipes using venison, and even a venison marinade, but meatloaf wasn’t one of them…until today! Today is a special day. Meatloaf recipes are often a family treasure, so I’m sharing with you a recipe that includes a little of my mom’s recipe, a little of my mother-in-law’s recipe, and with a little of my own input as a long-time hunter’s wife.
This meatloaf recipe is super moist, delicious, and simple to make. I can mix the loaf in the morning and pop it in the refrigerator to allow the flavors to blend. Then I put it in a hot oven for about an hour before dinner and start my potatoes and vegetable. Easy! The meatloaf includes hearty ingredients like oats, olive oil (to give the meat more fat) and fresh parsley. Homemade onion soup mix, liquid smoke, and plenty of Worcestershire sauce all wonderfully flavor the meat. Halfway through baking, I like to add brown sugar and vinegar glaze for a caramelized and tangy sauce enjoyed with every bite. We never miss the beef!
Are you ready to try my top venison meatloaf recipe?
Come on in to my kitchen!
Venison Meatloaf Recipe Ingredients:
- Thawed and ground venison
- quick oats
- olive oil
- milk
- eggs
- ketchup
- fresh parsley
- onion soup mix
- liquid smoke
- Worcestershire sauce
- salt and pepper
How to Make Venison Meatloaf
To start out, get a large bowl and pour the milk over the quick oats. We’re going to let the oats soak up some of the liquid while we chop up the parsley and measure things out.
Add all the remaining meatloaf ingredients, including the homemade onion soup mix. You certainly can use store bought mix, but making your own seasoning mix has a trifecta of benefits – easy, healthy, and less expensive.
Pat the venison meatloaf into a 2.2-quart casserole dish and refrigerate it (covered) until ready to bake. You can make this one, even two days ahead.
When you are ready to bake the meatloaf, preheat your oven to 350 degrees, remove the cover, and bake the meatloaf for 35 minutes (2/3 of the cooking time)
Homemade Glaze for Meatloaf
While your meatloaf bakes, mix all the glaze ingredients in a small bowl. If you like things sweeter, add more brown sugar. If you like thing less sweet, add some additional ketchup or even mustard to it.
When the 35 minutes is up, take the meatloaf out of the oven and spread on the glaze.
Bake the meatloaf for an additional 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Allow the meatloaf to cool for a few minutes before cutting. We like to serve it with potatoes and a vegetable for a complete meal that everyone (even my pickiest eater) LOVES. It’s moist, flavorful, and yet another blessing from this land.
Still a venison skeptic? Give this one a try.
Enjoy!
More Venison Recipes
Venison Meatloaf
Ingredients
MEATLOAF INGREDIENTS:
- 1 1/2 cups quick oats
- 1 cup milk
- 2 pounds ground venison completely thawed
- 4 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2 large eggs
- 3 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 3 Tablespoons onion soup mix
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
MEATLOAF GLAZE:
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 3 Tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
- cracked black pepper
Instructions
- In a large bowl, soak the oats with milk and set aside.
- Chop the parsley and measure out remaining meatloaf ingredients. Add remaining meatloaf ingredients to the bowl of oats and milk. Mix it well. Pat the loaf into a 2.2 quart casserole dish and refrigerate it (covered) until ready to bake.
- When ready to bake the meatloaf, preheat the oven to 350˚F, remove the cover, and bake the meatloaf for 35 minutes (2/3 of the cooking time). While your meatloaf bakes, mix all the glaze ingredients in a small bowl.
- When the 35 minutes is up, take the meatloaf out of the oven and spread on the glaze. Bake the meatloaf for an additional 25 minutes at 350˚F or until the internal temperature reaches 165˚F. Allow the meatloaf to cool for a few minutes before cutting.
Comments & Reviews
Do you add the olive oil because the meat is really dry? Our butcher added some beef fat so I am wondering if I need 4T of olive oil?
Do you add the olive oil because the meat is really dry? Our butcher added bacon fat sonI am wondering if I need 4T of olive oil?
Because the venison is so lean, the olive oil (fat) helps prevent the meatloaf from being too dry. If your butcher added bacon fat, you don’t need the olive oil 🙂 Enjoy!