Venison Meatloaf

5 from 1 vote

This Venison Meatloaf recipe may just be my best yet! The vegetables, herbs, and cranberry "ketchup" glaze perfectly accent the deer meat.

Prep Time15

Cook Time1 25

Total Time1 40

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Canadian, First Nations

Diet: , , Gluten Free

Servings: Servings

Calories: 430kcal

Equipment

1 Loaf pan
Parchment Paper

Ingredients

Venison Meatloaf:

2 Slices Bread I use Carbonaut Gluten Free White Bread
1 tablespoon Dried Parsley
1 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
1 teaspoon Rubbed Sage
1 teaspoon Powdered Rosemary
1.5 teaspoon Salt
Pinch Thyme
½ cup Milk
8 oz Crimini Mushrooms Finely Chopped
1 Small Onion Finely Chopped
1 Small Carrot Grated
1 Celery Stalk Finely Chopped
3 Garlic Cloves Pressed or Finely Minced
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
2 lb Lean Ground Venison
3 Large Eggs Beaten
1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard

Cranberry Glaze:

1 cup Cranberry Sauce
1 tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar
¾ teaspoon Onion Powder
½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
¼ teaspoon Celery Seed
Pinch Allspice
Pinch Ground Cloves
Ground Black Pepper To Taste

Instructions

Venison Meatloaf

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray a loaf pan nonstick cooking spray, and/or line with parchment paper, set aside.
Rip the bread into small pieces, then run it through a food processor until even crumbs form.
Measure out 1 ½ cups, place in a small bowl, along with the parsley, pepper, sage, rosemary, salt, and thyme. Mix to combine, then stir in the milk.
Set aside while you prepare the vegetable mixture.
In a large nonstick skillet, combine the mushrooms, onion, carrot, celery, and garlic in the olive oil.
(Note: I chop the veggies in my food processor until they’re very finely chopped. You don’t want it to necessarily be a PASTE, but definitely tiny pieces!)
Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the carrots and celery are soft, mushroom moist, onions are translucent, and the pan is pretty dry.
Remove from heat, allow to cool.
In a large mixing bowl, combine ground venison, breadcrumb mixture, eggs, and mustard.
(I’ll usually whisk the mustard in with the eggs, before adding it to the ground venison).
Add the cooled vegetables, mix well to combine.
Don’t worry about over handling it, just make sure to mix it really well - you want everything well incorporated and uniform.
Pack your meatloaf mixture into the prepared pan, pressing firmly and evenly. I like to mound it in the center a bit, just for aesthetics.
Bake for 45 minutes.

Cranberry "Ketchup" Glaze

In a small pot, heat the cranberry sauce to melt it slightly. Add the remaining ingredients, whisk to combine.
Once the 45 minutes are up, remove the venison meatloaf from the oven, and carefully pour off any excess liquid.
Spread cranberry glaze over the top of the meatloaf, and return to the oven.
Bake for another 30 minutes or so, until the center of the meatloaf registers 160F with a meat thermometer.
Pour off any accumulated liquid and allow the meatloaf to rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Serve hot!

Leftovers

Once cooled to room temperature, leftover venison meatloaf can be wrapped in plastic wrap or transferred to an airtight container and stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Reheat before serving.

Notes

Nutritional values are calculated using 2 slices of average retail-purchased white bread.

If you - like I - use carbonaut bread to make it keto friendly, that removes 4 grams net carbs per serving.

The cranberry sauce is the bulk of the carbs in this recipe - 18 per serving - and this can be significantly reduced by using a sugar free cranberry sauce. (I make my own).

Nutrition