Author Topic: Venison Meatloaf Suggestions? (Read 4194 times)

vonfatman · « **on:** February 04, 2010, 03:40:46 PM »

I told my bride I'd start cooking at least one night a week. Well, I love cooking
and would like to start out with Venison Meatloaf. I'd like to try a couple new ones on for size.

Would anyone care to offer up a recipe or two? I'd sure appreciate the help...

BTW...I'm kind of a "literal kinda cook" so I'd appreciate it if recipes were
"measurabable" The "pinch" or "a bit of" measures for quantity do not do well with me.

I'm going to bake them (I'll bake two loafs...one for dinner, one for left-overs) tomorrow evening. I can/will run and get needed components (yes, I reload).

If you think an elk or other type recipe will work for me, please feel free to offer them up!

Thank you!

Bob

subdjoe · « **Reply #1 on:** February 04, 2010, 04:17:26 PM »

Check these:

http://www.cooks.com/rec/search/0,1-0,venison_meat_loaf,FF.html

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/venison-meat-loaf/Detail.aspx

For a general method figure to 2 pounds of ground meat (if it is very lean, maybe grind up about a quarter pound of bacon or salt pork along with it), you want

2 eggs

1 cup of bread crumbs (can be cracker, corn flakes, couscous - if you use couscous you will want a bit extra liquid of some sort)

2 teaspoons of kosher salt (if you grind in some salt pork, cut that back by about half)

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon pepper

8 to 12 oz of tomato sauce or ketchup

1 medium onion chopped fine

and a few drops of pepper sauce.

Now, that will get you a decent basic meat loaf. Beef, lamb, venison, pork, poultry, or some combination, that is a general method that will get you a good product.

From there, you can start playing. I like celery and carrots in mine, chopped very fine, say 2 carrots and 2 ribs of celery for 2 pounds of meat - that is in addition to the onion. A touch of brown sugar ( 1 to 2 Tablespoons), offset with a little cider vinegar (about the same amount as the sugar). Maybe some BBQ sauce. Sage, oregano, marjoram, nutmeg (go light on that, a little goes a long way), cloves and cinnamon (ditto). For the herbs, figure 1/2 to 1 tsp. For the spices, 1/8 to 1/4 for starters, maybe even less, you don't want to overpower with them. Oh! Paprika is nice, smokey, sweet, bittersweet, hot (be careful with that one, it can be very hot). Maybe make a glaze of worchester, ketchup, brown sugar, and some horseradish.

vonfatman · « **Reply #2 on:** February 05, 2010, 05:31:26 AM »

Thanks! That is a great one. I'll try it tonight!

Bob

subdjoe · « **Reply #3 on:** February 05, 2010, 01:35:35 PM »

Quote from: vonfatman on February 05, 2010, 05:31:26 AM

Thanks! That is a great one. I'll try it tonight!

Bob

Happy to help out. Which one are you going to try? You may also want to check out this site : http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/cookbooks/ and search by ingredient.

But work on developing an ability to cook by feel and smell. You will have one or two spectacular failures, but you will have a greater number of successes. Now, that doesn't carry over to baking. Cakes and such are as much chemistry as cooking, and the amounts of leavening agents, acid, base, and protiens needs to be close. But even that doesn't mean you can't play with flavorings and spices.

Please post and let us know how the meatloaf came out.

vonfatman · « **Reply #4 on:** February 08, 2010, 04:42:48 AM »

subdjoe...THANK YOU!!!

The Friday night meatloaf night went GREAT! I put two loaves in the oven. One, just as subdjoe outlined...added the finely chopped carrot and celery...also added the brown sugar and cider vinegar....I got a bit more brown sugar than desired...but at can be "'undone" next loaf.

I had to cook the loaf in a bread pan and it took 1.5 hrs.

The cooks.com link had a loaf offered with wild rice...it was also terrific.

Great suggestions. I will be sure to check back when I'm scrambling to find some new suggestions for venison etc.

I'm hoping to bag a few wabbits (cottontails) this week...yum!

Bob

subdjoe · « **Reply #5 on:** February 08, 2010, 12:48:00 PM »

Hey, that's great, Bob. Browse through that MSU link (Feeding America, the Historic American Cookbook Project). Search by ingredient.

Cooking is really as much art as science. Read through recipes and cookbooks. Try things, adjust seasonings, develop your own flavor palate, learn some methods, and you will be able to walk into just about any kitchen and throw together something tasty.

hillbill · « **Reply #6 on:** February 15, 2010, 01:32:30 PM »

my gfren makes a awesum meatloaf where she mixes deer burger with beef burger about 50/50. i cant get a recipe from her cuz she says she just throws whatever we got in there. it is pretty good tho. i know she uses chopped onions, oatmeal,maybe garlic,any kind of sauce we got.i love it and am going to try makin sum myself.

subdjoe · « **Reply #7 on:** February 15, 2010, 03:34:34 PM »

Quote from: hillbill on February 15, 2010, 01:32:30 PM

my gfren makes a awesum meatloaf where she mixes deer burger with beef burger about 50/50. i cant get a recipe from her cuz she says she just throws whatever we got in there. it is pretty good tho. i know she uses chopped onions, oatmeal,maybe garlic,any kind of sauce we got.i love it and am going to try makin sum myself.

LOL, As I said

Quote

Try things, adjust seasonings, develop your own flavor palate, learn some methods, and you will be able to walk into just about any kitchen and throw together something tasty.

vonfatman · « **Reply #8 on:** February 15, 2010, 07:28:27 PM »

hillbill,
sounds like u are on track for some good eating!!

bob

GH1 · « **Reply #9 on:** March 04, 2010, 12:46:25 PM »

I've found the key to making good venison meatloaf is to add things to the meat that will provide moisture. I've used olive oil, bacon fat, and various vegetable run through a food processor. Like onions, peppers, carrots, etc. My favorite though is to used Italian Giardinerra put through a food processor. If you're not familiar with giardinerra, it's a blend of hot peppers, olives, onions, celery, and olive oil. It adds a great deal of moisture & flavor.
Pepperoncini works well also, but those are pickled so you'll have to add oil.
I've also found that it cooks faster than ground beef. Good luck with your cooking, and don't be afraid to experiment. LEarning is half the fun.
GH1

hawkenman · « **Reply #10 on:** March 27, 2010, 03:56:54 PM »

I killed a nice turkey last weekend, ground up the meat, added ground venison, and ground wild hog meat with fat to keep it from drying out. Threw in 5 eggs,barbeque sause,Italian bread crumbs,mustard,a little sugar,chopped onions and bell pepper,salt,garlic powder,black pepper, and a can of mushroom soup. Mixed it all together, formed it in to a log shape and iced it like a cake with ketchup, then wrapped it in a pound of sliced beacon. Turned out great.

subdjoe · « **Reply #11 on:** March 29, 2010, 09:06:42 AM »

That sounds great. If there were any leftovers they must have been fantastic cold the next day.

Quote from: hawkenman on March 27, 2010, 03:56:54 PM

I killed a nice turkey last weekend, ground up the meat, added ground venison, and ground wild hog meat with fat to keep it from drying out. Threw in 5 eggs,barbeque sause,Italian bread crumbs,mustard,a little sugar,chopped onions and bell pepper,salt,garlic powder,black pepper, and a can of mushroom soup. Mixed it all together, formed it in to a log shape and iced it like a cake with ketchup, then wrapped it in a pound of sliced beacon. Turned out great.

hillbill · « **Reply #12 on:** March 29, 2010, 03:44:53 PM »

well wrap anything in a lb of bacon and it will be good! lol ill bet i cud cook a cat that way and it would be delicious. where is my cat anyway???

okielectrician · « **Reply #13 on:** March 29, 2010, 03:56:14 PM »

Theres a lot of good recipes mentioned here,but if you want to add a really nice flavor to your meatloaf try smoking it.

subdjoe · « **Reply #14 on:** March 30, 2010, 05:06:30 AM »

Quote from: okielectrician on March 29, 2010, 03:56:14 PM

Theres a lot of good recipes mentioned here,but if you want to add a really nice flavor to your meatloaf try smoking it.

I get this really weird image from that, something straight out of Cheech and Chong.

Maybe go this route: Harden arteries, harden

billy_56081 · « **Reply #15 on:** March 30, 2010, 05:13:26 AM »

2 pounds of burger 2 eggs 1 cup cracker or bread crumbs 3/4 cup water and a pacage of lipton onion soup mix. Put in a loaf pan frost with ketchup and bake at 350 till done.

blind ear · « **Reply #16 on:** March 30, 2010, 07:08:25 AM »

subdjoe, I could feel my blood pressure riseing while I was looking at the pictures! eddie

subdjoe · « **Reply #17 on:** March 31, 2010, 04:07:39 PM »

Quote from: eddiegjr on March 30, 2010, 07:08:25 AM

subdjoe, I could feel my blood pressure riseing while I was looking at the pictures! eddie

yeah, ain't it great?

If you want a REAL treat, if there are any leftovers, slice it about 1/2 inch think, batter and deep fry it, sever on a biscuit that has been split and browned in sausage grease, and top with a fried egg.

okielectrician · « **Reply #18 on:** April 01, 2010, 01:45:38 PM »

For those who have never smoked a meatloaf before,let me suggest you try it 1 time and see if it isnt the best tasting way to prepare one.
I also suggest you check out (Smoking meats .com) for the full recipe and smoking times.http://www.smoking-meat.com/meat-loaf-recipe.html

Rex in OTZ · « **Reply #19 on:** November 17, 2010, 12:21:35 PM »

Had for the most part used straight carbou or moose, used some bacon or store bought burger patty grease and premixed with the wild meat during the mixing, throw in a well rounded table spoon of instant coffee granules in the meat mix if your dealing with strong tasteing meat-coffee tannins neutralize the strong taste and tenderize a tough piece of meat (leg meat)
pilot bread crackers as well as bread (like the crackers) as fill
Ive added diced bell pepper before
Diced onion useally in every dish I make
sliced black olive as ingrediant
mushroom stems and pieces
used left over potato as filler
used leftover sloppy joe (one the all time favorites)
Added BBQ
used up left over taco cheese in the meat loaf
same with pizza cheese
Adds varity when your working off a limited selection of meat
I made Curry meat loaf from curry left over's

Jal5 · « **Reply #20 on:** December 25, 2010, 10:48:34 AM »

Tried that recipe from Subdjoe this week with venison and it was outstanding! Really moist and full of flavor. Thanks.

Joe

subdjoe · « **Reply #21 on:** December 25, 2010, 01:25:04 PM »

Quote from: Jal5 on December 25, 2010, 10:48:34 AM

Tried that recipe from Subdjoe this week with venison and it was outstanding! Really moist and full of flavor. Thanks.

Joe

Thank you! Did you use just that basic general method, or did you play with it some? Once you get a method down, rather than just a recipe, you have a thousand recipes at hand.

charles p · « **Reply #22 on:** December 25, 2010, 03:09:04 PM »

We have venison meatloaf very often at my house. The wife and I make it differently. I like to substitue instand mash potato flakes for bread crumbs. I also pour a can Rotelle tomatoes or salsa on top of mine before puttng it in the oven.

Jal5 · « **Reply #23 on:** January 12, 2011, 06:11:06 AM »

Sorry been away from this for awhile!

I used your basic recipe then added celery, carrots, brown sugar all chopped up fine. Tasted great.
I plan to try the giardinerra next time added to the basic recipe and see who that tastes.

Joe

subdjoe · « **Reply #24 on:** January 14, 2011, 04:10:49 PM »

Quote from: Jal5 on January 12, 2011, 06:11:06 AM

Sorry been away from this for awhile!

I used your basic recipe then added celery, carrots, brown sugar all chopped up fine. Tasted great.
I plan to try the giardinerra next time added to the basic recipe and see who that tastes.

Joe

What?! You let real life get in the way of the internet??? Sacrilege!

Glad it worked out for you. It is so much fun to play with food.