Kitchen Adventures || Venison Meatloaf

Dinner is served!

Salad or meatloaf ingredients?

Will you look at that gorgeous color?!

Baking pan set up
All done!

Whoever decided meatloaf and meatballs needed breadcrumbs… I disagree. They claim it’s a “binding agent” but in myexperience, the egg does a fine job of that and using vegetables gives it a lovely texture and keeps it moist! There is nothing worse than a brick of dried out meatloaf.. This is also a great opportunity to sneak in some extra veggies if you have a hard time with that! I outlined a couple of options for cooking in the instructions so do what you’re comfortable with.

As for the pre-cooked ingredients…. Is that not gorgeous! That basically looks like a salad before it gets mixed up with the meat and MY GOD that venison is beautiful! You know you’re getting really good quality meat when it has that beautiful rich color.

A little bit of planning needs to go into this because of the baking time, but it really is a very simple weeknight meal that will yield enough leftovers for lunch the next couple of days. We had this with an Italian salad and some green beans… dang we ate a lot of veggies!

Ok, enjoy guys!

INGREDIENTS
2 lbs Venison (Obviously I used Force of Nature because I’m obsessed)
1/2 medium yellow onion – finely diced
1 rib celery – finely diced
1 large carrot – grated
1 small zucchini – grated
1/2 cup kale tightly packed – stems removed and finely chopped
1 small bell pepper – any color – finely diced
2 large cloves garlic – minced
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
2 large eggs
2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce
2 TBSP tomato paste
1 TBSP brown mustard
1 tsp pink salt1 tsp paprika
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp dry rubbed sage

For the glaze
1/2 cup ketchup
1 TBSP Worcestershire
2 TBSP coconut sugar (or brown sugar)

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350. Wash, chop/mince/grate all the vegetables. In a large bowl, gently break up the venison being careful not to overwork the meat. This is important in keeping it from getting tough when it’s cooked. (This goes for all meats in meatloaf/meatballs)

In a separate bowl, mix all of the rest of the meatloaf ingredients until well combined. I started by mixing all of the vegetables first and then added the seasoning and wet ingredients. Once all of that is combined, add the desired amount to the bowl with your venison. I like my meatloaf to be totally packed, but that’s up to you. You still want it to somewhat hold together.

You have a couple of options for how to cook this. I have taken to just forming a “loaf” and cooking it on a baking sheet. I have found it cooks faster and I can drain any excess liquid or fat very easily. If you want to stick to a traditional loaf pan though, that is totally acceptable.

Mix the ingredients for the glaze in a small bowl until well combined. Using about 1/3 of the glaze, spread a thin layer over the top (and sides if using the baking sheet method). Reserve the rest to serve with the meatloaf once it’s done. Baking times will vary depending on your method. For a baking sheet/pan about an hour should do it. It may take just a bit longer in a loaf pan or glass dish, but shouldn’t take more than 1:15. You can use meat thermometer to check the internal temp if you’re unsure.

Because I like to drain the extra fat/liquid, I checked it about 45 min in and drained it and then finished out the last 15 min.

That’s it guys. This packs in so much flavor, a ton of great veggies, and is super simple to make. Enjoy!