These Venison Meatballs are the best ever. They’re tender and meaty, but not gamey at all. You can make a big batch of them to use up that ground deer meat.
I have to confess that ground venison was not always my favorite thing to use when making recipes with ground meat. I grew up eating beef and turkey, like a lot of people. But, these venison meatballs are to DIE for and they are a staple in our house.
We had friends over for dinner the other week, and I had spent the day testing and photographing recipes. It’s always a gamble serving wild game when we have company, but these are ALWAYS a hit. These smoked venison meatballs are, too.
When I make this recipe, I usually make a double batch so I could freeze half to reheat on a busy day. The tough part is saving them for the freezer because as soon as they come out of the oven, my husband starts snacking on them! I swear, he eats them like candy.
You can serve these over pasta, in a meatball sub, over veggies – however you want! If you need a good sauce recipe, just omit the meat in my weeknight bolognese recipe for an easy sauce!
How to make venison meatballs juicy & flavorful
You might be wondering…what is the best way to get a really delicious meatball from venison? Traditioanlly meatballs use a blend of beef, pork and veal.
Adding pork for fat & flavor
I like to add a bit of ground pork . Not only does this add flavor, but it adds a little bit of fat. Venison is a very lean meat which is wonderful, but when you want a dish to be really succulent (who doesn’t want a succulent meatball?) adding a bit of extra fat is always a good idea.
Of course, if you don’t want to use extra ground pork, you don’t have to. Especially if deer meat is a regular part of your diet, you may opt to use only venison. The meatballs will be a bit drier, but they will still be SO tasty.
Acid is your best friend
One of my not so closely guarded secrets for working with venison is using acid in my cooking. You know – acid, fat, salt & heat! These 4 principles of great cooking apply absolutely when working with venison. I add it when I’m done sauteing the onions and garlic to add to the meat before baking them.
The acid helps to bring out the wonderful flavor notes of deer meat and tone down the richness.
Another tip for great meatballs – always always ALWAYS saute your onions and garlic before adding them to things like meatballs and meatloaf. That raw flavor won’t bake out if you ask me.
Once you have your aromatics sauteed and all of the ingredients in a bowl, mix together the meatballs, scoop & roll! SO simple!
Don’t worry if the fat renders out. Just scoop the meatballs out around it, and let them cool and freeze them for later, or add them right into your favorite sauce before serving.
If you’re looking for more easy & flavorful recipes for venison, go check out my bestselling cookbook, Venison Every Day!
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Best Ever Venison Meatballs
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
Description
These Venison Meatballs are the best ever. They’re tender and meaty, but not gamey at all. You can make a big batch of them to use up that ground deer meat.
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, finely diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 1 lb. ground venison
- 1/2 lb. ground pork
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup almond meal
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 F.
- Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat and add the onion. Saute for about 4 minutes and add the garlic, red wine vinegar, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Cook until lightly caramelized.
- Add the onion and garlic mixture to a large bowl with the venison, pork, egg and almond meal. Mix well (I like to use my hands).
- Scoop the meatball mixture out into even balls, I like to use a large cookie scoop with about 1 + 1/2 tablespoons in each ball.
- Place in the oven for 20 – 25 minutes until the meatballs are golden brown and cooked through.
- Remove any fat that has rendered off the meatballs.
- Add them to your favorite sauce, or freeze them on a flat cookie sheet in the freezer and store in a large bag or container when frozen to use later.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: about 4-5 meatballs
- Calories: 314
- Sugar: 1 g
- Sodium: 481 mg
- Fat: 21 g
- Saturated Fat: 6 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 2 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 28 g
- Cholesterol: 311 mg
this post was originally posted in november 2018 and was updated march 2021.
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We just made theses meatballs tonight for dinner and they are delicious! We’ve been cooking venison for years and this recipe has to be one of the best that we have come across! Thank you 😊
★★★★★
Thanks so much, Janis! You reminded me that I need to make a big batch and freeze for the cold months 🙂
Just made this for first time. I substituted almond meal for italian style breadcrumbs. They are absolutely delicious and were easy to make! So glad i stumbled on to your recipe!
★★★★★
I’m so glad, Brenda!
I eat a lot of venison and am always looking for new recipes. This one is top notch and going in the wild game cook book at our house. I’m making a batch this evening for thanksgiving. This is a must try recipe!
★★★★★
We’re having these the day after Thanksgiving! Great minds 🙂 Gald you enjoyed them!
I have a lot of venison sausage (not summer sausage) more like breakfast sausage. what kind of recipes are there for venison sausage?
Can I sub white whole wheat flour for the almond meal? Dear husband is allergic to almonds, but I’d love to try this!
I would sub breadcrumbs, not flour!
Is there anything you would substitute for red wine vinegar?
You could try balsamic vinegar white wine vinegar or lemon juice, but I really would reccomend sticking with red wine vin. It brings out a certain flavor profile.
White vinegar or apple cider vinegar will do the trick as well
Glad that worked for you!
What is the sauce you used for these meatballs?
Try our weeknight bolognese recipe on the blog and don’t use the meat!
Can you admit the pork and just use venison?
*Omit
You can. The flavor and texture will be different but still very good!
Amazing recipe! I made a few tweaks to work with what I’ve got. First, I only had ground sausage not regular ground pork so I used 1 lbs ground sausage and 1lbs ground venison. Secondly, I didn’t have red wine vinegar so I used a 1/2 tbsp of balsamic and a 1/2 tbsp Of white wine vinegar. Third, I don’t have an oven so I browned the meat balls in My instant pot in batches until well browned on all sides but not fully cooked through. Then I added All of the browned meatballs to my instant pot, added a 28oz can of crushed tomatoes, a 10 oz can of diced tomatoes with green peppers, and a 8 oz can of tomato paste with more Italian seasoning, garlic, a pinch of red pepper flakes, and about a tsp of maple syrup. Finally added about a cup of beef stock and Manual pressure cooked it for 20 minutes And not for 10 minutes. Omg they were the best meatballs and marinara I’ve ever made or had anywhere. Thank you for the inspiration!
I made these meatballs with venison ground with hamburger. They turned out really well. My 15 year old grandson said they were, “Spot on!” Thanks for a simple recipe. I pot them in a crock pot with spaghetti sauce. Turned out nice and tender.
★★★★★
That’s a great idea!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I just made these and “tested” one, wow. They are so light, flavorful, and tender. I agree with you that the red wine vinegar adds a little something extra to these – I may need to eat a few more to figure out exactly what. I harvested my first deer this year and greatly appreciate people like you sharing your experience and culinary wisdom.
★★★★★
I’m so glad you’re enjoying them, David!