These smoked venison meatballs are the perfect appetizer or protein for a main dish meal. The sweet & spicy glaze is heavenly with the kiss of smoke.

Meatballs are something I like to have on hand always. They’re great for rounding out a throw together dinner, and these smoked venison meatballs even make a perfect party appetizer. Talk about a dish that really works for you!

Making a great meatball with venison isn’t hard, it just takes a few ingredients to really help let the flavors shine. My best ever venison meatballs (a traditional Italian style meatball) are so popular and for good reason. They result in tender, juicy, and flavorful meatballs. And they’re easy to make.

When I make these smoked venison meatballs with sweet and spicy glaze, I follow that original recipe pretty closely, but I add some sriracha and lime for flavor and leave out the Italian seasoning and vinegar.

I like almond meal or almond flour in my meatballs because I usually don’t have breadcrumbs on hand and some of my family members prefer gluten free recipes. But, you can totally sub breadcrumbs for the almond meal/flour in here and it’s delicious.

INGREDIENTS AND KITCHEN TOOLS

I bet you already have all if not most of these ingredients on hand for these delicious sweet and savory meatballs. They come together in no time and are sure to be a crowd favorite!

For the meatballs: 

Ground venison (you could use any ground wild game)

Olive oil

Onion

Garlic cloves

Egg

Almond meal/flour (or bread crumbs)

Sriracha 

Lime

Garlic powder

Onion powder 

Salt

Black Pepper

For the sweet & spicy glaze: 

Raspberry preserves

Sriracha 

Lime

Salt

Optional – sesame seeds for garnish

Kitchen Tools

The kitchen tools you need for this recipe is pretty minimal. I’d recommend a good mixing bowl to combine all of your ingredients and a baking sheet. But most importantly, a reliable smoker. We love our Traeger Pro 575. We love it because I can control the temperature. So, I actually smoke, bake, and grill on it. But, any smoker will do for this recipe.

STEP BY STEP

Step 1: Preheat your smoker or pellet grill to 225F.

Step 2: Heat a small pan over medium-high heat on the stove and add the oil. Once the oil is hot, add the onion and garlic and sauté until lightly browned and soft, about 6-8 minutes. 

Step 3: In a large mixing bowl, combine the sautéed onions and garlic, venison, egg, almond meal/flour, sriracha, lime juice, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Mix everything together well with your hands or a fork so that the flavors are evenly distributed. 

Step 4: Line a baking sheet with foil and scoop tablespoon-sized balls of meat mixture onto the sheet and shape them into balls. I like to use a small cookie scoop. 

Step 5: Place the baking sheet directly on your smoker and smoke for 30 minutes at 225F.

Step 6: Bump the heat to 350F* and finish cooking for about 15-20 minutes so that the meatballs are fully cooked.  

Step 7: When the meatballs are cooked, whisk together the sweet & spicy glaze. Add the meatballs to a bowl and drizzle the glaze all over and toss them to coat. Top with sesame seeds if desired Serve as a protein for a meal or as an appetizer. 

NOTE:

1. If you’re using a smoker where you can’t control the temperature, just finish the meatballs in a 350F oven for 15-20 minutes. The initial smoke is plenty of time to get that kiss of smoke flavor. Or, if you’re doing a long smoke on something and you’re just quickly popping these meatballs in the smoker for an appetizer to hold you over, remove them after the 25 minutes is up and finish them in the oven at 350F for 15-20 minutes.
2. I put the meatballs on a foil lined baking sheet and but the baking sheet directly on the smoker. No need to worry about smoked venison meatballs falling through the smoker grates.

HOW TO SERVE SMOKED VENISON MEATBALLS

Smoked venison meatballs are even better with sweet & spicy glaze. I think I could eat this sweet & spicy glaze on just about anything. Your heat source is a generous squirt of sriracha, so it’s not overpoweringly hot. You mix the sriracha with some raspberry preserves (get a good quality brand where you can see the seeds), lime and salt. It’s so fast and all you have to do is toss the cooked meatballs in the glaze!

STORING AND REHEATING

Freeze: After smoking the meatballs, transfer to an airtight container or freezer bag. These will keep for up to 3 months. 

Refrigerate: Let cool and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Simply reheat in the microwave until warmed through. 

Don’t worry if the fat renders out. Just scoop the meatballs out around it, and let them cool and freeze them for later.

MORE SERIOUSLY DELICIOUS VENISON RECIPES

If you’re on the hunt for some quick and easy, kid friendly dinners, I highly suggest my Venison Egg Roll in a bowl or my Venison Stir Fry. These are on repeat in our home. If you’re like us and LOVE this time of year, ready to pull out that smoker and smoke every and anything, make sure you check out my Smoked Venison Brisket With Spicy Coffee Rub, Smoked Venison Shanks, and of course Traeger Grilled Chicken Thighs (Bone-In). And if you are looking for a super versatile venison meatball recipe that goes perfectly in your favorite marinara sauce, check out my Best Ever Venison Meatballs. Make sure you check out my cookbook Venison Every Day. It’s available on Amazon and wherever books are sold!

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