Ah, meatloaf. A staple comfort food for some, a plate in the trash can waiting for others. We’ve had it both ways. Some people can just slay when it comes to making this dish and others seem to just bake it on a wing and a prayer. The trick to a good venison meatloaf recipe is flavor and consistency. If you are “a wing and a prayer” meatloafer, we’ve got you covered.

Venison Meatloaf Recipe

For The Meat:

• 1 lb. ground venison (or any wild game; we love this recipe with black bear and elk, too!)
• (1) 6 oz can of tomato paste
• ½ cup chopped onion
• ½ cup chopped green bell pepper
• ½ cup quick oats (seasoned bread crumbs also work really well here)
• 1 large egg, beaten
• Salt & pepper to taste
• Garlic & onion powder to taste
• Cavender’s seasoning to taste

For The Topping

• ⅓ cup ketchup
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp brown sugar

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
• While the oven is firing up, go ahead and combine your meat mixture: tomato paste, onions, peppers, oats/bread crumbs, egg & seasonings. Mix it up evenly and put it to the side.
• In a separate bowl, combine ketchup, mustard, and brown sugar evenly. This will be your meatloaf topping. I’m a measure with your heart type of cook, so if you stray from these measurements, it’s probably only going to make it better.
• Grab a greased loaf pan and dump your meat concoction inside. Press to create a “loaf”.

• Next, pour your topping mixture on top and spread evenly to fully coat the loaf. Pop that bad boy in the oven and bake for an hour.

Pair With Sides

Just about anything goes well with great meatloaf. Some of our favorites are mashed potatoes, grilled asparagus, steamed lemon pepper broccoli, black-eyed peas, fried okra, grilled zucchini and squash medley, green beans with bacon etc, and bread—always remember the bread. Like we said, you really can’t go wrong here with the sides.

Additional Tips

As delectable as this meaty goodness is already, it’s even better if you give it some smoke. This is definitely not a necessity, but if you have the time and equipment, it’s worth it! We’ve used the Treager to make this meal, and it turned out phenomenal. You essentially do it just the same. For the first 20 minutes or so, before increasing the cooking temperature, we like to use the Super Smoke setting and really let those pellets work. After it’s smoked for a little bit, go ahead and crank the temp up to 375° and cook like normal. 

Y’all, enjoy!