ITALIAN VENISON MEATBALLS RECIPE

People are always trying to dress up meatball dishes.

We’ve seen them add vegetables, smother them with sauce, catapult them into mounds of spaghetti, and even (brace yourself) replace the meat for vegetables instead. Now that is just gross. They are a great meal and very versatile, but no one seems to know the right recipe to choose...

Look no further!

We have our own version of “better than beef,” meatballs that are less fatty, more protein saturated, WAY less greasy, and better for you altogether than meatballs made out of store bought beef! Not only that, they taste amazing and people who don’t know can hardly tell the difference (seriously, we tested it out and the girls had no idea they were eating venison!) You can make them yourself easily, and more importantly, eat with the knowledge you are living off of the land. 

And if you are looking for a nice dinner fully made by you to impress on Valentine’s Day, these may or may not (or may) be the perfect idea.

Let's Get Started...

Ingredients:

3 pounds of good quality ground venison - (remember the best way is to do it yourself)

2 tsp toasted fennel seeds

1 tsp fresh ground black pepper

¼ tsp dried rosemary 

½ red peppers flakes

1 tsp salt

1 cup bread crumbs

1 tbsp bacon grease (if you don’t have some in the fridge… go make bacon right now and start your jar 😉)

1 cup dry red wine (a Pinot or Cabernet will work best)

1 cup beef

 Directions:

1. If you listened to our advice, the first step is to grind your venison (a guide for this will be coming out soon!). If not, start by adding your meat and all of your spices into a bowl and mixing them together thoroughly. Don't worry about adding the bread crumbs yet, we'll get to that later!
2. Next, roll your mixture into individual balls. The size depends on what you are making — we made Italian venison hoagies with ours which called for about 2 inch wide
3. Cover each of them in bread crumbs and it's time to start up your heat!
4. Time to break out the cast iron skillet. Set your pan on medium-high heat and let your bacon grease melt until it coats the pan. Now the meat goes in! The spheres should not be crammed in tightly — about an inch apart for each will do. 
5. Let your meat brown on one side and flip each meatball around individually so they can repeat the process. When both sides seem to form a thin crust, pour in a cup of red wine to deglaze them, followed by your cup of beef broth.
6. Let your meatballs simmer on high until the liquid has reduced by half. There should not be much left.
7. Next… eat them! It's that easy! Since the meat is such an easy part of the meal, we like pairing it with homemade marinara sauce and mozzarella, but you can also add it to spaghetti or eat them plain! The spices and wine you added give the meat a mouth watering essence 🔥.

We wouldn't mention our homemade marinara sauce without giving you the recipe for this too. This adds just the right touch!

Homemade Marinara Sauce

This recipe is even more simple!

Ingredients:

2 tsp Italian seasoning (oregano, thyme, margerum, rosemary, basil)

1 can crushed tomatoes

1 clove of garlic

Directions:

1. Add the tomatoes and seasoning to a saucepan on medium-high. 
2. Crush and mince your clove of garlic finely and toss that in as well.
3. Let it cook until the flavors are melded… and that’s it! You can also add sautéed bell peppers and onions for more color and flavor — especially if you are trying the recipe out on hoagies like we did!

Voila!

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