Easy Venison Meatballs with Brown Gravy
If I ever feel stumped about a dinner idea, meatballs always come to mind. They are such a mindless food to prepare, and once they are ready to start cooking, all of the work is done. Not only are they a crowd favorite, you can make a large amount at once! There are many ways to serve these homemade meatballs, making them the ultimate comfort food, or serving them alongside fresh vegetables, making it a perfectly balanced meal. This Easy Venison Meatballs with Brown Gravy recipe is flavorful because of the homemade breadcrumbs seasoned with garlic powder, salt, and italian seasoning. They roast over sauteed onions, soaking in the flavor from the butter and onion.
Equipment Needed:
Oven-safe skillet, such as a cast iron
Cutting board
Knife
Ingredients:
-Ground venison
-Breadcrumbs
-Salt
-Garlic powder
-Dried parsley
-Soy sauce
-Onion
-Butter
Substitutions:
Ground Meat. Any sort of ground meat will work just fine. Lean ground beef, ground pork, turkey, or chicken are great alternatives.
Store-bought breadcrumbs. I want to take a quick break to explain how to make the easiest recipe, homemade bread crumbs. You will not be mad you made these, and they have way more flavor than store-bought.
Olive oil. If you prefer olive oil instead of butter, this would be a great alternative for cooking the onions.
Fresh parsley or any sort of fresh herbs will always be better than dried. I tend to have dried herbs on hand compared to fresh ones.
Worcestershire Sauce would taste great instead of soy sauce.
Chicken Broth. If you do not have beef broth on hand, replace it with chicken broth.
Heavy Cream. If you do not have half and half. The cream would make it a rich brown gravy.
Sour Cream. If you do not have half and half or heavy cream, this would turn the recipe into Swedish meatballs.
How to Make Homemade Breadcrumbs
I know this recipe is about meatballs, but I just feel like I need to share the homemade breadcrumb recipe, because it is a part of this recipe, and it kicks the meatballs up a notch. First, use stale bread, dicing it into 1-inch pieces. Place the cubed bread on a cookie sheet. Spray the bread with cooking oil. In a small bowl, mix 1.5 tsp salt, 1.5 tsp garlic powder, and 1 tsp italian seasoning. That is quite a bit of seasoning, but I was using a one-pound loaf, so had quite a bit of bread. Mix with your hands. Bake under broil, stirring every 5 minutes until the bread becomes close to the texture of a crouton. From there, add to a blender or a food processor and blend until the pieces have the texture of a breadcrumb. Store in a freezer-safe bag in the oven! So easy!
How to Prepare Easy Venison Meatballs with Brown Gravy
Now back to the real recipe. To start, heat a large skillet that is oven-safe pan over medium heat. Melt butter, and then throw in the diced onion. Add just a pinch of kosher salt to the onion to help cook.
While the onions are cooking, I like to start the meatball mixture by using a large bowl. Add the ground venison, breadcrumbs, salt, garlic and onion powder, parsley and soy sauce.
Use the best tools you have, your hands, and mix mix mix until everything is nicely combined. Once the meatballs are formed and the onions have been cooking for a few minutes, place the meatballs on the pan.
Transfer to a preheated oven of 400 degrees and cook for about 22 minutes, or until the internal temperature is 160 degrees and the meatballs are golden brown. The cooking time can vary depending on the size of your meatballs.
How to Make the Brown Gravy for Easy Venison Meatballs
This gravy mixture has quickly become a favorite sauce in the family. Once you take the meatballs out of the oven, transfer them to a different plate. Add the flour and a bit of beef broth or beef stock in the same saucepan over medium-low heat. Start to whisk so the flour isn’t clumpy. Add the remaining beef broth and the beef bouillon, continuing to whisk until everything is combined. Make sure to whisk the bottom of the pan to get all of the flavor from the meatballs incorporated. Let this mixture cook for a couple of minutes until it starts to thicken, just slightly.
Add in the half and half, and then add in the meatballs.
How to Serve the Easy Venison Meatballs with Brown Gravy
I like to enjoy these meatballs all on their own, but there are so many different ways to serve them with. These homemade How to Make the Perfect Egg Noodles would taste so good or even served over mashed potatoes, making a side of rice or steamed vegetables such as green beans, and even turning them into meatball subs.
How to Store
If you have any meatballs leftover, store then in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
Easy Venison Meatballs with Brown Gravy
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ground venison
- 1/2 c breadcrumbs
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp parsely
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 2 tbls butter
- 1 medium onion
- 1 tbls beef bouillon
- 1/4 c flour
- 2 c beef broth
- 1/2 c half and half
Instructions
- In an oven safe pan, over medium heat, add the butter and melt.
- Add the diced onion and allow to sautee.
- While the onion is cooking, in a large bowl, add the ground meat, breadcrumbs, salt, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley and soy sauce.
- Mix until well combined, and form into meatballs.
- Add to the saucepan with the onions.
- Bake in a preheated 400℉ oven for about 22 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the meatballs reaches 160°.
- Place the meatballs on a separate plate.
- To the pan add the beef bouillon, beef broth and all-purpose flour.
- Whisk until the flour is nicely combined without any clumps remaining.
- Add the half and half and stir. Add the meatballs back in and it is ready to serve!
