This easy Venison Meatballs recipe includes homemade deer meatballs glazed in a sweet and spicy sauce. Perfect served family style over a large bowl of noodles or steamed white rice.
In the mood for other easy ground venison recipes? My family loves, Swedish venison meatballs, venison tacos, and steakhouse-style venison burgers.
While Italian-style and creamy venison Swedish meatballs are indeed very delicious, I sometimes need something with a little more kick in terms of flavor. These Chinese-inspired, tasty meatballs pack a little extra punch with the essence of a mild sausage.
This recipe is influenced by the “lion’s head” meatball, which is an oversized Asian-style meatball that originated in Shanghai. They get their unique name from “you guessed it”, their size.
They were originally made with ground pork containing a high-fat content, but instead made these with a venison and pork meat mixture. While you could use ground venison with no added fat, but its not the best option. Deer meat is too prone to drying out if used on its own. This is because it doesn’t have the same fat content as ground beef.
HOW TO FORM VENISON MEATBALLS
Consider forming large meatballs. They are less likely to dry out and cut your prep time in half.
Place the ingredients into a large mixing bowl. This will give you plenty of room to mix the venison throughly.
Use a cookie scoop to help shape consistent, uniform meatballs. Place them onto a baking pan fitted with parchment paper.
USING BREADCRUMBS
It’s a binding agent is essentially that “glue” that holds everything together. Depending on what type of binding agent you use, it can also be there as a way to absorb some of the cooking liquid to enhance your chance of having a juicy meatball. It’s also there as a way to add flavor by way of liquid. If you were to add too much liquid seasoning (soy sauce, marinara sauce, milk) without the binder, the meat mixture could become too moist and fall apart.
For this recipe, I’m using standard breadcrumbs, although you could use panko or homemade breadcrumbs made from crustless dried bread. You will find other recipes from various parts of the world that use different binders to alter the texture of the meat.
USING A DIFFERENT MEAT?
This is one of my favorite ground venison recipes. However, you can absolutely use a different meat for this recipe. Wild boar, domestic pork, or ground beef work as well.
So, whether you’re grinding venison yourself or taking it to the processor, try to stick to a fat content of around 30% to 40%. The best fat to use, in my opinion, is pork fat. It has a clean flavor and won’t change the flavor of your meatballs like beef tallow would. For a more in-depth look, check out my guide for grinding venison at home.
HOW TO BAKE THE MEATBALLS
This recipe calls for cooking the venison and pork meatballs on the stovetop. While they need to be started on the stovetop to sear them first, you can finish them by baking them in the oven. My favorite way is to first sear them in an oven-proof skillet, add the liquid, cover with a lid, and then finish them off in a 325 degree F oven for around 40 minutes.
If you’re nervous about overcooking them since they will be out of view, the best way is to check their internal temperature. Once they reach 150 degrees F, they are fully cooked. But don’t worry if you go a little bit over that by a few degrees, they will still be tender meatballs.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS
I like to think outside of the box when looking for ways to serve the best venison meatballs to the whole family. This keeps me creative in the kitchen and keeps the kids happy.
- Bahn Mi Meatball Subs (add shredded carrots, fresh herbs, pickled daikon and mayo)
- Eat the meatballs in a rice bowl or pasta bowl with rice noodles. Add stir-fried veggies and your favorite sauce.
- Add them to soups like pho or ramen.
- Crispy lettuce wraps (stuff them with pickled vegetables, toasted peanuts, fried onions and the sweet and spicy sauce listed below.
- Toss with the easy meatball sauce in a large bowl of pasta
More ground Venison Recipes
Here are a few of my top dishes. For a deeper dive, check out my complete venison recipes collection.
Lastly, if you think this is one of the best venison meatballs recipe you’ve had, leave me a comment and rating below! Also, tag me on Instagram with some of your creations. I thoroughly enjoy hearing feedback and checking out the photos of recipes that you’ve made.
Venison Meatballs with Sweet Chili Sauce
Ingredients
For the Meatball Mixture
- 1 pound ground venison, lean
- 1/2 pound ground pork
- 2 scallions, (white and green parts thinly sliced)
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs (cilantro or fresh parsley)
- 1 tablespoon dry white wine
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup water
For Cooking the Meatballs
- olive oil, (as needed)
- chicken stock (enough to cover the meatballs half way)
Easy Sauce for Venison Meatballs
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon jalapeno, seeded and chopped
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 3/4 cup hoisin sauce
- 1/3 cup light soy sauce
- 3/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
Instructions
Form the Meatballs
- To a large bowl, add all of the ingredients for the meatball mixture (except for the olive oil and stock). With your hands or a large spoon, stir the mixture vigorously until it is mixed thoroughly and is tacky to the touch.
- Using your hands or a cookie scoop, form the They will naturally flatten a little due to their size and lack of breadcrumbs, which is fine.
- Place the meatballs one at a time on a baking sheet fitted with parchment paper.
Cook the Meatballs
- Heat a deep large skillet over medium-high heat. Add a little olive oil (roughly 1 to 2 tablespoons) to the pan. Once the oil starts to shimmer, add the meatballs to the pan. Cook the meatballs until they are nice and golden brown on all sides.
- Add the stock to the pan. Cover with a lid, leaving it a little cracked for steam to escape.
- Bring to a slow simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Flip the meatballs over and cook for another 15 minutes or until the meatballs have just cooked through.
- Remove the meatballs from the pan and place them in a large mixing bowl. Reserve the cooking liquid in another container. It can be used to thin out the the sauce if needed.
Make the Sauce
- Heat a small pot or saucepan over medium heat. Once the oil starts to shimmer, add the garlic and the chili pepper. Cook while stirring for 1 minute, making sure not to burn the garlic.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the pot and bring to a slow simmer. Cook the mixture until the liquid has reduced by around 1/3 of its volume. It should have a consistency similar to maple syrup, or slightly thicker. Check for seasoning. If it's too spicy, add in a little extra honey. If it's too thick, thin it out with some reserved cooking liquid.
Sauce the Meatballs
- Slowly pour in enough of the sauce to glaze the meat. Any remaining sauce can be used to pour over your final plated dish.
NOTES
Freezing Instructions
- Let them completely cool in the cooking liquid. After they have cooled completely, remove them from the cooking liquid and place them on a cookie sheet pan fitted with parchment paper.
- Next, transfer them to a freezer for around one hour, then put them in an airtight container or freezer bag. If properly stored, they will keep their freshness for around 3 months.
Slow Cooker Instructions
- Sear the meatballs in a pan or under your oven’s broiler until nicely browned.
- Transfer to a slow cooker and pour in enough chicken stock to cover the meatballs halfway.
- Cover with the lid and cook on the high setting for 1 hour. Remove the meatballs, drain, and reserve the cooking liquid in a separate container.
- Turn the slow cooker setting to low. Place the meatballs back into the slow cooker and add the prepared sauce. Thin out if you like with the reserved cooking liquid. Serve directly from the crockpot.
Oven Cooking Instructions:
- Preheat your oven to 325°F.
- Follow steps 1 and 2 in the recipe card above. Place the covered pan in the oven and cook for approximately 40 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the meatballs reaches 150 degrees F.
3 thoughts on “Venison Meatballs with Sweet Chili Sauce”
My husband was looking for recipe that didnt have marinara sauce! Thank you!
Pretty dang tasty. Can i use black garlic?
I made a bahn mi out of these! So good!