This Venison Meatball Recipe solves the problem most ground venison recipes run into. Instead of baking the meatballs dry and dropping them in sauce, you sear them, braise them in stock to keep them juicy, then glaze them in a sweet and spicy sauce at the end. They’re big, tender, and on the table in about an hour. Serve them family style over noodles or steamed white rice.
If you prefer to try venison meatballs with a different sauce, you’re going to love these my family loves Swedish venison meatballs.
Quick Look: Venison Meatball Recipe
- Ready in: About 50 minutes
- Serves: 6 servings
- Calories: 428 per serving
- Main ingredients: Ground venison, ground pork, ginger, hoisin, soy, honey
- Cook method: Stovetop but instructions also provided for oven and slow cooker.
- Why this version works: The braise puts moisture back into lean venison.
SUMMARIZE & SAVE THIS CONTENT ON
This deer meatballs recipe is influenced by the lion’s head meatball, an oversized meatball out of Shanghai that’s braised until it’s soft enough to eat with a spoon. It’s traditionally made with ground pork, but I swapped in venison and kept enough pork in the mix to make it work.
The size took me a while to land on. I’ve been making these venison meatballs for about five years, and I’ve made them a little bigger almost every time. A small meatball gives you no room for error so by the time you’ve got color on the outside, the middle is already past where you want it. Sizing up gave me real control over the internal temperature, and that’s what keeps them moist. The ¼-cup scoop in this recipe is where I stopped.
The other moisture tricks I’ve learned are mixing the lean venison with ground pork. This gives the meatballs more moisture without adding any flavor of its own. Braising the meatballs in the stock also works to pull more liquid into the meatballs.
If you like cooking with venison, try my other easy ground venison recipes, like venison tacos, and steakhouse-style venison burgers.
Why This Recipe Works
The braise puts moisture back in. You brown the meatballs, add stock halfway up the sides, and let them simmer. Lean venison pulls that liquid in as it cooks, so the meatballs don’t dry out on you.
Pork fat solves the problem at the source. Venison has almost no fat of its own. Mixing lean venison with ground pork gives you a tender meatball without the flavor changing.
Big meatballs hold up better. Less surface area means less moisture cooking off. A larger meatball stays juicy where a small one won’t.
You control the sweetness. The glaze is made separately and added at the end, so you can go light, go heavy, or serve the rest on the side.
Notes on Ingredients
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
- Ground lean venison: Lean venison usually contains anywhere from 0% to 15% added fat. That’s what most people have coming back from the processor, and it’s what this recipe is built around. We will be adding fat to the recipe using ground pork. Stick close to the 2:1 ratio in the recipe card — 1 pound venison to ½ pound pork. For more on grinding and fat ratios, see my guide on how to grind venison.
- Ground pork: This is where most of your fat comes from. It’s clean tasting, so it adds moisture without adding flavor of its own. Beef will work in a pinch, but it’ll make the meatballs taste beefy.
- Breadcrumbs: The binder for the meatballs, holding everything together and soaking up the soy sauce and seasoning so the mixture doesn’t fall apart. You can also use panko or homemade breadcrumbs made from crustless dried bread.
- Cornstarch: Works alongside the breadcrumbs to keep the meatballs from getting crumbly during the braise. Don’t skip it.
- Fresh ginger: Use fresh, not ground. It’s the backbone of the whole flavor profile, and dried ginger tastes flat here.
- Hoisin sauce: The base of the glaze. It’s thick, sweet, and salty, and you’ll find it in the Asian aisle of most grocery stores.
- Oyster sauce: Adds savory depth to the meatball mixture. If you can’t find it, use an extra splash of soy sauce.
- Honey: Sweetens the glaze and helps it thicken. Start with less than you think you want. You can always add more at the end.
Substitutions and Additions
- Use a different meat to make wild game meatballs: You can make wild boar meatballs, as well as elk, moose, and antelope. This recipe even works great with domestic ground pork or ground beef as well.
- Skip the pork: If you’re going without pork and adding fat straight to the grind instead, aim for 30% to 40% total fat for the best texture and flavor.
- Make them gluten-free: Swap the breadcrumbs for crushed pork rinds or a gluten-free panko. Use tamari in place of the soy sauce and check your hoisin and oyster sauce labels.
- Dial the heat up or down: Leave the seeds in the jalapeño and add more red pepper flakes for a spicier glaze. For a milder version that kids will eat, drop the flakes and use half a jalapeño with the seeds out.
- Cut the sweetness: If the glaze is sweeter than you like, thin it with a little of the reserved braising liquid and add a squeeze of lime. Taste as you go.
Want something different entirely? Try my ground venison meatloaf.
What Size Should Venison Meatballs Be?
Make them bigger than you think you should. It’s the easiest fix for dry deer meat, and you don’t have to change a single ingredient to do it.
Here’s why it works. A small meatball has more outside surface for the amount of meat inside it. More surface means more moisture cooking off, and less time before the middle is done. Beef and pork have enough fat to get away with that. Venison doesn’t.
That’s also the whole idea behind the Shanghai lion’s head meatball this recipe is based on. Big on purpose, braised slow, and tender all the way through.
| Size Scoop | Diameter | Weight | # Per Pound | Braise Time | Best For | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cocktail | 1 Tbsp | ~1″ | ~½ oz | ~30 | 12-15 min | Party trays, soup, lettuce wraps |
| Standard | 2 Tbsp | ~1½” | ~1¼ oz | ~13 | 20-25 min | Subs, pasta, rice bowls |
| Lion’s Head | ¼ cup | ~2¼” | ~2½ oz | ~6 | 30 min | This recipe, served family style |
Two things change when you go bigger or smaller:
- Bigger meatballs need more stock. You want the liquid to come about halfway up the sides. For a batch of lion’s head size, that’s closer to 2 cups.
- Smaller meatballs need less time and a lighter sear. Cut the braise back and don’t hammer them in the pan, or the outside gets tough before the inside is done. If you’re going cocktail size, bump your fat up toward 40% to make up for what you lose.
How To Make Venison Meatballs
1. Combine Meatball Ingredients: Add all of the ingredients for the meatball mixture except for the olive oil and stock to a mixing bowl.
2. Mix Together. Use your hands or a large spoon and stir hard until it’s mixed through and tacky to the touch. Tacky means it sticks to your hands and pulls back a little when you lift it, instead of falling apart. That stickiness is what holds the meatballs together during the braise. Once you’re there, stop. Keep going and you’ll compact the meat and end up with tough meatballs.
3. Shape the Meatballs. Shape the meatballs into balls using your hands or a cookie scoop. 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.
4. Sear the Meatballs. Heat a deep large skillet over medium-high heat and 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.
5. Add Stock and Simmer: Add the stock to the pan and cover with a lid, leaving it a little cracked for steam to escape. Bring it 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. When they’re done cooking, remove the meatballs from the pan and place them in a large mixing bowl. Reserve the cooking liquid in another container so you can use it to thin out the sauce if needed.
6. Make the Sauce: Cook the garlic and the chili pepper in a small saucepan with oil for 1 minute, stirring to make sure the garlic doesn’t burn. 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.
7. Sauce the Meatballs. Slowly pour in enough of the sauce to glaze the meatballs. If you have extra sauce, pour over your final plated dish. Serve with rice and this Korean cucumber salad.
Chef Tips & Troubleshooting
- Use a cookie scoop. Same size is key. If you’ve got big ones and little ones on the same pan, the small ones dry out while you’re waiting on the big ones.
- Get real color on the sear. Don’t crowd the pan and don’t rush it. Brown on all sides before any liquid goes in. That color is a big part of the flavor.
- Pull them at 160°F. That’s the safe minimum for ground meat, and it’s where these are at their best. A few degrees over won’t hurt them, but don’t cook them to death waiting on a color change.
- Save the braising liquid. Strain it into a container when you pull the meatballs out. You’ll want it to thin the glaze, and it tastes better than plain stock.
- Go easy on the honey. Reduce the glaze first, then taste it. If it’s too sweet, thin it with the reserved braising liquid and add a squeeze of lime.
- Refrigerate: Keep leftover cooked meatballs in an airtight container for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. If frozen, thaw them out in the refrigerator overnight and reheat gently in a little of the reserved braising liquid so they don’t dry out.
Venison Meatball Recipe FAQs
Can I bake venison meatballs?
Sure thought you will still want to sear the meatballs on the stovetop and then finish 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 place the skillet in a 325-degree F oven to cook 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 160° 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.
Can I make venison meatballs ahead of time?
Sure thing! You can mix the meatballs and shape them up to 24 hours before you cook. Cover them and store in the fridge until you’re ready to cook them. If you want to freeze them, place the shaped meatballs on a sheet pan and freeze until solid. Once they’re frozen you can move them to a freezer bag and store for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before cooking as directed in the recipe.
How do you get the gamey taste out of venison?
Most of what people call gamey comes down to how the deer was handled, not the cooking. Get it cooled down fast in the field, keep it clean, and trim off the silverskin and any hard fat before you grind. Deer fat doesn’t taste good and it doesn’t render like pork fat does. If you’re working with meat that’s already ground, thaw it in a bowl lined with paper towels. That red liquid that seeps out is myoglobin, and if the meat sits in it too long after thawing, the flavor gets stronger. In this recipe, the ginger, garlic, and soy sauce do a lot of covering anyway. It’s one of the reasons these meatballs go over well with people who say they don’t like venison.
Can I make venison meatballs in the slow cooker?
Yes, and it’s a good way to hold them for a party. You still need to brown them first, either in a pan. That color is where a lot of the flavor comes from and you won’t get it in the slow cooker.
Once they’re browned, put them in the crock with enough chicken stock to come halfway up the sides and cook on high for 1 hour. Pull the meatballs out, drain them, and save that liquid. Turn the cooker to low, put the meatballs back in with the glaze, and thin it with the reserved liquid if it’s too thick. Serve straight out of the crock.
How do you keep venison meatballs from drying out?
The key is adding fat and add moisture. Venison has almost none of its own, so mixing lean ground venison with ground pork at about 2:1 gives you enough fat to work with. From there, three things keep them tender:
- Braise them instead of baking them dry. Brown the meatballs, add stock halfway up the sides, and let them simmer. They pull that liquid back in as they cook.
- Make them bigger. A larger meatball has less surface area for the amount of meat inside, so less moisture cooks off. Small meatballs dry out fastest.
- Pull them at 160°F. Use a thermometer instead of guessing. Overcooking is what ruins most venison, meatballs included.
What to serve with Ground Venison Meatballs
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 gochujang 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, like these pickled mushrooms or homemade sauerkraut, toasted peanuts, fried onions, and the sweet and spicy sauce listed below.
- Toss with the easy meatball sauce in a large bowl of pasta and focaccia rolls on the side to sop up some of the sauce.
More Easy Dinner Recipes
Tried this Recipe? Please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the recipe card below and leave a comment. I love to hear from readers! And if you have any cooking questions or want to share your latest food photos, give me a shout on Instagram at @larry__white.
Venison Meatballs with Sweet Chili Sauce
Ingredients
For the Meatball Mixture
- 1 pound ground venison, lean
- ½ 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
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup plain breadcrumbs
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup water
For Cooking the Meatballs
- olive oil, (as needed)
- 2-2 ½ cups chicken stock (enough to cover the meatballs half way)
For the Sauce
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon jalapeno, seeded and chopped
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- ¾ cup hoisin sauce
- ⅓ cup light soy sauce
- ¾ cup water
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ½ 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 meatballs. 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 1/4 of its volume. It should have a consistency similar to maple syrup, or slightly thinner. 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
- Use venison with added pork or fat for the best texture. Straight lean venison is more likely to dry out.
- Mix the meatball mixture until it feels tacky and holds together well before shaping.
- Larger meatballs work well here and are less likely to dry out than small ones. A cookie scoop helps keep them even.
- Brown the meatballs first, then add enough chicken stock to come halfway up the sides and simmer gently until just cooked through.
- Reduce the sauce until it is about as thick as maple syrup. Thin it with a little reserved cooking liquid if needed.
- For the oven method, sear first, then finish covered in a 325 F oven until the meatballs reach 160 F internal.
- To freeze, let the meatballs cool completely, freeze them on a sheet pan first, then transfer to an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months.
- 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.
- 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 160 degrees F.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation. Nutrition is per serving.
6 thoughts on “Venison Meatballs with Sweet Chile Sauce”
Love the concept and flavours, but this is soo over sweet. I ended up pouring 6/8 of sauce off and diluting what was left further with water and stock, and added lime to counteract all the sweet. Ended nice, but with a fraction to f the sauce concentrate.
Sorry you didn’t enjoy the sauce. My family likes it sweet, so it has to stay. haha
I did the spoon drop when i tried these😊 these are so good!! The meatballs are perfectly done.. so moist! And top that off with the Sauce ðŸ‘
Running thru your burger Recipes and that was a five star start larry
Onto the next, Biscuits n Gravy
Thanks again for Sharing
I made a bahn mi out of these! So good!
Pretty dang tasty. Can i use black garlic?
My husband was looking for recipe that didnt have marinara sauce! Thank you!