We live in Western Pennsylvania where deer meat (venison) is a very popular commodity. If you’ve never had it, I recommend trying it! It is a very lean red meat, and a great alternative to beef if you are trying to be more health conscious. We like it best in tacos, chili or with BBQ sauce.
Since we eat a lot of deer meat, I try to come up with new and exciting ways to use it. Today, I used ground deer meat to make some delicious meatballs! But these aren’t your typical meatballs!
Instead of going traditional with these meatballs by using Italian seasoning and marinara sauce, I decided to give them a bit of an Asian twist. I combined, sweet n sour sauce, BBQ sauce and some minced garlic to make a sweet, tangy and slightly spicy glaze that I poured over the meatballs. I also made some Jasmine rice to go with them.
This recipe turned out really well! All three of my kids AND my husband liked it!!! The sauce is a thick, tangy, sweet and slightly spicy sauce.
If you want to kick up the heat, add some red pepper flakes to it. If it’s a little too spicy, omit or reduce the amount of black pepper.
I cooked these meatballs on a silicone mat-lined baking sheet. If you don’t have a silicone mat, you can line a cookie sheet with foil and spray it with non-stick cooking spray. This organic olive oil cooking spray is one of my favorite new products!!! I love that there are no chemicals or propellants added!
You can also place a wire rack over a cookie sheet to allow the grease to drip out as it cooks. I prefer to leave the fat in there for extra flavor! Deer meat is pretty lean to begin with!
If you don’t have access to deer meat, this recipe would also work well with ground turkey or ground beef.
SHOPPING LIST FOR THIS RECIPE:
- 2 lbs. ground deer meat (or substitute ground turkey or beef)
- 1 Bulb of garlic
- 1 egg
- Quick cooking oats or gluten free quick cooking oats
- BBQ sauce
- Onion powder
- Garlic powder
- Salt
- Black pepper
- 10 oz. jar sweet n sour sauce
- 2 lbs. Ground deer meat (venison)
- 1 Tbsp. Garlic (minced)
- 1 Egg
- 1/4 cup Oats or Gluten Free Oats (quick cooking)
- 1/4 cup BBQ sauce (I used hickory brown sugar flavor)
- 1 tsp. Onion powder
- 1/2 tsp. Garlic powder
- 1 tsp. Salt
- 1 tsp. Garlic (minced)
- 1/2 cup BBQ sauce (I used hickory brown sugar flavor)
- 10 oz. Sweet n sour sauce
- 1/8 tsp. Black Pepper
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Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
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Place all meatball ingredients into a large bowl and work the ingredients together just until combined. DO NOT OVERMIX or the texture will be very dense.
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Roll the meat mixture into 1 & 1/2" balls and place on a lined and/or greased baking sheet. (I used a silicone mat on mine.)
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Bake meatballs at 400 degrees F for about 15-20 mins. or until cooked through.
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Combine all sauce ingredients in a small saucepan over medium low heat. Cover with a lid and whisk occasionally.
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Serve meatballs with sauce over rice, quinoa, egg noodles or by themselves. This sauce also pairs well with peas.
NOTE: If you choose to make your meatballs bigger, be sure to extend the cooking time until they are cooked all of the way through.
Do you have food allergies, or are you trying to cook for someone who does? Drop me a line for some advice and helpful info! anne@blessingsinsurprise.com