4 Healthy Ground Venison Recipes You May Have Never Thought Of

When proper cooking techniques are used, anyone can learn to prepare delicious meals with venison. Find over here 4 healthy ground venison recipes that won’t make you slog in the kitchen for long.

Healthy Habit.

Always use freshly ground pepper and kosher salt to season the meat. Why? Because, the oils in black pepper don’t last very long after being ground, and kosher salt has 20% less sodium than table salt.

The meat from a game animal, mostly deer, is called venison. Due to the fact that the animal has to be inspected by the USDA inspectors, the meat isn’t available in bulk at retails. In fact, most of the meat that is sold in the U.S. through retails is imported from New Zealand. On the other hand, majority of the meat processed in the slaughterhouses in the U.S. gets sent to restaurants.

So, if you happen to hunt the animal yourself or choose to purchase it at the grocery store, we have provided information below that can come in handy.

Healthy Ground Venison Recipes

Not many people know the correct technique of grounding venison. It may appear similar to beef, but the meat is definitely different and requires experienced hands to work on it. Which is why, we advice you to get the meat from an experienced butcher instead of settling for subpar meat. Read the following information carefully, and learn these easy ground venison recipes to make at home.

Ground Venison Chili

Ingredients
♨ Venison, ground, 1 lb.
♨ Kidney beans, drained and rinsed, 1 can, 15 oz.
♨ Chicken broth, fat-free, 1 can, 14 oz.
♨ Diced tomatoes, drained, 1 can, 14 oz.
♨ Sweet onion, chopped, 1 cup
♨ Green bell peppers, chopped, 1 cup
♨ Chili powder, 2 tbsp.
♨ Tomato paste, 1 tbsp.
♨ Red pepper, ground, ½ tsp.
♨ Cumin, ground, ½ tsp.
♨ Garlic cloves, minced, 4
♨ Jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped, 1
♨ Salt and black pepper, for taste
♨ Cooking spray

Amount Per Serving
Calories – 319
Total Fat – 4.1 g
Carbohydrate – 35.8 g
Protein – 35.8 g
Cholesterol – 96 mg

Prep Time – 15 min.
Cook Time – 1 hour
Serving Size – 4

Directions
Coat a small Dutch oven with cooking spray and place it over medium-high heat. Add and cook ground venison for about 3 minutes, or till the meat turns brown; keep stirring the meat so that it begins to crumble. Remove the Dutch oven off the heat, and take the meat out in a clean bowl. Place a lid on top to keep it warm.

Next, place the same Dutch oven on medium-low heat and cook onion, bell pepper, garlic, and jalapeño for 10 minutes or so. Once tender, add the chili powder, cumin powder, red pepper powder, salt, and ground black pepper. Stir the mixture so that it doesn’t stick at the bottom, and do a taste test. Now, add the cooked venison, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and chicken broth; bring the mixture to a boil. Once it’s boiling, place a lid on top, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for about half an hour. In the end, add the red kidney beans, and cook the chili uncovered for about 15 minutes before serving it hot.

Ground Venison Meatballs in Sauce

Ingredients
♨ Venison, ground, 1 lb.
♨ White rice, uncooked, ½ cup
♨ Tomato soup, condensed and undiluted, ⅓ cup
♨ Brown sugar, ⅓ cup
♨ Ketchup, ⅓ cup
♨ Water, ¾ cup
♨ Mustard, ground, 1 tbsp.
♨ Paprika, 2 tsp.
♨ Onion, finely chopped, 1
♨ Salt and black pepper, for taste
♨ Cooking spray

Amount Per Serving
Calories – 314
Total Fat – 4 g
Carbohydrate – 41 g
Protein – 29 g
Cholesterol – 96 mg

Prep Time – 15 min.
Cook Time – 50 min.
Serving Size – 4

Directions
Preheat the oven at 375°F. Take a large bowl to combine onion, uncooked rice, salt, and black pepper together. Over this, crumble and spread the meat, and mix everything properly. Grease an 8″ baking dish with cooking spray. With your hands, make 1½” balls, and place them on the dish. Now, take another bowl to combine water, brown sugar, ketchup, tomato soup, ground mustard, and paprika together. Pour this mixture over the meatballs, and place the dish inside the oven. After 35―45 minutes or until the meat is no longer pink, remove the dish out of the oven and serve the meatballs.

Ground Venison Burger

Ingredients
♨ Venison, ground, 1½ lb.
♨ Hazelnut meal, ½ cup
♨ Parsley, chopped, ¼ cup
♨ Dijon mustard, 1 tbsp.
♨ Organic seasoning, unsalted, 1 tbsp.
♨ Capers, 1 tsp.
♨ Egg, large, beaten, 1
♨ Onion, chopped, 1
♨ Garlic clove, crushed, 1
♨ Salt and black pepper, for taste
♨ Cooking spray

Amount Per Serving
Calories – 273
Total Fat – 5.2 g
Carbohydrate – 2.8 g
Protein – 51.1 g
Cholesterol – 169 mg

Prep Time – 10 min.
Cook Time – 20 min.
Serving Size – 4

Directions
In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients together with your hands. Make 4 equal portions to shape them as patties for the burger. Apply cooking spray over a non-stick pan and place it on high heat. Once the pan is hot, reduce the heat to medium, and place all 4 patties in it. You need to cook the patties for about 4―5 minutes per side, or until the sizzle subsides. Place the cooked patties on a platter, and serve immediately with a homemade salad and slices of avocado and tomatoes.

If you like to put the patties in buns, just know that the amount of calories per serving will increase (depending on the type of bun used).

Taco Soup with Ground Venison

Ingredients
♨ Venison, ground, ⅓ lb.
♨ Water, ½ cup
♨ Chili beans, 1 can, 10 oz.
♨ Cannellini beans, drained and rinsed, 1 can, 5 oz.
♨ Kidney beans, drained and rinsed, 5 oz.
♨ Corn, undrained, 1 can, 5 oz.
♨ Tomato sauce, 1 can, 5 oz.
♨ Taco seasoning, ½ oz.
♨ Green chilies, chopped, 1 can, 1½ oz.
♨ Hot sauce, ⅓ tsp.
♨ Onion, diced, ⅓
♨ Cooking spray

Amount Per Serving
Calories – 286
Total Fat – 4 g
Carbohydrate – 44.2 g
Protein – 20.8 g
Cholesterol – 30.2 mg

Prep Time – 15 min.
Cook Time – 55 min.
Serving Size – 4

Directions
Coat a non-stick pan with cooking spray and place it over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-high and brown the meat with diced onion. Once the meat is no longer pink and the onion is translucent, add the rest of the ingredients and give it a good mix. Let the mixture come to a boil, and then, reduce the heat to low. Place a lid on top, and simmer the soup for about 30―45 minutes. When the soup is ready, serve it in individual bowls with tortilla chips.

Nutritional Values of Ground Venison

Even though the flavor of venison can remind you of beef, the meat is leaner and has a finer texture. In comparison to grain-fed beef, pork, and lamb, the meat is high in protein, and low in calories, fat, and cholesterol.

Raw, Ground Venison

Serving Size – 100 g

Calories – 157
Total Fat – 7 g
Carbohydrate – 0 g
Protein – 22 g
Cholesterol – 80 mg

Pan-broiled, Ground Venison

Serving Size – 100 g

Calories – 187
Total Fat – 8 g
Carbohydrate – 0 g
Protein – 26 g
Cholesterol – 98 mg

As venison is relatively a lean meat, you can choose to add some form of fat to keep the meat from falling apart. You can use either bacon, olive oil, cheese, or beef to give the meat some texture and flavor. However, do keep in mind that the total amount of calories per serving, for any of the above-mentioned recipes, will increase.

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