Hands down, no contest...the #1 comfort food in my family is meatloaf. If you have hunters in your family, try this recipe. My venison version is very lean! Pair it with a baked sweet potato, salad and/or vegetable. Both my two sons-in-law requested this recipe when they married my daughters.
Patti
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Venison Meatloaf
1 lb ground venison
1/2 lb lean ground beef
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup lowfat milk
1 large egg
1 cup fresh whole grain bread crumbs**
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp rubbed sage
1 1/4 tsp salt
pinch of black pepper
Barbecue sauce for topping (optional)
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a oven-proof glass loaf dish with cooking spray.
2. Mix ground meats and onion in large bowl. In a small bowl, beat together milk and egg; add remaining ingredients to the milk and egg except barbecue sauce and mix with fork until bread crumbs are saturated (add a little more milk if needed). Add bread crumb mixture to the meat and mix with large fork (or clean hands) until well blended.
3. Spoon into prepared loaf dish. Use fork to compact and shape the loaf. If desired, top with a barbecue sauce. I make my own quick BBQ sauce with ketchup, mustard, Worces. sauce and a little brown sugar. I make about 1/3 cup sauce, pouring it over the loaf and then spreading it even over the top and letting it run down the sides as I shape the loaf with a fork. That way the sauce coats all the loaf but the bottomm keeping the meatloaf moist and tasty.
4. Bake in preheated oven for about 1 1/2 hours. Remove meatloaf from dish and let stand about 5 minutes before slicing. TIP: Cut baking time in half by making two smaller loaves. Place in larger shallow baking dish, large enough to space the mini loaves 2" apart.
**I use fresh bread crumbs. I pulse about two torn up slices (crust included!) in mini food processor until crumbs are about medium size. Because venison is so lean, you need the soft crumbs to help hold the meatloaf together!
