Delicious Venison Meatloaf with Onion, Green Pepper and Gravy

Meatloaf is definitely one of those down home meals that fills people with good meat and good memories. This venison version hits the mark every time and is the perfect homestyle dinner for a small gathering of all ages.

We use ground venison that has already been cut with another fatty meat, like pork. If you are using just uncut ground venison, you'll want to mix your venison with half hamburger or ground pork to support the savory part of this mouthwatering dinner. Mix 1/2 - 3/4 lb vension with the same amount of ground hamburg or pork.

We also like seasoned breadcrumbs because they have all the spices we love for this dish mixed right in. But if all you have on hand is plain breadcrumbs, just add in 1 tsp total of your favorite dried spices (twice as much if using fresh) to the breadcrumbs like oregano, sage, or flat leaf parsley.

And since it doesn't demand much attention during its cook time, take the opportunity to make some homemade mashed potatoes by peeling the potatoes and heating the water just after placing the meatloaf into the oven. Then, use the pan drippings you drained off before the glaze to quickly make up a homemade pan gravy, using the following instructions:

Remember those drippings you drained off and saved? Let's use them in a delicious beefy brown gravy!

To a small saucepan add 1/4c. fat. For the fat, you can use the oil from your drippings. This oil will be floating along the top of what you poured off, and you can usually tip the vessel and skim it off with a spoon. If you don't have enough (and when using venison sometimes you don't have any at all - that's ok), add butter until you have 1/4c. of fats total. Melt butter down and add 1/4c. of flour. Cook while stirring until well mixed and bubbly. I like to use a whisk. It will eventually collect and turn almost into a ball, like dough.

Now we need to gather an additional 2c. of liquid to add to our fat and flour mixture (which, by the way, is called a "rue" if you've never made one before!). Start with all the liquid left over from your drippings, and add enough beef broth or water to equal 2c. total.

If using water, you'll probably want to supplement flavor with some beef bouillon. So either dissolve 1-2 bouillon cubes in 1c. of hot water and set aside, or add 1-2 teaspoons of instant bouillon granules to your water.

To begin adding our liquid to the rue, we want to start with COLD liquid over low heat. So begin by slowly adding 1c. of refrigerated broth or cold water to the rue, a little bit at a time, whisking and mixing very well as you go along. As the liquid begins to dissolve the rue evenly, add a little more and mix well again, until evenly thinned out. Continue this way adding liquid and thinning the mixture until you've incorporated the 1c. of cold liquid.

The second cup of liquid can either be cold or warm. So you can continue to add your cold water or beef broth and whisking as you go, or you can now add the 1c. of hot water you used to dissolve your beef bouillon cubes in.

Raise heat to medium and stir frequently until the mixture comes to a boil. Whisking constantly, boil the mixture for 1 minute. Reduce heat if needed to prevent mixture from boiling over the edge of the pot.

Remove from heat and let stand 1 minute to thicken. Add a dash of pepper and enjoy over meatloaf, mashed potatoes, or hot meatloaf sandwhiches!

The aroma of onions, peppers, and meat baking while a homemade gravy simmers is sure to lure your family into the dining room as a flavorful, filling, and delicious down home dinner satisfies everyone into a food stupor worthy of a Sunday afternoon. Along with mashed potatoes, serve with some fresh bread and butter and a side of homemade coleslaw. Enjoy!