This homemade Venison Meatloaf recipe is incredibly flavorful, and tender in the middle. Plus, the homemade glaze on top is out of this world.

I’m a meatloaf critic, especially when making a meatloaf with wild game. It can dry out so quickly if you don’t know what you’re doing. This recipe results in the most juicy Venison Meatloaf with a glaze so delicious I could eat it with a spoon. The first time I made this recipe for my husband is actually a funny story. He came home from work one day and goes “smells good, what are we having for dinner?” I replied, “meatloaf!”, with excitement. He gave me the most disappointed look I’ve ever seen. Well, turns out he thought he didn’t like meatloaf, but after trying this one- he asks for it all the time now!

How to Keep Your Meatloaf From Drying Out:

Adding Fat: venison is a very lean meat by itself. So, for this recipe to turn out as delicious as it should we need to add some fat. I like to add ground pork to my venison simply because it’s so commercially available but any fat source will do. If you get your deer butchered, it’s likely the butcher added fat to your ground meat already. But, be careful as they may use a low fat percentage. Just watch the internal temperature of your meatloaf closely. You definitely don’t want to overcook it and dry it out. A meat thermometer is a great investment if you dont already have one.
Adding Liquids: adding liquids will also keep our meatloaf from drying out. Milk adds both moisture and fat and is worth including for that fact alone. We’ll also add ketchup, an egg and Worcestershire sauce which all also add liquid (and flavor)

If You Like This Recipe, You’ll Love:

Venison Meatloaf

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A wild game take on a classic dish. Venison Meatloaf is my favorite comfort food dinner. The key to a good venison meatloaf is keeping it juicy!

Author: Jenn Homa
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 55 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Yield: 6–8 servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale

2 pounds Ground Venison (With Fat Added, See Note)*
1 Onion, Finely Diced
1 tablespoon Minced Garlic
2/3 cup Panko Breadcrumbs
1/3 cup Milk
2 Eggs, Beaten
2 tablespoon Ketchup
1 tablespoon minced Garlic
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 teaspoon Onion Powder
1 teaspoon Salt
½ teaspoon Black pepper

Glaze

3/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons Brown Sugar
2 tablespoons Yellow or Dijon Mustard

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Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees F.
Line a 9 x 5 loaf pan with parchment paper then set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together all of the ingredients for the meatloaf.
Add the meat to the loaf pan, gently pressing the meat down to shape it evenly.
Place the meatloaf into the oven and bake for 40 minutes.
In a small bowl, mix together the ingredients for the glaze. Spread the glaze overtop of the meatloaf and bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the meatloaf reaches 160 degrees.
Rest for 10 minutes prior to serving. (Optional: drizzle with baking juices from the pan)

Notes

*Since venison is so lean, we need to make sure we have a fat source added to our ground meat. If you get your meat from a butcher, it likely has fat already added to it. I like to use 1.5:.5 ratio venison to ground pork, but a 1:1 ratio is great too.

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