Venison Meatloaf with Spinach and Red Onion

This week is hunting season in Ohio. The husband is hunting tomorrow so to get in him in the mood I cooked a venison meatloaf. I grew up in a family that never touched a gun so marrying into a hunting family was a new experience. I'll tell you though, I caught on pretty darn quick.

My mom was the queen of meatloaf with the spinach and red onion additions. When combined with a mixture of beef and venison the flavor is so much more intense than beef or a beef/pork mixture. Venison is a very lean meat. You do need to combine the venison with a meat that has a higher fat content, like ground beef that is 80% lean/20% fat or ground pork to ensure a moist meatloaf.

Try it - you'll love it!

Venison Meatloaf with Spinach and Red Onion
1 1/2 pound venison - ground
1 pound 80/20 ground beef
1 small red onion - diced
1 10 ou. pkg. frozen spinach - squeeze water from the spinach
3 eggs
1/2 tbsp dried oregano
1/2 tbsp dried basil
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup of medium to dark beer
1/2 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

If you have ground venison that's perfect. We process our own deer so we have 'stew cut' venison which is small to medium pieces of meat. In my situation, I use my food processer to 'grind' the meat. It works well.

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients except for the olive oil.

Drizzle the oil in a rectangle pyrex baking dish. In the baking dish, form the meat in a long rectangle form. Pour the beer over the meatloaf and cook for about 40 minutes. After 30 minutes spread 1/2 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce over the top of the meatloaf.

Remove from oven and allow to 'rest' for at least 5 minutes. Slice and enjoy!