These Venison Meatballs with Bourbon Cream Sauce, are one of the best things I have ever eaten. Every bite is packed with flavor. They are easy to make, low carb, keto, gluten-free, & absolutely delicious.
Many times when people think about cooking venison, or wondering what to do with it, they tend to think of stews, roasts, or chili for their first time making venison. Venison is very lean can have a gamey taste, so many times people will try to mask those instead of working with them to highlight the venison.
A stew, roast, or chili can be a wonderful meal on a cold day, but finding some new ways to present this healthy meat is a lot of fun. This ground venison meatballs recipe is a great way to enjoy deer meat.
Love this venison recipe? Try more of our venison recipes, such as Air Fryer Venison and Bacon Wrapped Venison Backstrap, next!
Ingredients
Venison - Ground venison is a great alternative to ground beef. It's lower in fat and calories and sodium, packed with protein, and tastes delicious. If you hunt or know someone that does, getting your hand on some wild game meat is no problem. There are also some online stores where you can purchase quality deer meat.
Ground Pork - Venison is very lean meat. We do need to add some fat to it so that it doesn't dry out. A two-to-one ratio works well. I also use a combination of meats in my Venison Sliders.
Sage Leaves - Fresh sage goes great with game meats and poultry.
Egg - This is our binder to help hold the meatballs together as they cook.
Kosher Salt and Black Pepper - A good rule of thumb is to use about a teaspoon salt per lb of meat.
Ingredients for Bourbon Cream Sauce
This is our favorite creamy sauce for this meatball recipe. The combo comes close to classic Swedish meatballs.
Heavy Cream - This gives the sauce a smooth creamy texture and adds another level of flavor.
Bourbon - I like to cook with bourbon, occasionally I'll put it in the food...! I couldn't resist it. But seriously, this makes it delicious. Several cream sauces rely on stock or white wine to deglaze the pan. I love using whiskey. Just be careful to deglaze away from the open flame or you might lose some eyebrows.
Shallot - A little shallot adds a lot of flavor to the sauce. Other times, I might add some garlic, garlic powder, or onions.
How to Make Venison Meatballs
Step One: In a large bowl, combine the pound ground venison, half a pound of ground pork, finely chopped sage, along with an egg and salt and pepper. Use your hands to mix everything together and make sure that all the ground meat and seasonings combine thoroughly.
Step Two: Form the meat into small one and half inch sized meatballs they should be about three-quarters of an ounce each. If you have a cookie scoop for the appropriate size, you can use that. I just take a small amount of the meatball mixture into my hands and roll it into a ball.
Once the ground venison meatballs are all formed, preheat an oven safe skillet over medium heat. You will also need to preheat the oven to 350°F.
There are several ways to cook venison meatballs. I have seen them done in an instant pot or just baked. I like to sear them in a hot pan to give them nice caramelization on the outside. It will keep the inside moist and give a nice contrast of texture when people take a bite. You can also smoke them as I do in Smoked Meatballs.
Step Three: Once the pan is hot, add a tablespoon of olive oil to help prevent the meat from sticking to the pan. Place the meatballs into the pan one at a time. Sear them on each side until golden brown, constantly rolling them over to the next side. Total stovetop cook time will be about 5 minutes. If you don't have a large enough pan, you will have to do these in batches.
The reason I am making this small is to serve them as an appetizer. You can also use this size when serving as the main course of a meal. If you do make them larger, be sure to adjust your cooking time appropriately.
Step Four: Once the meatballs are all seared, place the whole pan into the oven. Let the venison bake in the oven at 350°F for five minutes. Once the meatballs are done, take the cooked meatballs out of the pan and let them rest while you deglaze the pan and make your Bourbon Cream Sauce.
How to make Bourbon Cream Sauce
Step One: Deglaze the pan with the bourbon. Be sure to move away from any open flame so that you don't start a fire.
Step Two: Once the alcohol has burned off, add the shallot. Cook for about a minute until they are translucent.
Step Three: Slowly add the cream as you whisk to incorporate it into the shallots and whiskey.
Step Four: Allow the sauce to cook and thicken. Be sure to taste it and make sure the seasoning is just right. Once it is done, pour it over the meatballs or have it available to dip the meatballs.
How to Serve Venison Meatballs
I made these as an appetizer to be served with a toothpick or small fork. These can be fun if you are planning a tapas-style meal and this is one of your small plates. If you are planning to serve these along with other appetizers, consider including Smoked Jalapeno Poppers, Smoked Cheesy Potatoes, Lamb Chops, and BBQ Ribs.
If you are serving these as the main protein of the meal, the venison meatballs go well with Mac and Cheese, Baked Potatoes, Smoked Scalloped Potatoes, and Grilled Squash.
Variations
The best part of this recipe is it is easy to tweak it to make different flavors.
Italian: You can use venison and Italian sausage. Swap the sage out for a little fresh parsley and fresh basil or your favorite Italian seasoning blend. Add an extra egg and some Italian bread crumbs to the meat mixture. Cook it all the same way as above or bake them on a cookie sheet for some easy baked venison meatballs. You can also simmer them in your favorite sauce.
Once the Italian meatballs are done, you can serve them over spaghetti, other pasta, or in meatball subs with extra marinara sauce and parmesan cheese.
Greek: To make Greek meatballs, use venison and pork. But season them with fresh oregano and dill in place of the sage, add some finely chopped green onions and panko breadcrumbs, and mix in a little feta cheese. These have such a delicious flavor.
Recipe
Venison Meatballs
Ingredients
Venison Meatballs
- 1 lb venison ground
- ½ lb ground pork
- 3 sage leaves finely chopped
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ tsp pepper
Whiskey Cream Sauce
- ½ cup cream
- ¼ cup bourbon
- 1 shallot chopped
Instructions
- Combine venison, pork, egg, and seasonings. Mix well.
- Form into approximately thirty two 1.5 inch balls.
- Heat a heavy skillet over high heat until very hot. Add a little olive oil. Add the meatballs, searing them on each side for about 5 minutes. This may need to be done in 2 batches.
- Turn off the skillet. Transfer to an oven-safe dish and cook for an additional 5 minutes at 350.
- Deglaze the skillet with the whiskey. Turn the burner back on medium. Add the shallots. Whisk, using the whisk to loosen the browned bits on the pan. Add the heavy cream and let it simmer until it gets thick.
- Transfer meatballs to a serving tray and spoon the sauce over the meatballs. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
Originally Published November 26, 2021. Revised and Republished May 29, 2025.
Gail says
Great recipe. Although I didn’t have any ground pork, so I used bacon and minced it to add to the venison. I also didn’t have bourbon, but I had B&B Benedictine and used that. I made extra sauce and served it on a bed of pasta. It was sooooo delicious. My husband couldn’t stop talking about how good it was. Plus it’s so easy and quick! I will add this to my recipes to keep file. Thank you for sharing.
Steve M. says
This recipe was great. The sage complimented the venison perfectly. The only problem I have is that there is not enough sauce. I had to triple the sauce recipe in order to get enough.
Paul & Taryn says
Hi Steve, Glad you liked it. We have the sauce as a garnish amount. The way that you get a smear of sauce in an upscale restaurant. If you want a lot of sauce you are right that you would need to double or triple it.