My husband and I occasionally crave something sweet after supper and after the kids have gone to bed, but I don’t want to bake a giant batch of brownies that will tempt our waistlines all week. The ideal treat is here—great oozy brownies for two!
| Prep Time: | 25 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 25 mins |
| Servings: | 6 |
| Yield: | 6 servings |
Ingredients
- cooking spray
- 1 ½ pounds ground venison
- ½ pound pork sausage (such as Jimmy Dean®)
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 onion sandwich buns (such as S. Rosen’s®)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ fluid ounces brandy (such as Christian Brothers®)
- 1 tablespoon bacon grease
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon seasoned salt (such as LAWRY’S®)
- ½ teaspoon garlic and herb seasoning (such as McCormick®)
- ½ teaspoon finely ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground sage
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray.
- Mix venison, pork sausage, and onion in a bowl until thoroughly combined. Run water from faucet briefly over onion buns, squeeze water out of buns, and break into small pieces. Add pieces of onion buns to meat mixture.
- Stir eggs, brandy, bacon grease, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, red pepper flakes, seasoned salt, garlic and herb seasoning, black pepper, and sage into meat mixture. Transfer to prepared loaf pan.
- Bake in the preheated oven until browned and the juices run clear, 60 to 70 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C).
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 344 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 13 g |
| Cholesterol | 165 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 31 g |
| Saturated Fat | 6 g |
| Sodium | 573 mg |
| Sugars | 3 g |
| Fat | 16 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
This was a different spin, and what I’d definitely call a non-traditional version of meatloaf. The only change I made was to use regular hamburger buns instead of onion buns because that’s what I had. The addition of brandy definitely adds a particular depth of flavor – I think you could leave this out and be OK if you are on the fence about it. Personally, I liked it and would keep it next time. I did whisk all of the wet ingredients together before pouring into the meat which I’d already mixed with the bread and onions. (The recipe didn’t really specify *how* to add the liquids, so I did it this way as I’ve realized over many years of meatloaf making that it incorporates better this way and enhances the final texture.) To be honest, at the first bite, I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about it (I served with gravy instead of a traditional tomato-based topping). But as I ate, it really grew on me; by the end, I was ready for more. I’d say it’s somewhat of an acquired taste, and it’s probably because there’s no beef included so the venison and the sausage really stand out. Which, I’ll admit, is kind of the point. We used some of our own venison with fresh sausage from a recently butchered hog. One tip: cook in a cast iron skillet. I started doing this with all meatloaf recipes a while back and I’ll never cook them another way. All in all, this is a great recipe that is suitable for those of us looking for something just a bit different. (I’m having the leftovers today!)
Made as directed. It has so much flavor the only way someone would detect a difference is if they had firsthand knowledge of what was in the meatloaf. I suggest making the mixture ahead to allow the flavors to build.
I did not have the buns so I used stove top stuffing (turkey flavor). I had fresh ground pork and fresh ground venison. I also used Jameson instead of the Christian brothers as well. I followed the receipt as close as possible. Omitted the red pepper flakes as well. I have a 5 year old that doesn’t do spicy foods. It turned out great. My daughter didn’t even know it was deer meat. LOL
this was really really good! I was using up some hamburger meat so I used 2# ground deer, 1# deer sausage and 1# hamburger meat. so I doubled the recipe. I didn’t have any brandy… so I used 1/2 c white zinfandel wine. I left out the sage b/c I didn’t have any. I DID use the buns according to directions. I was TEMPTED to use bread crumbs,,, but didn’t. AND I am glad I didn’t because it was OUTSTANDING!!!