By Jeff Benda
IG: @wildgameandfish
Website: www.wildgameandfish.com
Serves: 4
Prep time: 12 minutes
Cook time: 18 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes
Is there anything better than a messy meatball sub? Juicy, tender venison meatballs smothered in marinara sauce and topped with melty, bubbly mozzarella cheese is a go-to comfort food in our house.
The homemade venison meatballs using your elk, deer, or antelope will be the star of this dish. But because we are dealing with 100% lean ground venison, we need to add some fat. Instead of mixing in bacon or ground pork, I use two things everyone usually has in the refrigerator - eggs and milk.
In addition to being a wild game chef, I’m also a husband and father of a 10-year-old daughter. I love things that will help make my life and dinner time easier. For meatballs with maximum taste that are simple to make, I use easy-to-find store bought basil pesto and Italian breadcrumbs.
If you want to get ahead of the game with meal prep, you can make the meatballs ahead of time and freeze them raw, ensuring you’ll have them handy the next time you are in charge of making dinner.
If you are looking for more ways to use some of that ground venison in your freezer, be sure and check out Jeff Benda’s Pita Burger and Hamburger Steaks and Gravy.
Ingredients
· 1 pound ground venison
· 2 large eggs, beaten
· 2 Tablespoons milk
· 2 Tablespoons basil pesto
· 1/2 cup Italian-style breadcrumbs
· 3 Tablespoons olive oil
· 1 teaspoon garlic powder
· 4 hoagie rolls
· 24-ounce jar of marinara sauce
· 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
· 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves (optional)
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Place the ground venison, eggs, milk, pesto, breadcrumbs, and 1 Tablespoon of the olive oil in a large bowl. Use your hands to combine the meatball ingredients until fully combined. Once all ingredients are combined, form into 12 meatballs (about 2 Tablespoons each) and arrange on the parchment-lined baking sheet.
3. Bake meatballs for about 15 minutes at 425 degrees F until the internal temp reaches 150 degrees F.
4. While the meatballs are cooking, cut the hoagie rolls open and brush with remaining 2 Tablespoons olive oil, sprinkle each with 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder, and place in the oven to toast for 2 minutes.
5. When the meatballs are cooked and the hoagies are toasted, remove them from the oven. Now turn the oven to the broiler setting.
6. Spoon some of the marinara sauce on the bottom of each toasted hoagie, top with 3 meatballs, and spoon the remaining marinara sauce on top. Now sprinkle each meatball sub with 1/4 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese and return to the oven under the broiler for about 3 minutes until the cheese is melted.
7. Top with fresh basil leaves if you so desire and enjoy!
