For families who prefer to procure their own meat, this meal is full of warm, earthy spices to complement any big game meat you have on hand. It's slow-simmered so the flavors have time to incorporate, and the game meat adds extra unique flavor you can't get from ground beef. The rice is incorporated into the meatballs as well, meaning it's extra hearty.
Notes
- Large Game Meat: We tested this recipe with lots of different large game meat, including venison, elk, and boar. All of them work great with the spices included in the recipe, so use whatever you have on hand.
Storage
You can refrigerate these meatballs and their sauce in an airtight container for 3-4 days. I do not recommend freezing these meatballs due to the rice and the milk that are incorporated into them.
FAQ
In theory, yes. If you're extremely short on time or patience, you could potentially skip this step, but I don't recommend it. It's likely that the meatballs will fall apart as they cook without the browned outside to hold them together. To be completely honest, I don't brown my meatballs on all sides out of sheer impatience. I do a "top and bottom" type browning, and then handle them very carefully as I move them around. It's much faster and holds them together enough for purposes.
Yes! You can add either ½t cayenne or ½T red pepper flakes to the meatball mixture. Feel free to adjust the spice level up or down from there.
Related
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Grace Says:
Ensure you've covered the pan properly. Otherwise the escaping steam will reduce the liquid content, and you may end up with crunchy rice.
📖 Recipe
Simmered Hunters' Meatballs
Ingredients
- 2 lb ground venison, elk, or boar
- 1 beaten egg
- ½ cup milk
- ⅔ cup uncooked rice
- 1 ½ t salt for meatballs
- 1 t rubbed or dried sage
- 2 t cumin
- ¼ t allspice
- 28 oz can whole tomatoes or 1 quart jar
- 2 cups water
- ¼ cup chopped onion
- 1 t salt for sauce
- 1 t rosemary
- 3 T red wine (optional)
- 3 T olive oil, bacon grease, or any other fat of your choice for browning
Instructions
- Blend the meat and the seasonings (salt, sage, cumin, and allspice) together. When you measure out your milk, crack your egg into that same measuring cup and whisk the egg and milk together. Add the rice, milk, and egg, and blend well. The mixture will look quite wet at first, but it will come together. Remove the meatballs with tongs or a spoon and set aside.
- Form the meat into balls, ~2" wide (bigger meatballs are more prone to falling apart as you brown them), and quickly brown over medium heat in the fat of your choice (you don't need to cook them through, just lightly brown the outside). The meatballs may be delicate because the liquid content is high, so handle them carefully.
- Put the tomato, water, onion, rosemary, and remaining 1 teaspoon salt into a large pan, saucier, or pot. You'll need enough space for all the meatballs to fit in it as well. Bring that to a boil and then nestle the meatballs into the tomatoes. Cover and simmer on low for 1.5 hours.
Did you make this recipe? Let me know!