Venison Meatballs

The week after Thanksgiving. Sarah went home to Helena for the weekend, and the ranch was quiet in the particular way it is when you've gotten used to a person being in it and then they leave. I wasn't lonely before I was used to her. Now there's a shape where she was.

I called Gary Thursday and described the Thanksgiving — the cooking, the river walk, what she said by the fire and what I said. He listened to all of it and then said, "You said the honest thing." I said, "Was that the right thing?" He said, "Honest and right are the same thing here." I said, "Is the afraid part okay?" He said, "The afraid part is what makes it real. If you weren't afraid it wouldn't mean anything." I sat with that for a while. The afraid is the proof that it means something. The afraid is the weight of the thing.

December is coming and with it my birthday and the approaching one-year sobriety mark. I've been thinking about the year. What I was in January — the slip on Christmas Eve, the drive to the VA in July a year and a half behind me, the count starting over from Day One in early January. And what I am now, or what I'm becoming, which is harder to describe because it's still happening.

I made the elk chili Saturday with the last batch of the Crazies elk. This batch I think is the closest to what I've been working toward — the chile combination is right, the ratio of meat to liquid is right, the cooking time and temperature are right. I ate it standing at the stove and tasted it carefully and thought: this is the recipe. This is the one I'll make for the rest of my life.

The chili was right — finally, unmistakably right — but this venison meatball recipe is the other side of that same coin, the one I keep coming back to when I want to do something careful and quiet with wild game. Gary told me the afraid part is what makes it real, and I think that’s true of cooking too: the recipes you keep working on, keep tasting and adjusting over a long season, are the ones that end up meaning something. This is what I do with the Crazies elk when I want to slow down and pay attention to what’s in front of me.

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 40 min | Servings: 5 (about 4 meatballs each)

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs ground venison
1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
1/4 cup whole milk
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil, for searing
2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped (optional, for serving)

Instructions

Soak the breadcrumbs. In a large mixing bowl, combine the breadcrumbs and milk. Let sit for 5 minutes until the milk is absorbed and the crumbs are soft. This keeps the lean venison from drying out.
Mix the meat. Add the ground venison, egg, Parmesan, garlic, Italian seasoning, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper to the bowl. Using your hands, mix until just combined — do not overwork the meat or the meatballs will be dense.
Form the meatballs. Scoop and roll the mixture into balls about 1 1/2 inches in diameter, roughly the size of a golf ball. You should get about 20 meatballs. Set them on a lined sheet pan as you go.
Sear in batches. Heat olive oil in a large cast-iron or heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. Working in two batches to avoid crowding, sear the meatballs for 2—3 minutes per side, turning to brown all around, about 8—10 minutes total per batch. They should have a deep brown crust.
Finish and rest. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover the skillet, and cook for an additional 5 minutes until cooked through (internal temperature of 160°F). Remove from heat and let rest, uncovered, for 3 minutes before serving.
Serve. Plate over pasta, polenta, mashed potatoes, or alongside crusty bread. Top with chopped fresh parsley and additional Parmesan if desired.

Nutrition (per serving)

Venison Meatballs — The Recipe I’ll Make for the Rest of My Life