Venison Sloppy Joes (Easy)
One of the easiest dishes to make with deer meat is venison sloppy joes.
There is no need to complicate this recipe with multiple fancy ingredients, it’s meant to be simple and enjoyable.
This recipe uses 10 ingredients that can be found in any grocery store, and perhaps most of the ingredients are already in your fridge or pantry.
Ingredients for Venison Sloppy Joes
As I mentioned above, the ingredients for this recipe are simple and are most likely already in your pantry.
The ground venison can be lean or mixed with pork or beef fat. I’ve made both versions multiple times and both options are great.
I generally use lean venison as it’s less work and the difference is negligible.
The other ingredients are:
- Onion
- Garlic
- Tomato paste
- Dijon mustard
- Ketchup
- Tinned tomatoes
- Worcestershire sauce
- Molasses
- Brown sugar
The sugar is added as a last step and usually depends on how sweet your tomatoes are. If possible try to use San Marzano tomatoes as I find they are usually sweeter.
However, I use molasses in my venison sloppy joes as it adds a much deeper sweet flavor, almost caramelized-like, which blends better with game meat.
If your tomatoes are any way sweet and not bitter you won’t need the sugar.
Cooking Venison Sloppy Joes
I’ve told you this recipe is easy to make and I mean it.
The process is a handful of steps and then a short wait until you are eating sloppy joes.
- Gently cook the onions and garlic
- Brown the venison
- Add all other ingredients, except sugar
- Cook for 20 minutes uncovered
- Taste and add sugar if needed
That’s it, couldn’t be simpler. The great thing about this recipe is that you can also adjust the consistency to your liking.
If you like your sloppy joes really sloppy then cook with the lid on, if you like them a little on the dryer side, cook them for a little longer.
Alternatively, once the venison is browned, you can add all of the ingredients to the crock pot and slow-cook it.
Serving Venison Sloppy Joes
The fun part of venison sloppy joes is serving them. I’ve tried all methods of serving and no matter what I do they are always messy, especially if you have a beard like I do.
I like to serve sloppy joes on toasted burger buns, you can also use soft rolls.
Pile the meat on top of the toasted bun, and be generous here.
Add the grated or sliced cheese of your choice and top with the bun top.
I like to throw a few potato chips on the side to scoop up the droppings. I also find that eating the bun upside down leaves less mess.
Venison Sloppy Joes
Ingredients
- 1 lb venison gound
- 1 small onion finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp molasses
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1.5 cup tinned tomatoes/passata crushed
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tbsp high temperature oil
- Cheese for serving see note 1
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large pot over high heat
- Add onion and garlic, and cook until translucent (about 2 minutes)
- Add the venison and brown evenly by stirring. You made need to add in batches to prevent the temperature from cooling
- Add tomato paste, Dijon mustard, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, tinned tomatoes, molasses
- Reduce heat to low and stir all ingredients until well mixed
- Leave uncovered and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Taste and add sugar as needed
- Serve with burger buns, or soft rolls. Add cheese on top, and maybe a side of potato chips.
Notes
- There is no right or wrong cheese for sloppy joes, I like cheddar and mozzarella, but see best cheese for sloppy joes to help you choose
