Recipe: Ham & Swiss Venison Meatloaf

Ham and Swiss cheese pair wonderfully in a sandwich but also work extremely well to add flavors to a meatloaf. The two ingredients can be diced and shredded to add to a meatloaf or sliced to line the baking dish and top the loaf. A special sauce with mustard makes the dish complete.

Making the meatloaf as big as possible is recommended, as leftovers are often better than the original meal. A meatloaf is great hunting-camp food that can be reheated, made into sandwiches, or eaten cold. However, meatloaf can also be a family favorite, and changing the ingredients can make an old favorite new again.

Adding pork to venison is important to add moisture and fat. Bacon works great and adds a smoky background as an alternative to ground pork. Add the bacon raw to allow it to render fat during the cooking process. Milk also works as a binding agent when ground pork is not added.

Ingredients

Meatloaf

• 1 ½ lbs. ground venison
• 4 slices bacon, thinly sliced
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2/3 cup breadcrumbs
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• ⅓ cup milk
• 4 oz. Swiss cheese, grated or sliced
• 4 to 6 slices deli ham
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• Salt and pepper to taste

Sauce

• ½ cup ketchup
• ¼ cup Dijon mustard
• ¼ cup maple syrup (or substitute brown sugar)
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 350-degrees Fahrenheit.
2. In a large mixing bowl, add the venison, bacon, onion, garlic, breadcrumbs, egg and milk—season with salt and pepper. Gently work the mixture until blended.
3. Line a baking dish with two or three slices of deli ham. Form a meatloaf on the ham and pat it with a wooden spoon to remove any air space in the meat. Top the loaf with two or three slices of deli ham.
4. Prepare the sauce by whisking the ingredients together in a bowl. Set aside.
5. Bake the meatloaf in the preheated oven for 50 minutes. Remove from the oven, add the sauce and top with slices of Swiss cheese. Place the meatloaf back into the oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
6. Remove the meatloaf from the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes so that it will slice and hold together.
7. The meatloaf can be served with extra slices of ham and Swiss cheese if desired.