Recipe of the Month

by Duane Radford

Venison Meatballs
 with Saskatoon Berry Dipping Sauce

Venison Meatballs

● 2 pounds venison ground meat
● 1 pound lean ground pork
● 2 bread crusts (shredded)
● 1 cup whipping cream
● 2 tablespoons canola oil
● canned aerosol canola oil
● 1 cup shallots (finely diced)
● 2 cloves garlic (diced)
● 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
● 1 cup blue cheese (crumbled)
● 2 eggs (beaten)
● 1/4 cup parsley (chopped)
● 2 tablespoons oregano
● 1 teaspoon salt
● 1 teaspoon pepper 

Saskatoon Berry Dipping Sauce

● 2 cups beef broth
● 1 cup Saskatoon berries
● 2 tbsps packed golden-brown sugar
● 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
● 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

This recipe is adapted from an Atco Blue Flame Kitchen cookbook that features bison meatballs with a blueberry dipping sauce. I switched Saskatoon berries for blueberries, which have an even more pleasant sour taste but blueberries would be great when in season. Source Saskatoon berries at farmer’s markets or U-pick operations.

Venison Meatballs 
1. Preheat your oven to 375 F (I used the convection mode).
2. Add bread crumbs and cream in a mixing bowl, stir well, and set aside.
3. Heat canola oil in skillet. Add the shallots and garlic and sauté until they turn translucent after a couple of minutes. Set the shallots and garlic in the skillet aside, to cool.
4. Add the mixture of bread crumbs and cream to a bowl with the ground pork and venison, Parmesan cheese, blue cheese, beaten eggs, parsley, oregano, salt and pepper. Add the sautéed shallots and garlic. Mix all of the ingredients until they’re thoroughly blended. Shape the ground meat and other ingredients into 1-1/2 inch size meatballs.
5. Place the meatballs on some parchment paper that’s been sprayed with canola oil on a large baking tray. Bake for 45 minutes at 375 F until browned and fully cooked.
6. Serve with the Saskatoon berries dipping sauce.

Saskatoon Berries Dipping Sauce
1. Add the beef broth, Saskatoon berries and brown sugar to a sauce pan and bring to a slow boil.
2. Turn the heat down and simmer the ingredients for about 20 to 25 minutes until the sauce thickens before removing the sauce pan from your stovetop. Squeeze the berries with a large fork periodically until they dissolve.
3. Whisk the balsamic vinegar and salt into the Saskatoon berries sauce until smooth.

Serve the meatballs and Saskatoon berries dipping sauce with some oven roasted potato skins (bake for 30 minutes at 375 F until crisp on the edges) in a pre-heated oven.
 
A garden salad featuring a homemade citrus flavoured red wine vinaigrette with the following ingredients rounds off the meal: 2-1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, 1-1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon honey, 1 teaspoon orange zest.

Leftover meatballs can be frozen, if desired, and eaten later on.

For a beer pairing, a dark ale or lager, a dunkel, red (amber) ale or stout would work well. For a wine-pairing you can’t go wrong with a medium to full-bodied red wine, especially a Canadian Baco Noir.