By David Draper

Venison Meatloaf vs. Venison Pizza

Leave it to Wild Chef reader and frequent Food Fighter Levi Banks to come up with an innovative way to serve up some venison—on a pizza. Levi sent this picture in a while back and I’ve been dying to feature it here to see what the rest of the peanut gallery thinks about his creation. I’m putting the pizza up against another family mealtime staple--the humble meatloaf. So, which looks better to you?

David’s Venison Meatloaf

I got a hankering for some good ol’ fashioned meatloaf the other day, so I thawed a pound of ground antelope and a few Italian venison sausage links, which I stripped from their casing. Added in some fresh bread crumbs, a couple of eggs and a few spoonfuls of garlic chili sauce. Mixed everything together quickly and made free-form loaf in my new casserole dish. Baked at 350 degrees for about an hour until interior temps made it to 160 degrees. It was darn good with some mashed potatoes, but even better the next day served cold between two slices of bread slathered with mayo.

Levi’s Venison Pizza

The pizza was made on a homemade, whole wheat crust. I used a fairly tender cut of venison, sliced it up and sautéed it to get it cooked somewhat. The vegetables on the pizza were diced red onion and bell pepper. No sauce; my wife doesn't like tomato sauce on her pizza much.

Mostly mozzarella cheese, but some cheddar too. We make pizza frequently. The crust, onion, bell pepper, and cheese are pretty much constants—but the other toppings, or the type of cheese, really depend on what we have on hand. Oh, and of course cilantro to garnish. Baked at 450 degrees on a thoroughly heated pizza stone.

Don’t forget to send in your best food photos and we’ll feature them here in the coming weeks. Simply e-mail them in to fswildchef@gmail.com and we’ll get them in the que.

Comments (12)

from smccardell wrote 1 year 14 weeks ago

Ok so this one has me torn, but not because I can't decide over which one I want to eat, but rather the lesser of two evils. The meatloaf looks dry. Pizza without tomato sauce (or some other kid of base sauce like to white pizza or even some pesto)? So it boiled down the the pictures and which looked more appetizing. For me it is the pizza, because I can close my eyes and almost see sauce, but most importantly because it has a nice pint pictured in it. A word of advice for any would be Wild Chef's wanting to compete. You can't go wrong with putting a beer in your picture. You also can't go wrong by using bacon. Just my 2 cents.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from themadflyfisher wrote 1 year 14 weeks ago

I know a guy that makes a real good venison sausage that is great on pizza.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Moose1980 wrote 1 year 14 weeks ago

Meatloaf, just because of the sandwiches the next day. The only thing better than leftover meatloaf sandwich, is leftover turkey from Thanksgiving! At least for me anyways.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Levi Banks wrote 1 year 14 weeks ago

There's also pepperoni, not venison pepperoni unfortunately, but I have some of that now, so maybe next time.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from CL3 wrote 1 year 14 weeks ago

We eat with our eyes first, so I'm going to go with the pizza. The meatloaf photo doesn't do it justice.

And I'm sure the meatloaf is tasty, but I like to see some veggies (onion, garlic, peppers, etc) in mine. Maybe a couple pieces of crispy bacon on it to keep it extra moist. And I rock the sirracha sauce in lieu of ketchup.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from dighunter wrote 1 year 14 weeks ago

The meatloaf needs more ketchup, but still looks better. My wife and I made pizza with venison burger once and it was horrible. Ruined me on venison pizza for good.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from 2Poppa wrote 1 year 14 weeks ago

I never cared for pizza but I have to make an exception here.
Great picture Levi!

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from jdwood wrote 1 year 14 weeks ago

Venison Pizza hands down, it looks amazing, it would be even better if it had a some sauce in it. Pizza and beer is a great combination, add some wild game to the mix and it sounds like a win win to me. I like meatloaf, but like CL3 said the picture doesn't do it justice compared to Levi's presentation.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from country road wrote 1 year 13 weeks ago

I'm in agreement with Moose about the meatloaf and turkey sandwiches. Meatloaf and mashed potatoes is hard to beat, too. I sometimes mix in a little barbeque sauce to give the meatloaf a different taste---a touch of liquid smoke, too.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from jamesti wrote 1 year 13 weeks ago

i hate ketchup on meatloaf almost as much as i do pork! pizza for me on this one.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from 007 wrote 1 year 13 weeks ago

My wife usually uses venison burger in her meat loaf, and occasionally an equal part of unseasoned hog sausage. Good stuff there.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from dleurquin wrote 1 year 13 weeks ago

Pizza, the all-american import food. Gotta love it.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

Post a Comment

 

All submitted comments are subject to the rules set forth in our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

from Moose1980 wrote 1 year 14 weeks ago

Meatloaf, just because of the sandwiches the next day. The only thing better than leftover meatloaf sandwich, is leftover turkey from Thanksgiving! At least for me anyways.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from Levi Banks wrote 1 year 14 weeks ago

There's also pepperoni, not venison pepperoni unfortunately, but I have some of that now, so maybe next time.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from dighunter wrote 1 year 14 weeks ago

The meatloaf needs more ketchup, but still looks better. My wife and I made pizza with venison burger once and it was horrible. Ruined me on venison pizza for good.

+1 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from smccardell wrote 1 year 14 weeks ago

Ok so this one has me torn, but not because I can't decide over which one I want to eat, but rather the lesser of two evils. The meatloaf looks dry. Pizza without tomato sauce (or some other kid of base sauce like to white pizza or even some pesto)? So it boiled down the the pictures and which looked more appetizing. For me it is the pizza, because I can close my eyes and almost see sauce, but most importantly because it has a nice pint pictured in it. A word of advice for any would be Wild Chef's wanting to compete. You can't go wrong with putting a beer in your picture. You also can't go wrong by using bacon. Just my 2 cents.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from themadflyfisher wrote 1 year 14 weeks ago

I know a guy that makes a real good venison sausage that is great on pizza.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from CL3 wrote 1 year 14 weeks ago

We eat with our eyes first, so I'm going to go with the pizza. The meatloaf photo doesn't do it justice.

And I'm sure the meatloaf is tasty, but I like to see some veggies (onion, garlic, peppers, etc) in mine. Maybe a couple pieces of crispy bacon on it to keep it extra moist. And I rock the sirracha sauce in lieu of ketchup.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from 2Poppa wrote 1 year 14 weeks ago

I never cared for pizza but I have to make an exception here.
Great picture Levi!

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from jdwood wrote 1 year 14 weeks ago

Venison Pizza hands down, it looks amazing, it would be even better if it had a some sauce in it. Pizza and beer is a great combination, add some wild game to the mix and it sounds like a win win to me. I like meatloaf, but like CL3 said the picture doesn't do it justice compared to Levi's presentation.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from country road wrote 1 year 13 weeks ago

I'm in agreement with Moose about the meatloaf and turkey sandwiches. Meatloaf and mashed potatoes is hard to beat, too. I sometimes mix in a little barbeque sauce to give the meatloaf a different taste---a touch of liquid smoke, too.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from jamesti wrote 1 year 13 weeks ago

i hate ketchup on meatloaf almost as much as i do pork! pizza for me on this one.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from 007 wrote 1 year 13 weeks ago

My wife usually uses venison burger in her meat loaf, and occasionally an equal part of unseasoned hog sausage. Good stuff there.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

from dleurquin wrote 1 year 13 weeks ago

Pizza, the all-american import food. Gotta love it.

0 Good Comment? Yes | No | Report

Post a Comment

 

All submitted comments are subject to the rules set forth in our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.