Recipe: Venison Sloppy Joes

Camera — This ain't your run-of-the-mill sloppy joe mix. This is fine dining.

PREP TIME: 20 MIN. | COOK TIME: 20 MIN. | FEEDS: 3-6

Every state has things it’s known for. I was lucky to grow up in Iowa. There, people spook 12-point studs away from their flower gardens and yards. Gas station pizza is king. Loose meat sandwiches prevail. And venison sloppy joes are everything.

My mother’s sloppy joes were like everything else in the kitchen — made mostly from scratch. The key is skipping the pre-made cans of Manwich, and instead, using a mix of cream of mushroom soup, BBQ sauce, and mustard. I had friends who swore they hated sloppy joes, and would eat two or three when having dinner at my house.

As much as I love fancy chef and quality food, this is 100% pure nostalgia done right. You could substitute canned cream of mushroom for equal amounts of sautéed mushrooms mixed with béchamel/white gravy. But on this one, I’m rolling with the original recipe.

Because the meat is simmered at the end in sauce, you can just grind the venison fresh and skip any additional ground fat for pure, wild venison flavor. For presentation, I’m going with my favorite way to eat. That’s a piece of crunchy lettuce on the bottom bun to keep it from getting drenched with sauce. Also, it’s topped with sliced pickles and wavy potato chips for extra salt and crunch.

As always, once the meat is salted and cooked, taste it. Add spices and taste it again. When you add BBQ, taste once more. Skip the stages of taste testing and it’s like walking into a new spot of public in a new state with no mapping app, a bow you’ve never shot, and hoping to shoot a buck of a lifetime. (It ain’t happening.)

Finally, my father always put hot sauce on his sloppy joes. I do as well. Still, we all have different definitions of what’s spicy. Choose your own adventure. Then, roll up your sleeves and get ready for sauce down to your elbows.

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs. ground venison
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup BBQ sauce
¼ cup mustard
2 tbsp. olive oil, lard, or other fat for browning meat
2 tbsp. garlic powder
2 tbsp. onion powder
1 tbsp. salt
4 hamburger buns
Crispy lettuce (to cover bottom buns)
Sliced pickles and wavy potato chips to garnish
Hot sauce (optional)

DETAILED STEPS

Prep for cooking.
Assemble your toppings.
Season ground meat with salt.
Heat a skillet with olive oil or lard. Need two? Use two.
Brown meat on medium-high until lightly browned.
Wait for liquid to evaporate, as that’s when browning takes off present fat.
Add onion and garlic powder. Stir to coat. Taste for flavor and saltiness.
Add BBQ sauce, cream of mushroom soup, and mustard.
Fill your soup can with water. Stir out remaining flavor and add to the pot.
Simmer on low for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally (BBQ sauce will burn if not).
Taste to see if the BBQ-to-mustard ratio suits you. It should be tangy and slightly sweet.
If you want to add any hot sauce for heat, now is the time. You want the meat to hold together well and not just slop right off the bun, making reduction a key step.
Toast your buns.
Put the lettuce down to cover the bottom bun.
Pile on meat.
Add pickle slices and a layer or two of potato chips.