Hearty and meaty this venison bolognese combines ground venison, vegetables, tomatoes, broth, and wine to create a delicious meat and tomato sauce that any pasta will love.

Pasta is one of our favorite dishes. Whether it's lasagna, goulash, or slathering freshly cooked pasta with this meaty venison bolognese sauce, pasta makes it on the menu at least once a week.

This venison recipe is a family favorite that I turn back to over and over again. It's a great way to use that ground venison in your freezer and even to serve to people who think they don't like venison meat because you can't tell.

This hearty meat sauce brings the best of both worlds by utilizing delicious venison in place of beef. It's the perfect meat sauce and I'm sure your family will love it.

How to make venison bolognese

While traditional bolognese calls for beef, I find that using ground deer meat is an even better flavor profile for this meaty sauce.

Typical ragú bolognese recipes also call for white wine, no garlic, and very little in the way of herbs. However, my personal preference is to use lots of herbs, garlic, and red wine to make the perfect sauce.

For the wine, I like to use a dry red wine like a hearty cabernet sauvignon, nothing expensive, ten dollars or less. If you prefer to use traditional white wine, a pinot grigio or other dry white will go well here.

A mistake a lot of people make when making a bolognese recipe of any kind is they don't allow enough time. Making proper bolognese, even with changing up some of the ingredients, takes a long time. Hurrying through to make the pasta sauce is a surefire way to wind up with a lackluster, or even burnt, spaghetti sauce.

So while prep time for this recipe is pretty minimal, it's best saved for a lazy Sunday afternoon or a day when you have a lot of time. The longer it simmers, the better.

Brown the meat in added fat. To begin, brown ground venison in a large pot or dutch oven with olive oil and butter over medium-high heat. Elk, deer, moose, or antelope work well here. Once the meat is browned, remove it to a bowl with a slotted spoon and set it to the side.

Sauté vegetables. Next, combine the traditional vegetables of carrots, celery, mushrooms, and onion with the addition of minced garlic cloves. First, add the carrots and celery, then add the onion and garlic. Lastly, sauté the mushrooms with the rest of the vegetables over medium heat.

Combine with meat and deglaze. Once the vegetables are all sautéed, lower heat and add the ground meat back in. Mix everything together. Season everything with oregano, basil, salt, and black pepper. Then, deglaze the pan with the red wine vinegar and dry red wine.

Reduce. Allow the meat, vegetables, and wine to cook down over low heat until almost all of the liquid has evaporated. Then, add in the tomato paste, tomatoes, and venison broth or beef broth. Sprinkle the garlic powder and the remaining salt on top and stir it in.

Simmer. Allow the tomato mixture to simmer for at least an hour over low heat before adding the milk. Stir the milk to combine and allow the sauce to cook an additional 20 to 30 minutes before serving ladlefuls of sauce over al dente pasta.

Other Ground Venison Recipes To Try:

• The Best Hearty Venison Chili Recipe
• The Best Venison Meatloaf
• The Best Venison Burger Recipe

If you try this venison bolognese, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below! Also, feel free to leave me a recipe review on the recipe card below and tag me on Instagram @therusticelk!