These Venison Salisbury Steaks are flavorful and delicious. Topped with mushroom gravy and served with mashed potatoes, they will satisfy even the biggest appetite!
Comfort food always evokes memories. And this Venison Salisbury Steaks recipe is no exception even though it uses wild game meat instead of the more traditional beef.
When I was a kid we would occasionally have Swanson TV dinners.
Do any of y’all remember those?
Maybe I’m dating myself here… lol
My favorite was the Salisbury Steak one.
It was something my mom never made, so it was a treat for me.
Oddly enough, as much as I loved that as a kid, I never made it either.
The other day, I was online looking for some inspiration.
I have a bunch of ground venison and I wanted to make something new and different.
I came across a Venison Salisbury Steak recipe and thought, “Bingo!”
But, when I read through the recipe it had some really weird stuff in it that I didn’t have in my kitchen.
So, you know me, I started experimenting.
After a few tries, this is the recipe I came up with.
The steaks are moist, and the mushroom gravy is rich and full of flavor.
I like to serve these with mashed potatoes, steamed broccoli, a whole wheat dinner roll, and some cherry cobbler for dessert.
Just like Swanson.
These Venison Salisbury Steaks reheat really well and freeze beautifully.
You could also make the steaks ahead of time and freeze them so they’re ready to go when you are.
The recipe makes eight portions, or six generous ones.
So, if you have big appetites around your table, you might want to make six.
Oh, and just a note about the onions. It looks like there’s waaay too much onion in this recipe.
I promise it’s not.
Trust me.
Enough talk! Let’s go make these!
VENISON SALISBURY STEAKS
Ingredients:
Patties
- 1 pound ground venison
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup Italian bread crumbs
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ cup onion, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoon fresh parsley OR 1 tsp dried
- 1 tablespoon ghee or olive oil (learn how to make your own ghee here)
Gravy
- 1 tablespoon ghee
- 1 large onion sliced into ¼” slices
- 4 ounces sliced mushroom OR 1-4 ounce can of mushrooms with liquid
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped, OR ½ teaspoon dried
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 4 tablespoons all purpose flour OR cornstarch
- 4 cups beef broth or game stock
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- Salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
How to cook perfect Venison Salisbury Steaks
Making the Patties
You’re going to need a large mixing bowl.
Start with the venison. Break it up a little bit with your hands to make it easier to mix.
Now add the minced onion and garlic, breadcrumbs, egg, onion powder, garlic powder, parsley, and salt and pepper.
It’s best if you mix it up by hand. Using a mixer would overwork it and make it too dense.
Mix it all up just until it’s combined.
Divide the mixture into 6 or 8 portions.
Now form the portions into oval patties that are about 1/2-inch thick.
Some of those onions will pop out as you form the steaks. Just press them back into the meat mixture.
As you form the steak patties, put them on a large plate.
Once all the steak patties are made, it’s time to get frying.
Grab a large skillet (I usually use my large cast iron skillet, but it was otherwise occupied) and melt a tablespoon of ghee or olive oil over medium heat.
Add the Venison Salisbury Steaks in 2 batches.
Unless you have a ginormous skillet that is big enough for all of them.
Fry them over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes on each side. We’re getting a nice sear going, but not cooking them all the way.
After both sides of the patties are brown, remove them from the pan to a platter and cover to keep warm. Set aside.
Then fry the second batch and add those to the plate as well.
Making the mushroom gravy
To get started on the gravy, add another tablespoon of ghee or coconut oil to the frying pan.
Once that’s melted, add the sliced onions to the pan.
Cook these over medium high heat for about 5 minutes. You need to stir these very frequently.
At about 5 minutes, they should be translucent and beginning to caramelize.
If you are using fresh mushrooms add those in now.
Then, continue to cook and stir for another 3 minutes or so.
Now we’re going to add the flour, garlic powder, and thyme.
Use a whisk and get that all combined with the onions and oil.
Then you need to let that cook and brown for about 1 minute, whisking continuously.
Now it’s time to pour in the beef stock or game stock all at once.
Continue to whisk that all together. Make sure to scrape the bits off the bottom of the skillet.
If you are using canned mushrooms, add those and the liquid now and whisk that in.
Cook the gravy, whisking continuously, until it comes to a boil then lower the heat just a tad so the gravy simmers.
Continue to simmer and whisk until the gravy thickens, then add 1 tablespoon butter and stir until it’s melted. As the butter melts, it will add a richness and a lovely sheen to the gravy.
Once the gravy has thickened up, add the Venison Salisbury Steaks back to the pan with the gravy mixture.
Ladle some of that gravy over the steaks, and cook for 5 minutes.
About halfway through you can switch some of the patties around if they aren’t all covered with gravy.
Serve these Venison Salisbury Steaks smothered in the delicious mushroom gravy and garnished with fresh parsley if desired.
Round out the meal with mashed potatoes, egg noodles, or rice.
How to Freeze Uncooked Venison Salisbury Steaks
If you are planning ahead and turning this into a freezer meal, here is the process to follow.
- Form the patties and place each one on a small piece of parchment paper
- Fold the parchment paper up and around the patty and tape together
- Pop the patties into an airtight container or zip top freezer bag
- To cook, remove the patties from the freezer and allow to thaw completely, then follow the normal instructions
- Then will keep for about 3 months in the freezer
My favorite Parchment Paper is unbleached and I get it here.
Frequently Asked Questions About Venison Salisbury Steaks
Overcooking can make your steaks tough, especially since venison is such a very lean meat. To ensure that your Venison Salisbury Steaks stay juice and succulent, take care to only brown the patties initially and finish cooking them in the gravy.
If the meat mixture is too warm it can sometimes fall apart while it’s cooking. To avoid the issue you can form your patties and then cover and place them in the fridge for 30 minutes or so. You can also make them ahead and leave them in the fridge for several hours before cooking.
Absolutely! For best results, freeze the steaks in the gravy in an airtight container. They will keep for about 3 months in the freezer.
More main dish recipes you’ll love:
Venison Salisbury Steaks
Ingredients
Patties
- 1 pound ground venison
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup Italian bread crumbs
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ cup onion minced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoon fresh parsley OR 1 tsp dried
- 1 tablespoon ghee or olive oil for frying
Gravy
- 1 tablespoon ghee or olive oil
- 1 large onion sliced into ¼” slices
- 4 ounces sliced mushroom OR 1-4 ounce can of mushrooms with liquid
- 1 teaspoon fresh thyme chopped, OR ½ teaspoon dried
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 4 tablespoons all purpose flour OR cornstarch
- 4 cups beef broth or game stock
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- Salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, break up the venison a little bit with your hands to make it easier to mix. Now add the minced onion and garlic, breadcrumbs, egg, onion powder, garlic powder, parsley, and salt and pepper. Mix well.
- Divide the mixture into 6 or 8 portions. Form the portions into oval patties that are about 1/2-inch thick.
- In a large skillet melt a tablespoon of ghee or olive oil over medium heat.
- Add the Venison Salisbury Steaks in 2 batches and fry them over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes on each side to sear.
- After both sides of the patties are brown, remove them from the pan to a platter and cover to keep warm. Set aside.
- Repeat until all the patties are browned.
- Using the same frying pan, add another tablespoon of ghee or olive oil and let it melt.
- Add the sliced onions to the pan. Cook these over medium high heat for about 5 minutes until translucent and beginning to caramelize.
- If you are using fresh mushrooms add those in now. And continue to cook and stir for another 3 minutes.
- Using a whisk, add the flour, garlic powder, and thyme and combine with the onions.
- Let that cook and brown for 1 minute, whisking continuously.
- Pour in the beef stock or game stock all at once. Continue to whisk that all together. Make sure to scrape the bits off the bottom of the skillet.
- If you are using canned mushrooms, add those and the liquid now and whisk that in.
- Continue to whisk the gravy until it comes to a boil then lower the heat just a tad so the gravy simmers.
- Continue to simmer and whisk until the gravy thickens, then add 1 tablespoon butter and stir until it's melted.
- Once the gravy has thickened up, add the Venison Salisbury Steaks back to the pan with the gravy mixture. Ladle some of that gravy over the steaks, and cook for 5 minutes.
- About halfway through you can switch some of the patties around if they aren’t all covered with gravy.
- Remove from heat and serve.
I love Venison, followed the recipe. I did not have Italian bread crumps, I used plain bread crumps and added some Italian seasoning. My family loved it. I will most definitely be making this again!
Hi Cassandra!
I’m so glad y’all loved the recipe!! It’s one of our family favorites!
Cery
This was delicious.
I followed the recipe, except I used 8 oz. mushrooms. Perfect.
The only problem is it always takes me longer to prep than the recipe says.
It took me 30 minutes. I will make this again.
Thank you,
Pam
This recipe was absolutely AMAZING! The meat was super tender and the gravy was to die for!
Seriously so good! I was a little nervous to try this out with only 2 comments in the reviews… But I am so glad I did!!! I am always looking for venison recipes and you would never in a million years know that’s what you are eating.
Will definitely be putting this into our rotation. 😋 Thank you!
This was really, really good! I thought there would bee too much gravy but we all but licked the pan. Only thing I did different was I added about Half a pound of beef to the venison.
Oh my goodness was this delicious! My family gobbled every bit of it up. Thank you so much!
This is absolutely delicious! My husband loves it! He was raving about how good the gravy was the next day, and he’s not a raver! Making it for the third or fourth time tonight!
Quotes from my husband after eating this meal:
“How is venison even this good? It like melts in your mouth!”
“It’s like this recipe was designed for venison”
“I feel like it has to be unhealthy for it to be this good”
“Did you really make this gravy from scratch? You didn’t use a packet or anything?”
“Can we have this gravy more often?”
“I didn’t use to like Salisbury steak that much but this is different. I think I would want this over a hamburger even!”
“This is like one of my favorites”
“Maybe you should leave a review!”
😂😂😂
It’s delicious! We’ll definitely be making this again👍🏼
Wow! I’m so glad he loves it. Thank you!
Cery
A friend of ours gave us 1/2 pound of ground venison. I have always thought I would not eat it. I added a 1/2 pound of ground beef with it for the recipe and did everything else the same in the recipe. I have to say it was so good it changed mind. My husband loved it too. I put the unused patties in the freezer and we are having our third meal from it today. Thank you for recipe it is easy to make and very delicious! I am almost wishing my husband would take up hunting .
I’m so glad y’all like the recipe!
Cery
Everyone in the family loved this! My son asked for it to be a weekly dinner (hahahaha, I have too many recipes to have any one thing every week). Bonus that it is super easy to make!
Amazing!!!!!love this recipe!