Although it might depend on what you are mixing the venison with. You’ll have to add some other meat, because venison doesn’t have enough fat to make a good meatloaf.
For me, that would be an easy answer. I’d make a blackberry balsamic gastrique. Goes great with venison and most wild game.
Chopped onion and garlic sauteed in drippings, some roux (butter and flour), whole milk, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Add some red pepper flakes, if desired.
Ground rat loaf. Once you’ve tasted it, you’ll never go back.
My wife has about half a dozen dishes that she will cook. She only cooks a few times a year. She does make a pretty good meat loaf and it has a tomato sauce over it.
Ok, people. How do you make brown gravy with a meatloaf? There’s not enough drippings to make a roux. I’ve used jarred gravy before, but it’s kinda gross.
I would like to have gravy, but I just use ketchup. My “topping” is ketchup mixed with A-1 sauce.
Really? I would do *anything *for loaf.
Cook bacon for breakfast and save the grease.
Bacon fat makes the best gravy.
My grandparents kept a grease can on the stove. We don’t do that. We use fresh grease from earlier in the day.
Hunger, of course.
Hunger is always the best sauce.
Ketchup mixed with grated horseradish.
Perhaps your beef is too lean. I use a mixture of 20% ground and lean ground (and ground lamb, usually), which will provide some fat in the pan. Use that plus either butter or bacon fat and go from there. If it’s not brown enough, add a small amount of Kitchen Bouquet.
I never knew tomato sauce was an option, we always had ketchup. But yeah now that I think about it, brown gravy would complement meatloaf and mashed potatoes really well.
I use Better Than Bouillon to make gravy. add herbs and spices to taste. Add some to your meatloaf mix for an extra beefy kick. Be careful though, it’s really salty, so cut back on your regular salt. For gravy, I use the low sodium version.
As for preference, it’ depends on my mood. Done right, a really juicy meatloaf doesn’t even need gravy.
A cold meatloaf sandwich, OTOH, demands mustard and relish.
So, cocktail sauce, then?
I prefer brown gravy.
Mayo, you heathen.
My seconds will call on yours shortly, sirrah!
It depends - and I’m probably about to commit heresy here, but sometimes, I like meatloaf with liver included in it - in which case, I prefer a meaty brown gravy. If it’s more like a meatball-style recipe, I prefer a tomato-based sauce.
Warmed meatloaf sanger with mayo. 