Stuffed Mushrooms with Venison

If you’ve got ground venison in the freezer and need an appetizer that disappears fast, this is it. I’ve made these for everything from casual dinners to hunting camp, and the pan is always empty before anything else on the table. The filling is ground venison sautéed with garlic, bell pepper, and Italian seasoning, mixed with breadcrumbs and mozzarella — simple ingredients that come together in about 20 minutes.

One thing worth knowing: you’ll almost always end up with more filling than mushroom caps. That’s not a mistake. Eat the extra straight from the pan while the mushrooms finish in the oven. Consider it the cook’s reward.

Any ground antlered game works here — deer, elk, antelope. If you have ground venison sausage instead of plain ground venison, use it. The extra seasoning in the sausage only makes it better. The rule of thumb with wild game is simple: any recipe that calls for ground beef or pork works with ground venison.

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Stuffed Mushrooms

Cuisine: American

Ingredients

• 16 medium mushrooms
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons red bell pepper or any color
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 1/4 cups ground venison
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
• pinch red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Remove stems from mushrooms, and scoop out dark brown "gills" with a teaspoon while keeping the mushroom cap intact. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add pepper and garlic, and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Add venison and Italian seasoning, and saute until just cooked. Cool mixture.
• In a medium bowl, combine cooled venison mixture with breadcrumbs, pepper flakes and cheese. Mix well, and season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Divide mixture evenly into 4 parts. Each portion should stuff 4 mushrooms caps (with some left over). Spoon mixture into caps, and place on a lightly greased baking pan. Place in the preheated oven for 6 to 7 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Nutrition

Serving: 16g