Venison meatball subs are the perfect weeknight wild game dinner that the whole family will love! Tender venison meatballs simmered in savory marinara sauce, topped with melted provolone cheese on a toasted hoagie roll, every bite is delicious!
Why You'll Love This Recipe
Easy to Make: These meatball subs are simple to make for weeknight dinners. You can make them even easier by prepping the meatballs in the morning so all you have to do is cook them at night!
Family-Friendly: Meatball subs are a tasty meal for all ages! For another family-friendly meatball recipe, check out my venison porcupine meatballs! Or for something a little fancier, try French onion elk meatballs.
Hearty and Flavorful: The combination of tender meatballs, flavorful marinara sauce, and melted cheese makes these sandwiches packed with flavor and will fill you up!
Ingredient Notes
- Ground Venison: Any lean ground meat can be used in place of ground venison. Elk, moose, beef, turkey, etc. will all work! If you have an abundance of ground venison, check out these tasty ground venison recipes!
- Marinara Sauce: I like to use a flavorful sauce like Rao's marinara sauce. You can use homemade sauce or your preferred brand!
See the recipe card below for a full ingredient list and amounts needed.
Equipment Notes
- Cookie Scoop: A cookie scoop is a handy tool to make evenly-sized meatballs. But, you can also portion them by hand.
- Large Skillet: You'll need a large enough skillet to fit all the meatballs and be able to cover them with sauce!
How to Make Venison Meatballs:
Perfect venison meatballs are just a few easy steps away! Follow along below to learn how to make them.
Step 1: To a large bowl add egg, milk, bread crumbs, and olive oil.
Step 2: Mix together with a whisk. Let the mixture sit while you prepare other ingredients (onions, garlic, parsley, etc.), about 5 minutes. The breadcrumbs will absorb the wet ingredients which helps the meatballs stick together.
Step 3: Add meat, onion, parsley, parmesan cheese, garlic, salt, and pepper to the bowl.
Step 4: Gently mix the meat mixture together with your hands until well combined.
Step 5: Use a cookie scoop to divide the meatball mixture into 24 equal portions, about 2 tablespoons each.
Step 6: Gently form each portion into a ball.
Step 7: Place meatballs on a parchment paper-lined pan, evenly spaced in a single layer. Place in preheated oven.
Step 8: Bake for 12-15 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165°F and the outsides are golden brown.
Pro Tip: One of the secrets to tender meatballs is to gently mix the ingredients. If you overmix the ingredients or compact the meat mixture too much, you'll end up with tough meatballs.
How to Make Meatball Subs
Once your meatballs are in the oven, these sandwiches come together quickly!
Step 1: While the meatballs are cooking, add 2 cups of marinara sauce to an electric skillet or large skillet. Bring to a simmer. When meatballs are done cooking, remove from oven. Add meatballs to marinara sauce. Pour remaining 2 cups marinara sauce over meatballs. Cover and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes.
Step 2: Turn oven to low broil and line a sheet pan with foil or parchment paper. Cut hoagie rolls in half but leave one long side connected. Open each roll and lay flat on sheet pan. To each hoagie roll, add 5 meatballs to one side of the roll. Spread 2 tablespoon marinara on the other half of the roll.
Step 3: Break cheese slices in half and place 2 halves over each side of the roll, 2 whole slices per sandwich.
Step 4: Broil for 2-3 minutes or until bread is slightly toasted and cheese is melted. Close sandwich by folding top of roll over the meatballs. Enjoy!
What to Serve with Meatball Subs
Meatball subs are great with simple sides like a green salad with homemade honey mustard dressing, roasted veggies, homemade potato chips, or your favorite sides. No matter how you choose to serve them, you're going to love this weeknight venison meal!
Recipe FAQ's
There are several reasons meatballs may be tough. Overmixing the ingredients is the most common culprit. Overmixing causes the meatballs to become compacted and tough. Also, not using enough filler ingredients like sourdough breadcrumbs, milk, and eggs can lead to tough meatballs.
Milk is a great addition to meatballs because it adds moisture. Try soaking your breadcrumbs in milk before adding them to the meatball mixture for super tender, moist meatballs!
There are several ways to remove the gamey flavor from venison. My favorite way is to let the meat thaw in a paper towel-lined bowl to soak up the excess moisture that seeps out of the meat when it thaws. The liquid that comes out is called myoglobin and if it sits with the meat too long after it's thawed, it can add a stronger taste to the venison.
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Venison Meatball Subs
Equipment
Ingredients
Meatballs:
- 1 lb ground venison (or other lean ground meat)
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese
- ½ cup finely diced onions (or 1 teaspoon onion powder)
- 2 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped (or 1 tablespoon dried parsley)
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic (or 1 teaspoon garlic powder)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Other Ingredients:
- 4 cups marinara sauce (about 1 ½ jars)
- 12 slices provolone cheese
- 6 hoagie rolls
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- To a medium bowl add egg, milk, bread crumbs, and olive oil. Mix together with a whisk. Let mixture sit while you prepare other ingredients (onions, garlic, parsley, etc.), about 5 minutes.
- Add meat, parmesan, onion, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper to bowl. Mix together with your hands until well combined.
- Roll mixture into 30 meatballs, about 1 ¾ tablespoon each. Place on parchment paper-lined pan, evenly spaced. Bake for 15 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165°F.
- While meatballs are cooking, add 2 cups marinara sauce to an electric skillet or large skillet. Bring to a simmer.
- When meatballs are done cooking, remove from oven. Turn oven to low broil and line a sheet pan with foil or parchment paper.
- Add meatballs to marinara sauce. Pour remaining 2 cups marinara sauce over meatballs. Cover and simmer on low heat for 10 minutes.
- Cut hoagie rolls in half but leave one long side connected. Open each roll and lay flat on sheet pan.
- To each hoagie roll, add 5 meatballs to one side of the roll. Spread 2 tablespoon marinara on the other half of the roll. Break cheese slices in half and place 2 halves over each side of the roll, 2 whole slices per sandwich.
- Broil for 2-3 minutes or until bread is slightly toasted and cheese is melted. Close sandwich by folding top of roll over the meatballs. Enjoy!
- Note: Meatballs can be prepped up to 2 days in advance before baking. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
- To Freeze: Prepare meatballs and place on parchment paper-lined sheet pan. Freeze until solid. Place frozen meatballs in freezer zippered bag and freeze for up to 3 months. To thaw, place on parchment paper-lined sheet pan and thaw overnight under refrigeration. Follow cooking instructions above.
Notes
- Any lean ground meat can be used in place of ground venison. Elk, moose, beef, turkey, etc. will all work!
- I like to use a flavorful sauce like Rao's marinara sauce. You can use homemade sauce or your preferred brand!
- A cookie scoop is a handy tool to make evenly-sized meatballs. But, you can also portion them by hand.
- You'll need a large enough skillet to fit all the meatballs and be able to cover them with sauce!
- One of the secrets to tender meatballs is to gently mix the ingredients. If you overmix the ingredients or compact the meat mixture too much, you'll end up with tough meatballs.
Tammy says
I made these but added mild sausage with the meat and they turned out Amazingly delicious