Spaghetti and Blacktail Deer Meatballs

by Marcus Weiner

For many years, we used beef or turkey in this recipe, and now that we use Sitka blacktail deer, it’s even better. The recipe is easy and quick, and turns another traditional dish into  more uniquely Alaskan table fare. Furthermore, the kids love it.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground blacktail (when we grind our burger we add about 15% beef suet)

5 green onions

1 clove garlic

3 pieces of wheat bread

1 egg

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup fresh flat Italian parsley

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp onion powder

Directions:

1) Put three pieces of bread in food processor and chop until approximately 1/4 inch cubes. Put in separate bowl and combine with 1/4 cup milk. Fluff with fork and set aside.

2) Dice green onions, 1/4 cup fresh flat parsley (remove stalks and chop fine) and clove of garlic. In the main mixing bowl, combine ground deer, green onion, egg, garlic, parsley, salt, pepper and onion powder. When all ingredients are well mixed, gently fold in bread crumbs.

3) Pre-heat oven to 350°F. Put a piece of wax paper on a cookie sheet. To make consistent sized meatballs, we use a 1 3/8-inch cookie scoop tool. This also makes it very quick and easy to turn the mixture into balls.

4) Cook for 20 minutes at 350°F. Makes approximately 48 meatballs.

5) Serve over pasta of your choice, or use to make your incarnation of a meatball sub.