Slow Braised Venison BBQ Flatbread Pizza

Nothing screams Summer like grilling up some flatbread and this Venison BBQ Flatbread Pizza is one you need to try! Juicy, tender, slow braised venison piled onto homemade sourdough flatbread with fresh pineapple, mozzarella, jalapeños, bacon and BBQ sauce. It doesn’t get better than this!

We love making homemade pizza, and when done on the grill they are even better! This slow braised venison BBQ flatbread pizza gives you everything you could want in a pizza and is so easy to make. It’s soft, chewy, a little sweet and a little tangy. A grilling season must try.

If you haven’t made my grilled sourdough flatbread yet it is extremely simple. You mix the dough, let it rise over night, then store it in the fridge until you are ready to cook. When it’s cooking time, simply stretch the dough, then place it on the grill for a couple minutes a side. Once you have the dough cooked, it gets topped with slow braised venison that is cooked for 4 hours and is fall apart tender. Add on some cheddar, mozzarella, crispy bacon, fresh pineapple and sliced jalapeños, then finish it off with some BBQ sauce. It is truly a combo made to please!

This flatbread pizza makes a great summer recipe because you can bread the dough and meat ahead of time during those busy Summer days. It then takes 20 minutes to throw together when you’re ready to eat and turns out perfect every time. This pizza is great for a weekend family dinner, a pool party, or date night at home!

Tips for Making Venison BBQ Flatbread Pizza

1. Whether you are using shanks or a roast, you always want to make sure you have enough broth to basically cover the meat while it is cooking. This ensures it stays juicy and tender.
2. If your meat isn’t easily shredded/ falling apart after 4 hours, cook it longer. You need the meat to cook long enough that it breaks down and becomes super tender.
3. With the flatbread dough, be sure to pull it from the fridge and let it sit at room temperature for 1-2 hours before cooking it so that it warms up and can be stretched easier.

Venison BBQ Flatbread Pizza Ingredients

Sourdough Flatbread– This is a super simple flatbread made with just sourdough starter, flour, milk, and olive oil.

Venison Shanks/Roast– You can use any kind of wild game shank or roast you like for this recipe. If using a roast, the inside or outside rounds always tend to shred the best!

Beef Broth– Store bought or homemade works.

Tomato Paste- Just a touch, to bring some acidity and flavor to the cooking broth.

Garlic– Fresh minced as always.

Smoked Paprika– Adds a delicious smokey flavor to the meat.

Onion– You need white onion for the meat and red onion for the pizza.

Apple Cider Vinegar- Can sub with red wine vinegar if you like.

Maple Syrup– Just a touch goes into the braising liquid.

Pineapple- I prefer fresh but you can also used canned.

BBQ Sauce- Use whichever is your favorite. Store bought or homemade.

Cheese– You can use all mozzarella or a combo of mozzarella and cheddar.

Bacon– Some crispy crumble bacon adds a delicious salty crunch.

Jalapeños– If you don’t like spice you can omit these.

Cilantro– Optional, but makes a delicious fresh garnish.

The Steps

Braise the Meat

1. Start by preheating your oven to 350F.
2. Take the meat (shanks or roasts) and season generously with salt and pepper on all sides.
3. Then, heat a dutch oven over high heat with a couple tbsp of oil.
4. Add the meat and sear for a couple minutes on all sides then remove from the pan.
5. To that pan, add in the onion and garlic, and cook over medium heat for a couple minutes.
6. Next, deglaze the pot with the apple cider vinegar, scraping the crispy bits off the bottom of the pot.
7. To that, add in the tomato paste, maple syrup, beef broth, smoked paprika and salt & pepper. If your broth is fully salted you do not need salt.
8. Stir the broth, turn off the heat, then place the meat back in the pot, and add in 1 cup of pineapple. At this point, if your meat is not full covered with liquid, add in some extra broth until it is.
9. Place the lid on the pot, and cook in the oven for about 4 hours or until tender enough to shred.

Grill the Flatbread Pizza

1. An hour or so before the meat is done, pull the flatbread dough out of the fridge and let it warm at room temperature.
2. Once the meat is tender, remove it from the oven, and shred it (or finely chop it if using shanks).Place the shredded meat into a bowl, and toss it with a couple tbsp of bbq sauce.
3. Finally, preheat your grill to 475F. Take the dough out of the bowl and gently stretch it to your desired shape. You can also stretch it as thin or thick as you like depending on if you wanted a thicker softer pizza or thinner crispy pizza.
4. Flour a baking sheet or large cutting board and slide the dough onto it. Drizzle the top with olive oil then flip the dough off the board onto the grill.
5. Let the flatbread cook for just 2-3 minutes, then flip it and cook for another 1-2 minutes. You don’t want it too crispy at this point since you will be outting it back on to melt the cheese.
6. Lastly, drizzle some bbq sauce over the flatbread, then layer on all of your toppings starting with the cheese, and make sure to add all that juicy bbq meat.
7. Slide the flatbread pizza back onto the grill and cook just until the cheese is melted.
8. Remove from the grill, slice and enjoy!

If you give this recipe a try, leave a comment or a recipe review below!

Looking for more Summer recipes to make with your wild game!?

https://cmbarndominium.com/peach-corn-steak-bowls-with-creamy-avocado-sauce/

https://cmbarndominium.com/loaded-venison-potato-nachos/

https://cmbarndominium.com/flavourful-greek-stuffed-venison-roast/