How To Make Delicious Venison Cabbage Rolls

We are all looking for healthy yet delicious meals come January and these Venison Cabbage Rolls are just that. They are easy to make, full of nourishing ingredients and perfect for a cozy dinner!

If you have never had cabbage rolls before, they are quite simple. Tender cabbage leaves, filled with a spiced meat and rice fillings, all smothered in a sweet and tangy tomato sauce. A great family dinner when you want something comforting but still healthy.

Traditionally cabbage rolls are a combination of beef and pork, but around here you know we like our wild game meat! You can use ground venison or almost any other ground wild game meat you have. With a recipe like this, I recommend having at least 10-15% pork or beef fat in your ground game meat. This helps the meat stay tender and juicy inside the cabbage as it cooks.

Venison Cabbage Rolls are a great make ahead meal and also are a great freeze meal. You can pre them ahead of time, and leave them in the fridge over night until you are ready to cook them and serve. They are great enjoyed fresh for dinner, as leftovers for lunch or even a mid day snack that is full of protein!

Tips for Making Perfect Venison Cabbage Rolls

1. Use ground venison or other ground game meat that has 10-15% pork or beef fat added. This ensure that the meat will stay juicy and tender as it is cooked for a while in the oven. We do 15% pork shoulder to add a bit of fat but keep the meat still lean.
2. When making the rice, you just want to par boil it, meaning you are only cooking it about half way through. Doing this will prevent it from going mushy in the oven as the rice will finish cooking fully in the oven.
3. You can make the cabbage rolls as big or as small as you like. I like to fit as much filling in each one as a can. This gives you nice big cabbage rolls, but does make it a bit harder to tightly roll them.

Venison Cabbage Roll Ingredients

Ground Venison– As mentioned above you can use ground venison, moose, elk , beef or any other ground red meat you like.

Rice– Most recipes call for a long grain rice but almost any white rice will work. I use jasmine because that’s what we always have on hand.

Cabbage– Standard green cabbage is best. I like to find the biggest one I can for lots of room for filling.

Tomatoes– You need both crushed tomatoes and diced tomatoes. Canned is totally fine and what I use.

Garlic– Fresh garlic is always best.

Onion– White or yellow onion is what you want for these cabbage rolls.

Fresh Parsley– You can use dried if you like, but the flavor is always better with fresh!

Apple Cider Vinegar– This adds a nice subtle tanginess to the sauce.

Maple Syrup– A touch of this helps cut the acidity in the tomatoes and give you a nice sweet tomato sauce.

Dried Oregano– I like this to be a bit more subtle, so dried is perfect.

Paprika– Ground paprika is what you want. Make sure it is not smoked paprika.

Egg– You need one egg to help bind the filling.

Chili Flakes– This is optional but I think they add a great subtle kick to the cabbage rolls.

The Steps

1. Preheat your oven to 350F.
2. Start with the sauce. Add the olive oil to a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until tender about 5 minutes.
3. Then, add in the remaining sauce ingredients and stir. Cook over medium heat for 2 minutes then reduce to simmer while you prep everything else.
4. For the cabbage, take the head and cut around the core at the bottom to remove it.
5. Next, place the head of cabbage in a pot of boiling water and cook for about five minute. You just want to get the cabbage softened so you can work with it.
6. Remove the cabbage from the pot and allow to cool.
7. Finally, make the filling, Add all of the filling ingredients to a bowl and stir until combined.
8. Once evenly mixed, stir in 3/4 cup of the tomato sauce you made.

1. To make the rolls, gently remove the first layer of cabbage leaf from the head.
2. Then, gently cut a little triangle at the bottom where the hard stem bit is to remove it. They won’t fold nicely if you leave that thick, hard piece of cabbage there.
3. Take that piece of cabbage and place it on a flat surface. Add a couple spoonfuls of the meat filling then roll it up like a mini burrito, making sure to tuck the sides in.
4. Repeat this process to make about 10-12 cabbage rolls or until you have used all of the filling.

1. Now, spoon a layer of the tomato sauce into the bottom of 9×13 or any large casserole dish, braiser or dutch oven. Gently lay the cabbage rolls on top so they are close together, then pour the remaining sauce over top to cover the rolls.
2. Place a lid on top of the dish (or cover with foil loosely if your dish doesn’t have a lid), then bake for about 75 minutes.
3. Remove from the oven, and serve hot with sour cream and fresh parsley.

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

Looking for more cozy recipes to make this Winter?

https://cmbarndominium.com/quick-healthy-loaded-venison-sweet-potatoes/

https://cmbarndominium.com/insanely-good-venison-chili/

https://cmbarndominium.com/how-to-make-the-best-venison-french-dip/