Deer Camp Cornbread

There are some melas that don’t need much explaining.

A hot skillet. Ground venison. Cornbread. A little heat. A little cheese. Something that sticks to your ribs after a long day in the woods.

This is one of them.

Deer Camp Cornbread takes the old cowboy cornbread idea and gives it the treatment it deserves - with ground venison, peppers, onions, corn, and a golden cornbread crust baked right over the top.

It’s simple, filling, and exactly the kind of thing that belongs on a deer camp table.

INGREDIENTS:

Venison Filling

  • 1 lb ground venison

  • 1 tbs butter or bacon grease

  • 1 small yellow onion, diced

  • 1 bell pepper, diced

  • 1 jalapeno, finely chopped

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 1 can Rotel

  • 1 cup corn, drained if canned

  • 1 tsp chili powder

  • 1 tsp smoked paprika

  • 1/2 tsp cumin

  • 1/2 tsp salt

  • 1/2 tsp black pepper

  • 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Cornbread

  • 1 cup yellow cornmeal

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour

  • 1 tbs baking powder

  • 1/2 tsp salt

  • 1 cup buttermilk

  • 1 large egg

  • 1/4 cup melted butter

  • 1 tbs honey, optional

  • 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Preheat oven to 400*F

  2. Heat a 10- or 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the butter or bacon grease, then the ground venison.

  3. Cook until browned, breaking the meat apart with a wooden spoon as it cooks.

  4. Add the onion, bell pepper, and jalapeno. Cook for another 4-5 minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften.

  5. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.

  6. Stir in the Rotel, corn, chili powder, smoked paprika, cumin, salt, and black pepper. Let everything cook together for another 2-3 minutes.

  7. Remove the skillet from the heat and spread the venison mixture evenly across the bottom.

  8. Sprinkle one cup of cheddar cheese over the meat.

  9. In a separate bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt.

  10. Add the buttermilk, egg, melted butter, and honey if using. Stir until just combined. Fold in the remaining cheese.

  11. Pour the conrbread batter evenly over the venison mixture.

  12. Place the skillet in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the cornbread is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

  13. Let is rest for 5-10 minutes before serving straight from the skillet.

Hot sauce is never a bad idea. Neither is another handful of cheese on top.

And if there happens to be a cold beer sitting nearby, nobody at camp is going to complain.

This isn’t fancy food.

It’s the kind of meal you make when everybody comes back to camp hungry, tired, and smelling like wood smoke.

And that’s exactly the point.

Dead Head Outdoors