Hot dish is a Midwest favorite and it's not hard to see why. Anything topped with tater tots is a winner, right? This venison hot dish version of the popular casserole uses ground venison, which makes it a great venison recipe to use up the deer meat in your freezer before hunting season opens.
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While you do need about an hour to bake the venison hot dish, prep time is only about 10 minutes. Set your oven to 350ºF to preheat while you start the casserole. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, saute the onion in olive oil, then add a pound ground venison along with salt and black pepper for seasoning. When the meat is cooked, add the cream of mushroom soup and the frozen peas.
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The mixture goes into a glass casserole dish and topped with shredded cheddar cheese. Line the tater tots on top of the cheese (and no, you don't have to thaw them out first). Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake the venison hot dish an extra 15 minutes to brown the tater tots. Call the family to the table and serve!
Ground Venison Hot Dish
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 1 lb ground venison
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 can cream of mushroom soup
- 1 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 3 cups tater tots
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350ºF and grease a 13x9-inch glass pan.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the olive oil and onion and cook 2 minutes. Add the venison, salt, and pepper, and cook until no longer pink. To the skillet add the cream of mushroom soup and the frozen peas. Pour the mixture into the glass dish.
- Top the venison with the shredded cheese and line the tater tots on top of the cheese. Cover tightly with foil and bake 45 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an extra 15 minutes to brown the tater tots. Serve.
