I was hooked the first time I ate elk lasagna. After that, I started grinding other wild game meat to make my favorite Italian recipes like venison lasagna and manicotti. Today, I rarely use traditional ground beef when making lasagna. My go to meat for lasagna is wild elk, buffalo and venison.
I use lean game meats and it cuts back on a lot of the fat that normally comes with using 80/20 ground beef. This lasagna recipe is unbelievably easy and can be cooked in less than a hour and the prep time is very quick.
The cool part about this recipe is that you can use uncooked lasagna noodles. Your family and friends will eat this one up.
Ingredients:
1 lb. ground elk or venison
1 32 oz. jar spaghetti or pasta sauce (Classico is the best and better than Ragu)
16 oz. container of Ricotta or cottage cheese
3 cups shredded mozzarella
9 uncooked lasagna noodles
2/3 cup water
Directions:
1. Cook the elk or venison in a large skillet and add the spaghetti sauce
2. In a large bowl combine and mix the cheeses
3. Grease a baking dish (9×13 or 11×7) and cover the bottom with some of the meat and sauce mixture
4. Start the first layer with 3 lasagna noodles, sauce and top with the cheese mixture
5. Repeat these steps with remaining noodles and ingredients
6. Slowly pour the water around the edges of the pan and cover tightly
7. Bake on 375 for 1 hour
Most people eat banana bread with lasagna, but I think Southern style homemade cornbread pairs better with an elk lasagna.
The gaminess of the wild meat and corn explodes in my mouth. Kick it up a notch by adding some crushed red pepper to the cornbread mix and cook in a hot cast iron skillet.
Try this lasagna recipe with deer meat, Caribou or even wild Moose.