GROUND VENISON RECIPES

If you're looking for a place that's dedicated to ground venison recipes, then you've come to the right page. Most avid hunters have a few pounds of deer burger lying around the freezer at any given time, just waiting to be made into something other than a Big Mac.

Jump to Recipes

The fat content of wild venison (if you added any) will usually dictate what dish you'll be preparing. With that being said, most of the recipes that I've listed on this page can be made with ground beef as well.

FAT CONTENT FOR GROUND VENISON

Below are fat content recommendations for a few of my favorite ground venison preparations:

Steak Burgers: 0% to 15%
Smash Burgers: 20% to 30%
Venison Sausages: 30% to 40%
Tacos: 20% to 30%
Venison Meatballs and Venison Meatloaf: 20% to 30%

Types of fat that are usually added to ground deer meat:

Pork Back Fat (minimally alters the flavor)
Beef Fat (can sometimes overpower venison)
Smoked Pork Bacon (adds richness and a smoky flavor profile)

Adding fat to your venison when grinding is a great option for expanding the different types of dishes that you're able to make with your ground deer meat. If you're going to make a meal that doesn't contain a sauce, gooey cheese or a liquid base, I don't recommend cooking with venison that contains no added fats.

But there is one exception to this rule, and that is the meat should not be cooked to more than a "medium" internal temperature.

A prime example of this would be a thick steak burger. Steak burgers are usually around an inch thick. The thickness of the patties is what gives them the wiggle room they need in order to be properly seared without overcooking them.

Now if you're making something like a thin "smash burger", those are normally cooked to a well done temperature. So you're going to want at least a 20% fat content in the meat for it to retain it's juiciness.

TIPS FOR GRINDING VENISON

There's something satisfying about grinding your own wild game meat that can't be explained. This is one process that all hunters should be doing if they have the means to do so.

While there's nothing wrong with sending your prized harvest off to a local processor, you have total control of the finished product by processing the venison yourself. This means you can add the types and quantities of fats that you like while keeping quality control at the top of your priority list.

Grinding deer meat is easy and very inexpensive if you're not planning on doing so on a large scale. You can get started at around $80 for small-scale production, but plan on spending at least $150 on a grinder if you're going to process more than 10 pounds of ground venison at a time.

Below are a few quick notes for grinding meat:

Keep your grinder attachment equipment and any bowls that you are using cold. A great way to do so is to place them in a freezer for a couple of hours before grinding. The equipment can heat up fast, causing the fat to melt while processing.
Use cuts that contain little to no inner connective tissue. Cuts of meat such as shanks contain a lot of connective tissue and will jam up your grinder blade, especially if you're using a lower horsepower grinder. Boneless shoulder meat, top round, and bottom round are great options for grinding.