Deer burgers?

[noharleyyet]

My 2 cents for burgers:
Adding beef fat makes the burger taste a bit more like beef. Since I eat almost all game meat, I actually prefer the burger on my grill have some beef fat in it. Go to a butcher to get some beef fat is not expensive. I do it about 15-20% beef fat for my burgers. The bacon route others mention is delicious, but not a classic "beefy" burger, which I like.

Ground meat that I use for everything else I do differently, usually some pork fat or no fat at all. Depends what I'm cooking (I grind them up and label them accordingly, grab the right package for what I want to eat).

Reasonable advice, screenname notwithstanding.

 

[TOGIE]

No kidding, don't add anything but fat to game meat for burgers, otherwise you're just making flat meatballs. Smashburgers have quickly become my kid's favorites, deer, elk, antelope, it doesn't matter. I add fat at 10-15% depending on the mood my wife is in, and always have sliced onions or mushrooms handy to sauté in the pan after doing the burgers.

i'm getting to the point where i'm unsure why i would cook anything but a smashburger. it's odd how they are just sooo freakin good.

the crisped edges, the overall texture, more surface area for seasoning and greasy flavor... man.

polished off a leftover elk double smashburger with one slice of cheese in the middle for lunch about 10 minute ago. didn't even have any fixins on it other than ketchup/mustard/mayo and gawddamn it was so good.

smashburgers can definitely be dropped down to 10% fat or less IMO. the very nature of a smashburger is they are cooked well done and crisped. most the fat melts away, but you still want some so it can fry in it's fatty juices while it cooks.



i'll be getting a castiron grate to replace one of my grill gates here soon enough

 

[hank4elk]

I have gone to pork belly for my burger mix. 10-15% and have tried my home cured bacon. Yum.
Sirloin beef fat is hard to find.

 

[perma]

My wife blasphemously suggested we use elk burger in the spaghetti sauce once...

Not even for meatballs!?

 

[noharleyyet]

Not even for meatballs!?

IMO, salt and pepper only...& never well done perma...

 

[Gr8bawana]

As many have already said, beef or pork fat in the 15-20% range is the ticket. Don't ruin venison or elk with egg and bread crumbs. Save that for making meatloaf.
Someone mentioned they use just straight venison with nothing added. That's disgusting, it just ends up with dry crumbly deer burgers that will lead some people to the conclusion that don't like venison.

 

[nhenry]

I mix mine 90/10 with beef fat and it's delicious and stays together just fine. My wife and I even prefer it to beef nowadays.

 

[HiMtnHntr]

Also mix my burgers well in advance with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder. Roll into balls and let sit in the fridge. Remove an hour before cooking. Smoking and reverse sear is nice, but I too prefer smash burgers on the griddle. A double is even better.

 

[nastynate]

Reasonable advice, screenname notwithstanding.

Nasty Nate Dog, the big black lab, is where the screenname comes from. He likes my burgers too.

 

[Redman]

As many have already said, beef or pork fat in the 15-20% range is the ticket. Don't ruin venison or elk with egg and bread crumbs. Save that for making meatloaf.
Someone mentioned they use just straight venison with nothing added. That's disgusting, it just ends up with dry crumbly deer burgers that will lead some people to the conclusion that don't like venison.

You would think that but I fix them all the time straight venison but seasoned and cooked medium to medium rare on the pellet grill. Everyone eats them up 0 complaints. You can't cook them past medium or they will crumble if you don’t spritz the coals with water.

 

[JEL]

People afraid to add a little fat but add all kinds of other things to burgers. Weird. Good burgers need fat. 20%. I like beef but pork works well too.

 

[jbseamus83]

I've done straight venison, but I just find that they cook better cut with fat. Whenever I cook a brisket or some kind of pork roast, I save all of my trimmings and cut them in when I grind my venison. It usually comes out to about 20%. I have never had any issues with them falling apart unless they have too much moisture in them. My family loves them.

 

[Gr8bawana]

People afraid to add a little fat but add all kinds of other things to burgers. Weird. Good burgers need fat. 20%. I like beef but pork works well too.

I agree 100%

 

[HappyCamper]

I like to add seasonings, bread crumbs, and a scoop of mayo to my wild game burger. Balancing the mayo and bread crumbs for that perfect tackiness to keep Patties together.

 

[Nick87]

i'm getting to the point where i'm unsure why i would cook anything but a smashburger. it's odd how they are just sooo freakin good.

the crisped edges, the overall texture, more surface area for seasoning and greasy flavor... man.

polished off a leftover elk double smashburger with one slice of cheese in the middle for lunch about 10 minute ago. didn't even have any fixins on it other than ketchup/mustard/mayo and gawddamn it was so good.

smashburgers can definitely be dropped down to 10% fat or less IMO. the very nature of a smashburger is they are cooked well done and crisped. most the fat melts away, but you still want some so it can fry in it's fatty juices while it cooks.

View attachment 292286

i'll be getting a castiron grate to replace one of my grill gates here soon enough

Different strokes I guess idk smash burgers suck imo. If the blood isn't running out the back of a good thick bar burger it's not right imo. While I do love venison some of you guys claiming it's the same or better than beef. I'm questioning the quality of beef your eating.

 

[TOGIE]

Different strokes I guess idk smash burgers suck imo. If the blood isn't running out the back of a good thick bar burger it's not right imo. While I do love venison some of you guys claiming it's the same or better than beef. I'm questioning the quality of beef your eating.

I wouldn’t say it’s better than beef. Just different. Not better or worse really, just… different.

a well taken care of animal, from any ungulate species, is clean good tasting meat. That’s been my experience with everything. I argue that if it tastes off, 9 times out of 10 its cause it missed some TLC between shot and plate.

The most off tasting animals I’ve personally shot were all ones I took to a processor…

 

[p_ham]

I quit adding fat to my grind a few years ago. I don't even label what kind of animal it was. Just a year and call it good.

I put about a pound and a half into a vacuum seal bag, seal it up, then press it flat. They stack better in the freezer that way. When it's time to eat, I just cut around perimeter, cut it into quarters, add S&P, throw it on a hot grill. Don't flip it until it's ready to flip. No back and forth, it only gets flipped the one time. No issues.

 

[wyoboypt]

Get some grill grates brand grill grates for your grill. Use the flat side.
Preheat HOT!
Season how you like and let come up to room temp if possible. I like my game burgers about a half inch thick.
Sear them once on each side and flip only once as stated above.
Use a spatula that is as wide or wider than your burgers. Cheese them before they come off.

If you’re using a traeger or other pellet grill that doesn’t allow the flames to come up you won’t have great luck. You’d be better off to use a gas grill or sear them on the stove. If you don’t like rare or med rare then letting the burgers come to room temp before grilling seems to be crucial. If you leave a wild game burger on too long it will dry out which is why you want to sear them hot. I like to cook them at 400+ degrees.