19 Ground Venison Recipes | What to Make with Your Deer Meat (2024)

FAQs

What is the best to mix with ground venison? ›

Beef fat works well with ground venison, and makes the flavor closer to ground beef. Pork fat is lower in saturated fat, has less flavor and will allow the venison flavor to shine.

Cook to a minimum of 160 degrees F. When you grind meat, you spread any bacteria present throughout the entire batch.

Chili powder and cumin are some of the greatest seasonings for deer meat. I love making my own taco seasoning blend with chili powder and cumin instead of buying the pre-made packages because it tastes so bold and fresh, I get to control the flavor levels and it is so much more natural!

I personally prefer pork fat, my friend prefers beef fat, while other friends prefer adding bacon as fat. I know a few and far between people that actually prefer deer fat, while others like duck and bear fat.

Depending on what you're planning to cook, you may want to add fat to your ground venison. This added fat can be bacon, pork shoulder, pork belly, beef tallow, etc. It's purely personal preference. I always add about 15-20 percent fat if I'm making hamburger or kebabs, which makes the meat juicier and more flavorful.

Large cuts of venison taste best when pot-roasted for several hours. If you have access to a crock pot, use any recipe for beef pot roast and you'll be pleasantly surprised. However, instead of cooking for two to four hours, venison may require substantially longer cooking time for the meat to become tender.

It's lean, don't over cook it

Venison is very low in fat and is best served medium-rare. This equates to an internal temperature of 57°C/135°F if you're using a meat thermometer.

"Freshly butchered venison — especially when it is in rigor mortis — will be super tough," Cihelka said. When rigor mortis sets in, the animal stiffens. Hanging the animal prevents the muscles along the spine from shortening. This is why backstraps and tenderloin are tender.

How to get the gamey taste out of ground venison without? ›

There are different things you can do to remove the gamey taste. You can soak it in a mixture of apple cider vinegar and water over night in the refrigerator, or soak it in milk and rinse thoroughly before cooking it.

Venison silver skin, fat, ligaments, and other undesirable parts of a deer that aren't muscle don't taste very good. Deer fat is generally bitter, unlike beef fat. This is probably the number one reason why folks think venison, particularly ground venison, tastes gamey.

Washing deer meat

Rinsing deer meat or venison before cooking is not recommended by food safety agencies. Like other meats, washing venison can spread contamination in a kitchen.

The way you handle game after it's harvested can have a significant impact on the quality of the meat. Three factors contribute to spoiled meat: heat, dirt, and moisture. Heat is the number-one concern. Bacteria grows rapidly in a carcass, especially if it's allowed to stay warm.

The better quality steaks fetch $15 per pound or higher. So a smaller deer would be worth $525 in meat (relative to your local farmer's market meat prices). A bigger deer could be worth $1000!

Step into any restaurant featuring a la chasse-themed menu, and you can expect to find classic pairings such as venison with cranberries, apples, celeriac, butternut squash, brussels sprouts or Belgium endive.

Depending on what you're planning to cook, you may want to add fat to your ground venison. This added fat can be bacon, pork shoulder, pork belly, beef tallow, etc. It's purely personal preference. I always add about 15-20 percent fat if I'm making hamburger or kebabs, which makes the meat juicier and more flavorful.

Mix together the venison, balsamic, Worchestershire, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. I like to use a fork and my hands. It's good to use a fork to “fluff” and break up the meat, you don't want it too packed.

Eggs and bread crumbs generally do very well to bind lean ground meats. (I actually use wheat germ instead of bread crumbs.) From that point, it is really a matter of preference as to how you want it prepared. If you're making burgers, it's generally a good idea to mix in a bit of pork for the fat.