Ground venison prep?

[avboiler11]

While I've got the backstraps and tenderloins and roasts from my deer ready for their respective ends...I'm wanting to grind some venison for tacos, chili and burgers.

Planning to grab a grinder from Bass Pro and learn to do this thing myself. I've heard mixing some sort of pork or beef fat in with the venison helps taste; a buddy told me he does 25% ground pork with 75% ground venison. Other places I've seen online discuss using beef or pork fat and mixing in no more than 20% with ground venison but I have no idea where one would just buy fat.

Curious what other INGOers use and do...thanks!

 

[mom45]

We just grind the venison and package as is. We do make sure to remove as much of the silver skin and fat as possible. Those are what causes the "gamey" taste in venison.

 

[BigRed]

We just grind the venison and package as is. We do make sure to remove as much of the silver skin and fat as possible. Those are what causes the "gamey" taste in venison.

Same.

Blending in 20% pork or even 20% lean ground beef work be fine too.

Eliminating silver skin and deer fat is key.

 

[parson]

We will sometimes mix half & half with ground beef. Other times we just grind it & freeze in 2# packages to use in chili, jerky or whatever.

Also, if you don't already have one, lick up a stuffer for summer sausage, snack sticks, etc.

 

[Hatin Since 87]

What mom said.



IF you must, you can mix it with hamburger for some fat, but if you’re only doing it for the gamey taste cook it in meals that hide it. I like the taste of venison burgers. Most people are used to beef, but all meat has its own distinct tastes and that’s why I like venison, it’s different than the same old burger.


Also, try cooking it in chili, or sloppy joes... stuff that will hide the taste if you don’t like it. I’ve found people will eat it and compliment how good it is, until they find out it’s venison.

 

[mom45]

Check Amazon for grinders if you have time to wait on delivery. We got ours off of Amazon much cheaper than we could buy one from Cabela's or Bass Pro.

 

[PistolBob]

We take 1 lb of breakfast sausage (pork) and grind it with 5 lbs of vension. Twice. Bag it into 1lb bags, refrigerate it for 24 hours, then freeze. The whole pound will smell and taste like a lean breakfast sausage when cooked. Great in stews too. We don't use beef fat, tried that a few years ago and it was just too tallowy....we also grind 1lb of bacon pieces and ends to 5 lbs of venison and that works well. Also straight grinding is good as well....you can always season it while it cooks. Most of our burger ends up in meat loaf, or spaghetti sauce.

 

[PistolBob]

Another thing to consider is canning the venison instead of grinding it. Cut it up in to stew sized hunks, pack tightly in clean jars, leave 1 inch of head space, wipe rims of jars with a little vinegar to make sure they are clean and will seal good when you can. Put on lids and rings, and then pressure can pints for 75-80 mins at 11lbs of pressure, or quarts for 90-95 mins at 11lbs of pressure. When time is up, kill the heat and let the canner sit undisturbed until the pressure is gone, and then and only then open the canner and remove the jars. This is great in vegetable soup, stew, chili, you can shred it up for venison burritos, tacos and enchiladas. We prefer this to grinding. A pint of processed meat is about one pound.

 

[Leadeye]

Lots of good techniques here that I've used over the years. As several have said, good clean meat free of silverskin or fat is important.

 

[Jaybird1980]

Had ground venison prepared a number of different ways, for chili and tacos it wouldn't really matter, but the best venison burgers I've ever had was mixed with BACON and they were great.

 

[bocefus78]

Yep...bacon is what I mix in with it. 1lb bacon to 5lbs deer. Goes great in everything. For spaghetti and other Italian stuff, I'll use Italian sausage from fresh thyme at the same 80/20 rate

 

[snapping turtle]

What you put in to grind makes all the difference.

When browning is required for pure deer ground meat I prefer to simmer in water first then drain the finish to a very light browning. Not enough fat to brown like sausage or burger.
Some will use buttermilk soak first but I never found that to be required as my deer come from grain fields mostly instead of deep forest deer. What they eat does make a difference in taste like grain fed beef verse grass fed. I have had the buttermilk soak venison steaks in the south and they tasted better than non soaked ones we made later in camp. Same deer in both cases.

I don’t mix before freezing but often add before cooking. 1/3 pork sausage 1/3 fatty hamburger 1/3 venison is what my family seems to prefer in meatballs which is one of the favorites they like I make from it. Unfreeze mix in big ass bowl.

 

[bwframe]

I cook a lot of pork shoulder. Nearly always have "pulled pork" from instant pot cooked shoulder in the fridge.

I always save the drippings from pork shoulder to make chilies, soups, etc. I wonder if the fat caps on the broth would be good to mix in ground venison?

 

[hereforthecootbash]

I make a grind pile while I butcher then I divide that pile into one pound vac sealed packages with .20-.25 lbs of diced pork fat added in. Then whenever I need venison for tacos, burgers, sausage, etc I thaw out a package or two and grind it right before use. Saves me time during the butchering process and also keeps my grinder from having to do a lot of work all at once.

 

[Tryin']

I have mixed mine with ground beef, pork sausage, bacon, pork fat, beef fat, no mix, etc.

For my money, grinding it with beef or pork fat trummings has been the best bet for retaining the qualities of venison while reducing the tendency to disintegrate while browning.

 

[bobjones223]

I just grind mine...don't mix anything else with it.

I don"t do burgers though...if I made burgers i would add beef fat so it wasn't a hockey puck

 

[Cameramonkey]

What you put in to grind makes all the difference.

When browning is required for pure deer ground meat I prefer to simmer in water first then drain the finish to a very light browning. Not enough fat to brown like sausage or burger.
Some will use buttermilk soak first but I never found that to be required as my deer come from grain fields mostly instead of deep forest deer. What they eat does make a difference in taste like grain fed beef verse grass fed. I have had the buttermilk soak venison steaks in the south and they tasted better than non soaked ones we made later in camp. Same deer in both cases.

I don’t mix before freezing but often add before cooking. 1/3 pork sausage 1/3 fatty hamburger 1/3 venison is what my family seems to prefer in meatballs which is one of the favorites they like I make from it. Unfreeze mix in big ass bowl.

The marinade can really help, and you gotta get it right. Years ago Grandma was given some venison steaks. She was told to marinate in straight vinegar overnight. We had never tried it, so she took them at face value, reluctantly.



Nobody could eat more than one bite. SO vinegary. We couldnt even taste meat. The next day she asked the person and he assured her that is how their family does it and its awesome. So either he gave us spoiled meat, or he had AWFUL taste.

 

[Ruger_Ronin]

Same.

Blending in 20% pork or even 20% lean ground beef work be fine too.

Eliminating silver skin and deer fat is key.

Most accurate information yet. I go the easier route and used smoked bacon. Usually the cheaper ,higher fat content stuff. Think store brand. 1lb bacon for every 5 lbs of venison.

Do yourself a favor and run it through several times. And when you think it's evenly mixed, run it through again.

 

[dprimm]

You are entering a realm where everyone has an option. You will have to try different things. I do straight venison. I can always add later but never do. Even the burgers turn out well. Just requires attention on the grill.

 

[Mark-DuCo]

I'm on the just grind it and bag it team. I will add pork sausage if I'm making burgers or meat loaf, but otherwise i just use deer meat.

decide how much grinding you want to do too before buying a grinder. Buying a smaller cheaper one will probably frustrate you into never doing it again. I have the 1.5hp Cabella's Carnivore Commercial grinder and wouldn't go any smaller if you do several deer a year and a few hogs.

LEM is nice too, but my Cabella's is whisper quiet compared to my uncle's LEM. His whines pretty loud and has since brand new. It is a good 10 years old though so maybe they have changed their design to be quieter.