The biggest mistake people make when cooking venison burgers is treating it like beef. The result? A dried out hockey puck. This recipe includes a few key cooking techniques to give you a juicy burger that’s packed with flavor!
LOOK FOR THE COOKING TECHNIQUE: With any recipe that has wild game in it, you’ll want to incorporate a few cooking techniques to make sure the meat isn’t tough and doesn’t taste gamey. So within any recipe we share on Hunt & Fish Wives, be sure to look for the cooking technique highlighted in the recipe.
WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
⅔ lb Ground Venison
⅓ lb Ground Pork
½ c. Saltine Crackers, Crushed
1 Egg
2 T. Worcestershire
2 T. Milk
1 tsp. Salt
1 tsp. Garlic Powder
1 tsp. Onion Powder
½ tsp. Black Pepper
2 T. Ketchup
Coarse Salt (for added seasoning)
Cooked Bacon (optional topping)
Cheese Slices (optional topping)
Additional toppings as desired: Lettuce, Tomato, Pickles, Ketchup, Mustard
STEPS & TECHNIQUES:
This is a great base recipe that you can easily tweak to suit your taste. But if you do make adjustments, one thing you don’t want to omit is the pork. That’s because adding fat to venison is the trick to keeping this burger juicy.
If your ground venison already has pork fat added to it, you can scale back on the amount of pork listed in this recipe. But if it’s straight venison like ours is, be sure to add the full amount of pork or another fat.
*Cooking Technique #1 – Add Fat
Because venison is so lean, often you’ll need to add fat of some kind in order to increase the moisture content. Without it, the end product can be dry and tough to eat. Adding fat not only makes the meat juicy, it also adds to the flavor.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the first 11 ingredients—everything except the coarse salt bacon, and cheese. Mix until blended thoroughly. Divide into 8 quarter-pound sections and then patty until they’re approximately 5” in diameter.
[Venison burgers have a tendency to shrink up, so this is what helps the burger match the size of the bun after cooking. However, when the patties are thinner like this, they’re likely to fall apart on the grill. This next step is how to keep them together during cooking.]
Place a sheet of wax paper on a cookie sheet. Then place the patties on the wax paper in a single layer. Lightly sprinkle the top of each patty with coarse salt. Stick the cookie sheet in the freezer for 30 minutes or until the patties become firm.
[You’re not trying to freeze the patties all the way through here. But you do want them to firm up so the meat doesn’t sink into the cooking grates when placed on the grill.]
Cook patties on high heat on one side for just a few minutes until grill-marked, then flip over.
Add a layer of cooked bacon to the top of each burger, then top with cheese. Cook only until the cheese is melted. At that point, the burger should be cooked all the way through.
*Cooking Technique #2 – Don’t Overcook
The number one rule of cooking wild game is to not overcook it. If you do, you can expect it to be dry. Some wild game recipes call for the meat to be cooked through while others suggest you cook it to medium-rare at most. Be sure to pay attention to the cooking instruction for that particular recipe, because pulling it off the heat in time ensures it won’t be dried out.
For this recipe, you’ll want to cook the burgers all the way through (until the internal temperature reaches 160°) because it has ground pork in it. Be sure not to overcook. Remove from the heat and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
*Cooking Technique #3 – Let It Rest
Giving the meat time to rest isn’t just so it doesn’t burn your mouth. There’s some science behind it too. When you let it rest after cooking, it allows the meat to relax and gives the juices time to redistribute. This is especially important in cooking wild game where the meat is already prone to be dry.
Serve and Enjoy!
Recipe By: Jackie Bednara
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