From an earlier post about adding to venison so the patties won' t fall apart, many stated that something needed to be added to keep them from falling apart. I cooked elk and deer patties that are 100% venison and the only thing that was added was spices just before cooking and I never had a problem with them holding together, in fact, they are as firm as beef patties. All the ground has been packed in vacuum sealer bags and frozen, not sure if that has any bearing. Puzzeled????