deer burgers
 

I need some suggestions on the ratio of ground deer to fat. How much fat to pound of burger?Also what kind of fat? I've heard of pork, beef, and some say nothing. What is best for burgers?

I know the local butcher (makes great sausage, hamburger etc.) uses pork sausage and mixes it so it looks similar to store hamburger.

WHat I typically do is go to the local butcher and get fat pieces from pork. Sometimes he charges, sometimes he just gives them to me. I honestly don't know a ratio....I bone the deer, cut the meet into about 4 inch chunks so it'll fit into my grinder then throw three or four chunks of deer in then a chunk of fat. Also... if mixing stuff in, be sure to at least double grind it so that it is all mixed well. A butcher should be able to give you a good estimate for how much to mix in. Good luck
-Jake

I use ground pork and put 1/2lbs to 3lbs of venison. I not a fan of fat in the venison.

I mix hamburger with deer burger to hold it together.

My favorite way is to grind 2 lbs of bacon with 10 lbs of venison burger. Makes nice juicy burgers.

I typically go 50%/ 50%...it really helps to keep the burgers together. I use 90% lean hamburger.

I typically grind mine w/out fat... If I do grind up some with the plan of making burgers I use the above ratio.

All the venison I grind I mix with 80/20 beef burger. 30 lbs. of venison to a 15 lb. tube of beef. Excellent burger

Thanks guys. This has been very helpful. You'll have a great season and hope to see some pics of some monster bucks.

My opinion is - it all depends on what you want to do with it.

If all you are going to do is make hamburger patties, then you use beef fat.

If you are going to make sausage - then you use pork fat.

Bacon is a nice additive - down south carolina - they put bacon in deer meat along with some beef fat and it makes it taste just like a bacon burger you get in a restaurant.

The way to make good sausage is to have a recipe and ingredients that you might be able to buy off your local butcher that is the same stuff that your local grocery store uses to make their own sausage.

This is the stuff that I use
http://www.conyeagerspice.com/hunter.htm

i ve always used beef fat so the burger can be cooked to medium and not have to worry about undercooked pork

I just buy the cheapest hamburger I can find at the local grocery store. Last batch was 73% lean (i.e. 27% fat).

I mixed 5lbs of burger per 10lbs of ground up trimmed elk to get a final ratio of about 90% lean ground meat.

This is a good thought, but you can eat undercooked pork.

I love the bacon idea though!

make bacon burger, i get about 5 deer done of it every year. its great

Can't beat the bacon burger, seriously, try it.

The local processor here usually adds about 15% beef fat to the mix. When I make deer burgers I add a little bit of barbecue sauce (1/3 cup for 2 lbs) to the meat and it tends to sweeten up the meat. Mighty tasty!:happy0001: