Venison

[Starsky]

Has anyone cooked with ground venison in something other than chili? I have cooked other forms of venison and the cardinal rule is to not over cook it. Does this go for ground as well? Wondering how I'd not exceed 140 degrees or does it matter?

[Huskee]

We use it in tacos and spaghetti. I don't think you control how much you cook it when it's ground. You just need to add enough fat to whatever it will be in to make it good. Some butchers will add beef or pork fat to ground venison for this reason. Things like tacos or spaghetti are good since there's cheese & sour cream and such in the final production.

[Jerod Broussard]

To be fair Huskee only knows about "grilled" venison which is then quickly converted to "grounded" venison. We have video proof.

[texastweeter]

Tenderized of course.

[texastweeter]

I use it in meatloaf, meatballs, burgers, pasta, chili just about anything. I treat like 96/4 ground beef. If fat is needed I use brisket trim or bacon to get to the right fat content. I don't know anything that calls for ground beef that you can't use ground venison in.

[Murdy]

Yes, we use in meatloaf, spaghetti, casseroles, whatever. The only time I worry about adding fat is in meatloaf (or burgers, which we don't do much) as it can dry out.

[bbqLuv]

Good question. My personal opinion is all ground meat needs to be thoroughly cooked.
No steak tartare.

[swong13]

Made a meatloaf with 1/3 each of elk, lamb, and beef. Cooked it in the smoker to an internal temperature of 160* for 3-4 hours for a large (3#) meatloaf. Best meatloaf I've ever had.

[58limited]

I grind my own blend of 50% venison and 50% prime packer brisket, ending up with around 25-30% fat and use it like regular ground beef in any recipe that calls for ground beef.

[Barabe]

you don't want to overcook lean venison, but burger is different. It kind of depends on your "chain of evidence."
If you butchered and ground it yourself and are confident that it was kept sanitary the whole time, you're probably fine eating a rare or medium rare venison burger. I cut up my own deer, so I am confident that I know when it is safe or not. If you sent it out, I would not be as confident. Some butchers are fantastic, some are terrible.
I grind a lot of venison, and I keep some lean and I mix some with fatback (80/20-ish, usually). For some recipes, I want all lean meat, and for others, I want something fattier.
for venison recipes, check out "Buck, Buck Moose," by Hank Shaw. Best book on venison cooking I have seen, and it has a lot of information on how to grind, and what to add, etc. My favorite ground venison recipe, by far, is his "Albondigas", It is a mexican meat ball recipe. SO GOOD! You can see it on his website, at

https://honest-food.net

[Starsky]

I used it to make a meatloaf. This was a gift, so I didn't know what was added to the venison. When I opened the package there were a lot of white spots, I assumed to be some sort of fat. 2 lbs. of venison, 1 lb. of 80/20, 2 eggs and assorted spices. and breadcrumbs. I cooked it until the center was hitting 150 deg. and of course it was higher towards the ends. After letting it rest, I cut it open and there was not the slightest bit of pink. It was dry and the meat texture was grainy. Obviously not enough fat.

[texastweeter]

Most Likely pork fat or bacon for the added fat.

[texastweeter]

Try Alton Browns baked meatball recipe. I use venison for the beef and lamb, wild hog for the pork, and then brisket trim to get the mix up to a 80/20 fat ratio. Even better than the pork, beef, lamb mixture he reccomends.

[ssennott]

I’ve used it in everything that you use Hamburger in from Lasagna to Calzones you want to cook it thru the sauce will keep it from drying out and toughness is not an issue with ground venison

[W.A.]

Did someone just grind it without added fat? If so make some chorizo