Adding Fat to Venison

[Bean Counter]

Comments also welcome on fat selection, pork fat vs. beef fat, suet, etc...

[bow4elk]

About 7-8% quality beef suet or you can buy pork bacon "bits and pieces" at the grocery store.  I will add less of this, maybe 5% but you do need some fat to hold burger together.

[popeshawnpaul]

I use beef fat in pretty high quantities to keep it from getting dry and so it is palatable for my wife and other friends.  I will use 20% or more sometimes.  I cut all the venison fat and sinuet off as it has a lot of the game taste in it.

[EastWaViking]

NEVER!  Wild game is lean and good for you, I cannot understand why anybody would add fat to it?  Some people say it's to help it stick together, I never have had any problem with venison or even antelope burger, which is even leaner, falling apart on the grill, you just have to make sure is if ground nice and fine.   It's a pet peeve when the butcher asks if I want suet added....almost as bad as when somebody puts steak sauce on wild game....I don't get it!

[Coasthunterjay]

back in the days ide use less than 10% suet.......

but know have become accustumed to eating it just the way it is after i ground it......

[bobcat]

None for me, ever. I like it just fine the way it is.

[bowsandhose]

None for me, ever. I like it just fine the way it is.

[Wea300mag]

I can see the thinking behind not adding any fat but if you get married to someone who is not used to a "straight shot" of game, you can turn them away in a hurry.

[bobcat]

My wife had never eaten any wild game before she met me and she's never had a problem with it not having fat added.  She also has never bought hamburger from the store since we've been together. I guess I just don't get how somebody could dislike ground deer or elk meat.

[bow4elk]

On the topic of taste - wild game is just palatable as any domestic meat IF (big IF) you do your part in the field and at home with the trimming.  If you have trimmed anything "white" (fat, sinew, silverskin, etc.) from your meat, that meat will not be "gamey" when cooked, even pan fried.

No amount of suet or pork fat will cover bad game care and crappy cutting (NO BANDSAWS OR BONE-IN MEAT - NEVER).

[ICEMAN]

Buy beef burger for burgers. Use your venison for stew meat, fajitas, canning.....  

[Wea300mag]

I hear what you guys are saying, guess that's why I divorced her.

I process my own meat too, no bones, fat, or silverskin

[bowelkin]

I buy the cheapest bacon I can find.  One pound bacon per twenty pounds of whatever (deer, elk, moose, etc.)  That comes to about 5%.
Bowelkin

[The Weazle]

I couldnt vote becuase it didnt have the "it depends" choice.  For breakfast sausage its 25 pounds game to 10 pounds pork.  For summer sausage its 20 pounds game to 5 pounds pork.  For burger its not cut with pork until I know how I am going to use it.  For a recipe calling for ground meat, it gets no pork.  For burgers, I use bacon ends and peices and grind a 1/3 to 1/2 pound of that to a 1 1/2 of burger for some killer bacon burgers.

[robb92]

Only time I add fat to my ground venison is when I am making sausage, then depending ont he recipe it will either be 70-20 or 80-20, I use pork shoulder or pork butt.

[Curly]

None for me, ever. I like it just fine the way it is.

 

[Huntbear]

We add about 5% to our ground venison, just so it will make patties, and/or you do not have to add oil to your pan if frying.  We prefer Pork fat, but beef works when you can get it.

[deaddog]

Beeeef suet,5-10%     fat is lube for the taste buds! it sure dont change the way game tastes. at least not to me.

[GoldTip]

I use the big chubs of beef briger that are high fat content to mix in while I am grinding.  It runs around 30% fat in a 5lb chub of beef burger and I add one chub to every 25lbs of wild game, whether it be deer, elk or Moose.

[billythekidrock]

20% Pork butt or shoulder roast is what we use. If we could get good (not sour) beef suet we would do 10% pork and 10% beef.

[billythekidrock]

On the topic of taste - wild game is just palatable as any domestic meat IF (big IF) you do your part in the field and at home with the trimming.  If you have trimmed anything "white" (fat, sinew, silverskin, etc.) from your meat, that meat will not be "gamey" when cooked, even pan fried.

No amount of suet or pork fat will cover bad game care and crappy cutting (NO BANDSAWS OR BONE-IN MEAT - NEVER).

+1

[ICEMAN]

On the topic of taste - wild game is just palatable as any domestic meat IF (big IF) you do your part in the field and at home with the trimming.  If you have trimmed anything "white" (fat, sinew, silverskin, etc.) from your meat, that meat will not be "gamey" when cooked, even pan fried.

No amount of suet or pork fat will cover bad game care and crappy cutting (NO BANDSAWS OR BONE-IN MEAT - NEVER).

+1

x2

[zackmioli]

10% pork.

i want to learn how to butcher and process my own game, so i dont have to take it anywhere but home!

[popeshawnpaul]

I can understand how people don't like straight ground venison...because I've seen it many times.  I just saw it last night.  I usually grind mine with beef fat because I have a wife that doesn't like gamey flavor.  She has become accustomed to my ground meat as it has enough beef fat in it to take the edge off.  Last night we got some 100% ground burger from my father and she didn't like it, even the smell of it, when she started browning it.  She would not eat it.  My cousin is the same way as well as many guests I have brought over.  I have tons of people who want to take home my burger.  If I was doing it 100% venison like I use to, it just isn't as palatable for me and my family and guests.

I don't really have a problem with eating 80% ground venison burger.  It is 4/5ths venison but tastes similar to beef.  I have a family and guests I have to think about as we never buy beef burger in the store.  We don't eat venison because it's lean.  I eat it because I like it.  If I want to lose weight I'll just eat less.  I don't go and buy the leanest beef steak I can find at the store.  Quite the opposite, I buy the fatty rib steak.  Just my

[Gobble]

I agree with all about taking care of your game and trimming ALL of the white crap off.
When I make my sausage etc. I go to Winco and buy the ground pork that comes in 5 lbs tubes. It saves soooo much time because it it preground and pre mixed with the proper amount of fat. It usually only about 7 bucks a tube, I mix my venison at a 60/40 to 50/50 ratio, you can't go wrong. Just my  

[ICEMAN]

Gobble, hadn't thought of that preground version...... I will have to check out the per pound price that way against the pork butt or shoulder we add to our venison grind for sausage....

[huntnphool]

Pope brought some moose burger with him a couple weeks ago that had prime rib fat mixed in it, my daughter couldnt get enough

[popeshawnpaul]

I guess you could buy sausage and fat...but my butcher at the local Top Foods gives it to me for free.  I just have to have him save it and pick it up at the end of the day.  Plus, sausage is mixed with pork meat and I want just the fat.

[huntnphool]

Well whatever you did I wouldn't change it

[Colville]

I have my deer cut and the burger comes back with a little fat added. I don't know the exact %. It's darn little because the burger is still dark red.

Making sausage I use just pork fat. If I have time to get to the butcher that does the game I can get a bunch of fat free. Otherwise, I stop in Pike Place and buy some fat, it's cheap. I end up mixing that burger with about 50-50 with fat. That's by volume not weight. I shred the fat, frozen, in a food processor then lightly pack it one cup at a time. One cup to one cup meat, add spice kit, stuff and done. Unless I want some smoke on it.

[cascademountainhunter]

not really sure what % it was but i just grind bacon ends with it...... im hungary!!