It has occurred to me that the single most consistent ingredient in the Great American Hamburger is testosterone.
The chest-thumping surrounding the making and cooking of burgers is matched only by that of chili in winter or barbecue in the South. This is especially true of men who have grown up eating wretched fast-food patties or had mothers who made, as Eddie Murphy so memorably put it, “brontosaurus burgers.”
There is something validating about being able to rectify a childhood wrong, as a bad burger seems to be in America.
Ideas about the “perfect burger recipe” are as varied as there are minds to contemplate such weighty matters.
I’ve seen complicated equations involving exact percentages of this cut of meat or that one, including such horrors as including hanger steak or skirt steak in a burger. These are noble cuts, not something to be ground into a Wednesday gut filler. Might as well grind a ribeye. And yes, I am certain at least one person reading this has done so.
Meat-to-fat ratio is a big area of contention, too. So is the timeless debate over whether to salt the meat as you make the patty or just on the outside. A few errant souls even add things to the meat itself, which to purists is anathema. (I am one of those souls: My venison burgers with mushrooms recipe includes powdered, dried mushrooms in the patty itself. So there.) To flip once or many times? Toast the bun or no?
Get into the Toppings War and you can have some fun, too. Cheese or no cheese? Cooked or raw onions? Is it nobler to use hothouse tomatoes on your burger in winter or not to do so, and by opposing this outrageous arrow against seasonality, end the debate forever? (Sorry, Hamlet. Had to.)
Well, here is where I stand.
I will preface all this by saying that this is, to me, a perfect burger. To you, it may not be. And you are free to believe so. That’s why this is America (or Canada, or wherever it is you happen to be reading this).
First: All burgers, venison or no, need fat. Period. My preferred ratio is 80 to 85 percent meat, 15 to 20 percent pork fat. I dislike beef tallow; it’s too waxy for me. Ditto for lamb fat, although that is a step up in my book. Bacon is perfect, as it has both lean and fat so if you use 20 percent bacon you get to that magic 15 percent, more or less.
Second: Grind your own if at all possible. This is the secret to virtually every great burger joint’s meat. Grinding your own takes less than 10 minutes (unless you are feeding an army), and gives you ultimate control over texture and composition. And in the world of venison burgers, this is what I’ve come to like best: Venison meat from the shoulder, ribs, neck or hind leg, ground with bacon ends. If you’ve never tried this, do it. It’s amazing. What’s more, I vary my grind. (Exact proportions are in the recipe below.) Why? Because it makes the burger taste more interesting.
Third: Gently patties must you make, young padawan. So Sayeth Yoda. These aren’t meatballs, folks. Think of a burger like a you would a crabcake, which is supposed to just barely hold together. It’s a fine line between perfect and too crumbly, but a dense, packed patty is depressing and somehow un-American.
Fourth: Salt only the outside of the burger, right before you cook or even when you flip the patty. This one matters. Salt denatures proteins, which is why sausage binds so well and, incidentally, has a very different texture from a good burger. Add salt to the meat mixture and you have a sausage patty, not a hamburger. And yes, people have done experiments proving this. (As for my bacon ends, which contain salt, I use them only when I grind and cook, not when I grind lots of burger in advance and freeze it.)
Fifth: Grilled burgers are only better when there’s wood or charcoal involved. Yes, I cook burgers over gas grills, and they are nice, but not qualitatively better than those done in a pan inside. Unless of course you add smoke chips to your gas grill. Meat + woodsmoke = awesome.
Sixth: Flip once, or several times. It apparently doesn’t matter in the final judgment. And again, yes, people have done experiments proving this. I flip only once because I want a hard crust on the outside of the burger, which I find helps hold it together.
Seventh: Rest thine burgers. It’s the little-known 12th Commandment, lost in the making of Mel Brooks’ History of the World Part I. (The 11th Commandment has something to do with Republicans…) Why? Remember the original name of a hamburger: hamburger steak. You rest steaks right? Right? Please tell me you do…
Eighth: Let all else be free. Let your burger freak flag fly when it comes to toppings. Just let the meat be the star, OK?
I know many of you get your venison pre-ground from the butcher shop. Go ahead and use that for your venison burgers this season, but next time make sure that the butcher either a) grinds your venison with pork fat or, better yet, bacon ends; and/or b) ask him for just more stew meat so you can grind the meat yourself.
Oh, and obviously all this applies to burgers made from any other sort of meat.
Venison Burgers
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds venison
- 1/2 pound bacon ends or regular bacon, chopped roughly
- Salt (smoked salt if you have it)
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons butter, lard or vegetable oil
- 1 large or 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
- Burger buns
- Something green like bibb lettuce, arugula, sorrel or spinach
- Slices of fresh tomato, or canned, fire-roasted peppers (winter), summer
- Slices of cheese of your choice
- Condiment of your choice (ketchup mustard, remoulade, mayo, etc)
Instructions
- Make sure the meat and bacon are cold. Cut the venison into chunks that will fit into your grinder. Do the same for the bacon. Mix the two together roughly so you can add a bit of each into the grinder as you go. Grind 1/2 to 2/3 of the mixture coarsely and the rest with the fine die. NOTE: If you are grilling your venison burgers, flip this so you grind 2/3 of the mix fine and only 1/3 coarse -- the reason is because grilled burgers tend to cook better and stay juicier when the grind is fine.
- Make between 4 and 6 patties, depending on how large you want your burgers. Form the patties with only as much force as absolutely needed -- you want the patties to hold together only loosely. Make them about 1/2 to 1 inch thick. Use your thumb to press an indentation into the center of each patty: This prevents the burgers from turning spherical when you cook them. Set the burgers aside.
- Heat the butter in a frying pan over medium-high heat. When it's hot, add the sliced onion and cook until it's done to your liking. Some people like juicy onion with a little char on the edges, some people prefer to go the full caramelized onion route. When finished, put the onions in a bowl so you can have them ready.
- I prefer grilled burgers, so I'll go through that method. Heat your grill on high and be sure to scrape down the grates with a wire brush. Only salt your burgers right before you cook them, and if you are salt-sensitive you might not need to with these because of the bacon. Place the patties on the grill and cook them without disturbing them (with the grill cover open) for 3 to 5 minutes, depending on how well done you like your burgers. Flip and cook for the same amount on the other side. I prefer 3 minutes per side with a really hot grill.
- When you flip the burgers, grind some black pepper over them, then spoon a little caramelized onion on each one if you'd like. With about 90 seconds to go on the second side, lay the cheese on top of the onions and cover the grill until the burger's ready. If you like toasted buns, toast them on the grill in this last 90 seconds. When everything's done, move the burgers and buns to a sheet tray or plate so the meat can rest for 5 minutes, while you build the burgers.
- You can do this any way you want, but I start with a green thing, then some ketchup or mayo or whatever, then the burger patty that has the onions and cheese already on it, topped with a slice of tomato (or roasted red peppeand finally some more of whatever condiment I happen to be using. My method is just how I do things; you can do anything you'd like.
Haven’t tried this yet but am wondering the safety of pork fat if cooking burgers med to rare…
Cathy: It’s fine. There hasn’t been a trichinosis problem in the American pork supply in close to a generation. And if you cut the venison with bacon ends, as I do often, it’s already cured. You can eat bacon raw if you’d like — but we rarely do.
I want to thank you for the burger tips in Buck, Buck, Moose, and also ask a question. Do you have any tips for mixing ground bacon into preground meat without over mixing?
I buy a side of local grass-fed beef every year (very lean), and using the ground beef in that order, I have made burgers a few times, usually on the Traeger. I buy bacon ends from a local butcher to grind and mix with the beef. I have never been happy with the texture. Like your book says, they turn out like big sausage patties. Thanks to your tips, I now know not to add salt or too many other ingredients.
I appreciate any further feedback!
Jim: All I would do is grind the bacon solo, then sprinkle it over the ground beef, and then mix as little as possible while still getting it evenly distributed.
1.5 lbs venison and .5 lb of bacon can only be a 20% fat ratio is the the bacon is almost entirely white. Most bacon is closer to 50-50 meat-fat ratio. Assuming that, should the mix include 40% bacon in order to reach the 20% fat ratio?
Dave: Do that if you want, but I have had great success with the recipe as-is. Also, in regular burgers, virtually all of the best ones are about 15% fat.
I guess I’m gonna hafta try it both ways now ?
Dave: Ha! Go for it. I’ve done it, and it works, but the higher fat makes a greasy burger… which is what you want sometimes. 😉
I need to try this recipe – sounds like it will be awesome. I know you mentioned that you do not prefer beef fat for your burgers, but I want to share what I have done in the past with excellent results…
Our men’s group gets together to prepare 12-36 briskets for somebody’s event about one time per year. The briskets are treated to the pit master’s own rub for a day or two and then smoked over hardwood for 12-15 hrs before being removed for cooling and trimming. I save the trimmed fat in 1 lb vacuum sealed bags until I have venison for burgers and mix 1 lb fat with 4 lb venison, form the patties and grill them medium rare with no other seasoning. Almost everybody wants a second burger. simple and delicious! Hope you enjoy.
I almost never make hamburgers at home, but tried this one for the first time last night since my supply of venison primal cuts is getting low, but I still had lots of trim and chunks. I found this recipie in Buck, Buck, Moose and was off to the races.
The result was FANTASTIC! I tried to follow Hank’s preferred recipie as closely as possible, using thick-cut store bought bacon for the meat mix, and grilling over a Weber kettle with briquettes plus a handfull of hickory chunks for extra smoke. I garnished the finished burgers with baby arugula, home-roasted Anaheim peppers, mayo and carmelized onions.
The subtle smokeyness of the finished burgers was probably the best surprise, and this is definitely going to be a repeat dish for me. Thanks Hank!
Turned out great! I’ve made these with venison three times now.
Hi; love all your recipes and tips! I’m the mom of 4 hunting sons who also love to cook; we have used many of your recipes. I do have a question about this burger recipe – is there a reason that I can’t grind the venison and bacon ends together, form the patties and then freeze before grilling? Is there a problem with this? With 4 hungry boys it would be so much more convenient to prep these all at once and then have these ready to go in the freezer. Would I just loose some of the taste? Or is there another problem? Thanks so much and we look forward to more delicious recipes!
Kyle: The reason is that the salt will affect the patties somewhat. It’s a small detail, and not one to prevent you from grinding and then freezing, as you suggest. I do that a lot. But it will be a bit better if you grind and make the patties at one sitting. Like I said, a small detail, nothing more.
I use frozen unsalted butter cut Into Small cubes.
Then mix together.
This makes for a flavorful burgers. Also, I have found that if you cook them only to medium they don’t have the Gamey Taste That everybody associates with dear meat.
After a friend gave us some already ground venison and pork I wasn’t sure how to prepare it. But then… I found this recipe. Amazing!! Thank you!
I used vegetable shortening instead of lard (have to use what i have) added garlic to the onions and smoke sea salt, and the burgers were delicious! A friend gave me the wild venison and hog and I didn’t know what to do until i saw your website. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
I was just given a large amount of ground venison from a friend. Found your site and want to say that it is enjoyable to read and the food looks amazing! Thank you.
Planning on trying the different grind ratio…how many times do you run it through the grinder, once?
Emilee: Usually twice.
We tried your recipe tonight! My hubby wouldn’t let me change a thing, and it worked amazingly! I’m surprised at how juicy and tasty it was considering there are only a few ingredients. I would like to pick up some smoked salt to see how it changes the taste 🙂
Hank, I ground all of our venison burger meat yesterday from the season, we collect it, freeze it and grind it all at the end of the season. Let it thaw just enough to cut through and make it through the grinder. 120 lbs yesterday. Took about 25 lbs and mixed pork fat at a 15% ratio from the neighbors hog we got this year. I used a coarse grind, but double ground it. Since we were in the garage and it’s cold here in michigan, the meat stayed mostly frozen through both grinds. I then made 1/4 lb patties with a patty press, wrapped and froze again. I tested a few and I’m very pleased with the result, I have to be a little gentle when cooking them, but they hold together well enough and taste great. I wish I would have read your post prior but I’m excited to have 25 ready made meals from the freezer for our family of 4…
This is awesome and I think I will try tomorrow. All our red meat we eat is game and I’m on a mission to master the burger…trying to find they key to flavor, texture and moisture!