Spicy Korean-Inspired Venison (Great Ground Venison Recipe!) (2024)

FAQs

What is the best seasoning for venison? ›

Pure ground venison cooks up great with a little cooking fat like pork lard. However, many people like to add fattier cuts of meat or pure animal fat to their ground venison to enhance the taste and spread their venison out into more meals.

Sometimes I combine ground venison and ground beef 50-50 to make a better mix for any recipe that calls for ground meat. If you do this, you can buy the cheaper ground beef that is a 75-25 mix of lean to fat, and when you add the leaner ground venison, you still get a pretty lean mix.

As a hunter, you can ask the process to mix in beef fat or pork fat, or none at all; often people will get some with added fat and some without. Beef fat works well with ground venison, and makes the flavor closer to ground beef.

The best seasonings for ground venison include salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, cumin, and dried herbs such as thyme, rosemary, or oregano. These seasonings enhance the natural flavor of the venison without overpowering it.

Grinding meat increases the potential to introduce bacteria. For recipes such as meatballs, meatloaf and taco meat, it is okay to cook ground venison all the way through, which is 160 degrees. Most of these recipes will also have other ingredients in them—breadcrumbs, eggs, water, etc. -- to help keep the meat moist.

Pork belly has a tendency to overpower the flavor of lean cuts, while fatback compliments them. You can also use beef suet, but the texture and flavor aren't as good as pork. Another option is tallow from wild game, although deer fat is very saturated and waxy.

The distinct game flavor of either birds or animals will be milder after soaking the meat overnight in the refrigerator in either a salt or vinegar solution. 2. Vinegar solution - 1 cup per quart of cold water. Use enough solution to cover the game completely.

Given that deer are leaner than cows, venison is generally healthier to eat than beef. An average cut of venison, in fact, has around half the calories and a sixth the saturated fats of a similarly sized cut of beef. It also has more proteins, vitamins and minerals than beef.

How do you make ground venison less gamey? ›

Normally, ground venison is mixed with beef fat to supplement the normally less fat deer, so if you've gotten straight ground venison, I would add ground beef fat at 10-15% of the total. That tempers the wild flavors and adds the accustomed mouth feel and flavor.

"Freshly butchered venison — especially when it is in rigor mortis — will be super tough," Cihelka said. When rigor mortis sets in, the animal stiffens. Hanging the animal prevents the muscles along the spine from shortening. This is why backstraps and tenderloin are tender.

Soaking deer meat in milk or a marinade with acidic components like vinegar, wine, or citrus juice helps eliminate the gamey taste. Alternatively, brining the meat in a solution of water, salt, and sugar can also improve its flavor and tenderness.

Venison silver skin, fat, ligaments, and other undesirable parts of a deer that aren't muscle don't taste very good. Deer fat is generally bitter, unlike beef fat. This is probably the number one reason why folks think venison, particularly ground venison, tastes gamey.

The distinct game flavor of either birds or animals will be milder after soaking the meat overnight in the refrigerator in either a salt or vinegar solution. 2. Vinegar solution - 1 cup per quart of cold water. Use enough solution to cover the game completely.

Deer fat is generally bitter, unlike beef fat. This is probably the number one reason why folks think venison, particularly ground venison, tastes gamey.

Hanging your meat, skin on, for about two weeks is the best option. Aging the meat allows the animal's natural enzymes to break down the connective tissues and mellows the flavor. Cihelka said this is the reason his venison is so tender.