Grinding Venison: How to Grind Your Own Elk and Deer BurgerGrinding venison (elk and deer meat) should be done close to the time the elk or venison burger is needed for the freshest flavor and highest quality meal results. If you have all of your ground venison packaged for you at the time your wild game is processed, you will sacrifice some quality, freshness and shelf life. Solid pieces of meat last longer in the freezer and hold moisture and quality better than packaged ground elk or deer meat does. The same is true for any meat. Grinding simply allows maximum exposure of the meat to the air and microbes in the environment. Grinding venison speeds loss of moisture and shortens shelf life, all of which sacrifices quality (flavor and texture). So, it’s best to grind it as you need it. You’ll appreciate the improved quality of grinding venison burger yourself!
Grinding venison is easy, if you have the right equipment. We used a hand meat grinder for years to make our venison burger. We eventually purchased an inexpensive 575 watt LEM electric grinder for about $100. A more expensive model will make the job easier and faster, but is not necessary. We grind only about five or ten pounds of elk meat into elk burger at a time, so speed is not an issue for us.
Partly Frozen Meat is Easier to HandleOne trick is to grind the meat while it is still slightly frozen. It makes it much easier to cut and handle the meat. Let it thaw only until you can fairly easily get a knife through it. Start slicing and dicing it into strips or cubes about one inch wide. It will then easily feed through the grinder hopper.Do Some Trimming First
You will need to trim off most of the gristle, “silver skin” and fat from the meat. The silver skin and gristle can get wound up and stuck in the blades as you grind. That stuff will eventually clog the grind blade and you will notice it slowing things down. If that happens, it takes just a few minutes to clean it all off of the blades and start again.
Add Some FatVenison of all kinds is pretty lean meat, so adding a little fat of some kind when grinding venison improves the flavor and texture a great deal. Don’t use venison fat, though. It has a pretty objectionable, strong flavor. Most meat processors will add beef suet to your ground elk or deer meat. Suet can often be gotten for free, or at least at low cost, at most grocery stores that cut up their own meat.It is recommended that about 10% to 20% of fat be added by weight. Less of this saturated fat is healthier, so don’t overdo it. If you have five pounds (5 X 16 = 80 ounces) of elk meat to grind, add a half to ¾ pound (8 to 16 ounces) of fat to it. It doesn’t have to be exact. An $8-$10 food scale will get you close enough. You could just estimate with one scant handful of fat to five handfuls of meat. The easiest way to add the fat is to grind portions of the venison first, then grind the desired amount of suet to add to it. Mix the suet into the venison by kneading it with your hands in a bowl, and then run it all quickly through the grinder together. You might want to start with the coarser grind blade for both, and then run it through the finer grind blade together. A finer grind is not necessary, though. Experience will help you decide what you prefer. Use An Inexpensive Patty Press
A burger patty press is cheap and is a great little tool to use while grinding venison. It causes all your venison burger patties to be of uniform size and shape, about six ounces each, or thinner if you prefer. It also helps press the meat together to keep it from falling apart during cooking.
We choose to simply press all of the ground venison immediately into patties. We simply break up some of the patties to use in casserole dishes, tacos, spaghetti sauce, etc. Pressing it all into patties separates the 
ground venison into manageable portions of about a third of a pound each; depending on how thick you make them. If a recipe calls for 1 pound of ground elk, you simply pull three patties out of the freezer. To be more accurate about the weight, use the $10 kitchen scale to weigh the first few patties you make. You will soon be able to eyeball the amount of meat fairly accurately to keep the patties uniform.
After you press each patty, wrap each one in plastic wrap separately. Then stack them all in plastic zip freezer bags. The plastic wrap will keep them from sticking together once they are frozen. When you want ground venison for a meal, you can simply pull out the number of patties you need for elk burgers or for a ground venison recipe.
It's a Little MessyGrinding venison yourself is a little messy, particularly until you get an efficient process down. It’s really not that hard to clean up the grinder, hopper, blades, etc. Just run hot water over the pieces and the stuck fat, meat and gristle comes right off. The cutting pieces can all go in the dishwasher, along with the hopper.Consider wearing medical gloves to keep from getting greasy hands when handling the suet. It makes cleanup quicker and easier and helps you keep grease off the faucet and freezer handles, phone, or whatever else you might want to touch during the process. You'll Be Hooked On the Quality
Get your hands on a grinder and into the meat and suet and soon you’ll easily be grinding venison for your freezer. The meat will be fresh ground and very moist. You will never want to buy ground beef again, or have your venison burger ground all at once every fall. You’ll be hooked on grinding venison yourself!
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