Easy to make and flavorful, this venison burger recipe will impress even the most hesitant venison eater.

Deer meat gets a bad rap. So many people say it tastes gamey, or they automatically assume they don’t like it without ever really trying it.

So often deer get almost exclusively turned into the grind pile so that folks can make up things like venison chili, tacos, or bolognese where the rich flavor of the meat goes largely unnoticed.

This is one of my favorite venison recipes because the meat is the star of the dish instead of just being a small part of it. I much prefer venison to any other red meat, but it took a lot of coaxing and trying to get it right. My kids will hardly eat ground beef anymore.

This easy venison burger recipe is so good and simple to make. Just a few ingredients and a little bit of prep go a long way to result in juicy venison burgers. I’m convinced it’s the best burger I’ve ever tried.

Since venison is a lean meat without much fat you’re going to have to add some fat to get delicious, juicy burgers.

Some people have pork fat or beef added to their grind at the butcher, but we butcher our own and I prefer exclusively ground venison. I add deer fat, beef fat, lard, or ground pork where necessary, but like to individualize it for each recipe, so all of our grind pile is just deer. This way, each recipe has the correct fat ratio for making it delicious.

That being said, if your local butcher added pork to your grind, that’s fine, the meat will still benefit from the ingredients added to it to make it flavorful and juicy.

This simple recipe results in flavorful burgers. It can be grilled or cooked on the stove, depending on your preference. Though I highly recommend cooking these in a cast iron skillet if utilizing the stovetop method.

Simple Tricks for Making Juicy Venison Burgers

Venison burger patties are notorious for falling apart on the grill or in the pan. The egg, cold butter, and bacon added to the meat in this recipe not only enhances the flavor but also gives it a much-needed bit of fat. This helps the meat bind together before it’s put on the grill.

Another trick is to make sure you’re only flipping the burger patty once. Allow the burger to cook for about 4 minutes on each side, only turning it one time to help it stay together.

Another problem a lot of people seem to have is the fact that they think deer, moose, elk meat, and the like taste gamey. I’ll leave my opinion on that for another day, but adding an acid to the meat before cooking can help tone down any richness that may add more flavor than most are used to to the meat.

The acid in this recipe is just a touch of apple cider vinegar paired with the wonderful salty/acidic flavor of Worcestershire sauce. The two help the flavors meld together as well as brighten up the meat flavor to get rid of any gamey taste it may possess.

Wild game burgers also have a habit of becoming very dry. Generally, this is because the meat is overcooked. Venison steak shouldn’t be cooked much past rare and the best venison burgers shouldn’t be cooked much past medium.

Once your burger reaches an internal temperature of 140°F when read with an instant-read thermometer, it’s time to pull it off the heat and allow it to rest. The meat will continue to cook while resting.

How to Make The Best Venison Burger Recipe

Ingredients

• Ground Venison – whether you use elk, moose, deer, or antelope any will do. Our grind is pure venison, if you have the butcher add pork fat to your grind pile, you may be able to omit the bacon if you choose, but it really enhances the flavor as well.
• Bacon – since our grind is 100% venison meat, this adds fat, but it also adds flavor.
• Butter – another source of fat, and flavor, is butter. I even put butter in beef burgers. Grate it frozen for the best results.
• Onion – some people love using onion powder, I much prefer freshly minced onion. They caramelize while they cook in the meat and add a great flavor profile.
• Worcestershire Sauce – helps tame the “gamey” flavor as well as adding a nice flavor combination overall.
• Egg – a binding agent to keep that lovely meat all together.
• Apple Cider Vinegar – brightens up the flavor and tames any “gamey” flavor left after the Worcestershire sauce.
• Seasonings – garlic powder, black pepper, and plenty of salt. If I’m really in the mood to take these ground venison burgers next level I add just a touch of bbq sauce to the mixture (about two tablespoons).
• Hamburger Buns – I love using brioche buns for these, but any bun, or even some mushrooms or lettuce are good options.
• Toppings & Condiments – My favorite toppings are cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, bread and butter pickles, mayo, ketchup, and mustard.

Directions

1. Combine ground meat, minced onion, grated butter, diced bacon, egg, Worcestershire sauce, apple cider vinegar, garlic powder, and black pepper in a large bowl. Use your hands to mix the meat and other ingredients well.

2. Separate ground deer meat mixture into 4 similarly sized patties. I used a scale to make sure they were all about 1/4 of a pound.

3. Using a tablespoon or similar, gently press an indent into each patty to keep the patties from shrinking during cooking.

4. Heat grill to 500°F. Alternatively, heat a cast iron pan over medium-high heat and lightly coat it with olive oil. While heating, liberally salt both sides of the raw patties.

5. Cook patties on a heated cooking surface for 4-5 minutes on each side, turning once. Internal temperature at the end of 8 minutes should be around 140°F. Do not overcook.

6. Remove Patties from heat and allow them to rest for 5 minutes before assembling burgers with desired toppings.