Deer in a field
Considered a prize by many hunters, ground venison can be processed in a variety of ways. From use as a simple ground meat for stews or sauces, to sausage and hamburger patties, ground venison can be used in any recipe calling for regular beef hamburger. Since ground venison is lean, the addition of either suet or pork shoulder meat is beneficial to the final product.
Instructions
Grinding the Meat
1. Cut any large pieces of venison into 1-inch cubes and freeze the meat to be ground for 20 to 30 minutes. This will help to keep the grinder from gumming up during the grinding process.
2. Set up your meat grinder according to the manufacturer's instructions. If you have a choice of blades, choose the 1/4-inch blade for the first grind. Place a large bowl beneath the exit shoot of the grinder to catch the ground meat.
3. Fill the grinder feed tube with the meat cubes and process the meat through the grinder, adding meat as needed and pressing it down to the grinder using the pusher that came with the machine. For electric machines, the grinding will be automatic. For hand-cranked meat grinders, turn the crank with one hand while feeding and pushing the meat with the other.
4. Repeat the grinding process using the 1/8-inch blade if your machine has one included. The meat will then be ready to use as is for soups and sauces.
5. Place the ground venison in convenient portion sizes in zipper-type freezer bags and freeze until needed.
For Hamburger or Sausage
6. Grind half as much pork shoulder cubes as you have ground venison. For instance, if you have 2 lbs. of ground venison, you will need 1 lb. of pork shoulder cut into 1-inch cubes. If you are using beef suet, use only a quarter of the amount--2 lbs. of venison and 1/2 lb. of beef fat.
7. Mix the two ground meats together in a large bowl using your hands. This will give you enough fat in the meat to cook the burgers or sausage without burning or having the meat undercooked.
8. Shape into patties. Place a square of wax paper between each patty and store in air-tight, zipper-type freezer bags and freeze.
9. Add 1 Tbsp. sage, 1 tsp. each of salt and pepper and 1 tsp. of red pepper flakes per pound of ground meat before shaping into patties for a simple sausage recipe. Freeze in the same manner as hamburger patties.
Tags: ground venison, ground meat, pork shoulder, zipper-type freezer bags, 1-inch cubes, bags freeze
