You like eating meat? And you have deer meat in your kitchen. But you don’t know how to cook it? You have the same problem with that?
Maybe you should try to grind your meat. Wait a minute… How to Grind Deer Meat? You don’t know it? Here…
I’ll tell you step by step how to grind deer meat. You may also interested in our articles Can I Use Food Processor To Grind Meat? 5 Superb Guides For How To Use It To Grind Meat.
But, first thing first. You may wondering what is Grinding Meat. Read this.
What is Grinding Meat?
The meat you use for hamburgers, meatballs, or sausages has to be firm and flexible so that you can shape it how you desire. To do this, we grind the meat, which makes it easier to shape.
Cooking does not begin with the flame, and it starts before the protein even touches the grill. Good preparation will produce good tasting food.
Then some seasoning and shaping your patty and finally cooking, making the juiciest and most tasty hamburgers.
If you are cooking with venison, then grinding it is probably the best way as it takes a lot of time to cook. Moreover, you do not have to spend hours and hours slow cook the meat until it is eatable.
Ready to know how to grind deer meat?
Prepare your self…
Make sure you have your deer meat already.
How to Grind Deer Meat
Discover how to properly prepare venison for the grinder and other techniques for grinding your own game.
Venison grinding is one of the easiest and best ways to use wild game meat for whitetail deer hunters. There’s no need to worry about overcooking ground meat, and you don’t have to wait hours for a slow cooker to work.
Steaks and roasts are frequently prepared from does and young bucks. For trophy hunters, grinding older, tougher whitetail bucks is probably the best method of consuming them.
Though I am not a trophy hunter myself, I do receive meat “donations” from friends who are. Even though old whitetails don’t make the best steak dinners, they make delicious, flavorful ground meat.
Here is what you need to do for the best ground venison.
Preparing the Meat for Grinding
Save the loins and tenderloins for your grill, and use only the quarters for grinding. But first, you must remove the bone from the meat. For better control and power, a sharp, stiff boning knife or a filet knife works best on deer.
For example, a filet knife designed for processing fish would be much too flexible for getting around a deer’s thick bones and joints.
Next, remove as much silver skin as possible from the meat. Many people skip this step, but I find that removing it creates a better product in the end. Silver skin is tasteless and does nothing to enhance ground meat.
I’ve also found that too much silver skin can prevent your ground venison from binding together for recipes such as burgers and meatballs. Don’t worry about removing every bit possible – just focus on large, thick areas.
Make sure to remove as much fat as possible from the meat. Most off-putting flavors in venison are stored in the animal’s fat. Also, venison fat is the kind that unpleasantly coats your palate with a waxy texture.
Keep It Cold
Then cut the meat into large chunks – whatever size your grinder can easily take. Place meat pieces onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, making sure they don’t touch. Chill in your freezer for about 30 minutes or until the meat becomes firm to the touch, but not frozen through.
This will help prevent bacteria from growing, as well as help your grinder work more efficiently; soft, sticky meat is more difficult to mince than firm meat.
Additionally, as your grinder operates, friction will also warm up the machine. You can also take the extra precaution of chilling the grinder attachments in the freezer before using them.
Add Fat
Depending on what you’re planning to cook, you may want to add fat to your ground venison. This added fat can be bacon, pork shoulder, pork belly, beef tallow, etc. It’s purely personal preference.
I always add about 15-20 percent fat if I’m making hamburgers or kebabs, which makes the meat juicier and more flavorful. But for recipes such as taco meat, meatloaf, meatballs, meat sauces, etc.,
To add fat to venison, cut it up into pieces and chill in the freezer as described in the I do not add fat, especially if the meat requires simmering in a sauce or has other moisture-enhancing ingredients in it such as egg, milk and/or breadcrumbs.
To add fat to venison, cut it up into pieces and chill in the freezer as described in the previous section.
Grinding
Thoroughly read the instructions that came with your grinder. Fit the grinder with the coarse ground die, and once ready, add the chilled wild game and fat into the tray and grind together.
For the most part, I like my ground meat coarse and meaty. Too fine and ground meat takes on Try not to handle the meat more than you have to, to keep it cold and firm. Some people grind their meat twice, but I do it only once through the coarse die.
I rarely use the fine die, unless if I plan on making ravioli filling or something that requires a smoother texture.
For the most part, I like my ground meat coarse and meaty. Too fine and ground meat takes on a mealy texture.
Grind Fresh or Store Tightly
FresFreshly ground meat is the best ground meat. When I make venison burgers, that meat is usually ground right before I cook it. This ensures that I’m cooking with freshly ground meat every single time, especially since I enjoy my burgers on the rarer side.
As mentioned previously, grinding meat creates lots of surface area where bacteria can attach and grow. Additionally, pre-grinding meat exposes more air to the meat, which causes discoloration during grinding, then freezing and then thawing.
However, this may not be feasible for most people. Dragging out the meat grinder before every meal is a chore. If you choose to grind large bulks of meat beforehand.
I suggest vacuum sealing that ground meat instead of using the typical freezer bags/sleeves for long term storage. These bags are not airtight, and your ground meat will not last as long in the freezer.
Another trick I’ve learned to grind small batches of venison is to use a food processor. Follow the previous steps, except cut venison into smaller pieces than normal, and pulse the semi-frozen meat (and fat, if desired) in small batches to prevent overwhelming the machine. For small batches of ground venison, this method works very well and can be utilized for all kinds of meat.
Finally you knew How to Grind Deer Meat.
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Hi there! I’m a food enthusiast and journalist, and I have a real passion for food that goes beyond the kitchen. I love my dream job and I’m lucky enough to be able to share my knowledge with readers of several large media outlets. My specialty is writing engaging food-related content, and I take pride in being able to connect with my audience. I’m known for my creativity in the kitchen, and I’m confident that I can be the perfect guide for anyone looking to take their culinary journey to the next level.
