Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Best way to make burger

I was fortunate enough to tag a bull in my first elk hunt this year. What’s everyone’s best burger recipe? I have tons of hamburger……looking at actually cheeseburgers, meatballs, meatloaf….

When we grind, we blend in 10% to 15% beef suet (fat) by weight! Makes great burger (not dry), and of course any other thing that burger is used for! memtb

The key for burger patties is make them the day before. Let them sit over night (refrigerated obviously) . They will hold together much better.

I have a bunch of pork fat- will that work just as well?

I suspect it should, though…..we’ve personally not used it. I had an uncle that used pork fat and sometimes pork sausage in his burger (deer, elk, antelope, and bear). However, I don’t know how long he keep it frozen prior to use. We’ve gone over a year in freezer…..if we had a lot of elk! memtb

I have a hunting buddy who grinds his own and he mixes some with the cheapest hamburger he can get.
I think his ratio is 30% hamburger up to half & half, depending on the quality of the venison
Uses it like you would hamburger as patties or in chili, tacos and so.

I’m another 15% beef suet fan that mix keeps the lean flavor but has the patties stay together. I’ve used pork fat, sausage & bacon in the grind & still prefer it plain or with the beef fat.

Sausage in the other hand seems better with a healthy mix of pork fat &other seasonings. My buddy from upstate New York made us his Italian grandmothers sausage a few years ago - best Italian sausage I’ve ever had. Thinking about it makes me want lasagna or a sausage peppers & cheese sandwich.

Putting other fat in ground elk or deer is like putting Coke-cola in good Jack Daniels.

No added fat makes good spaghetti, meat loaf, chili, anything you use ground meat in. It also negates the healthy food aspect of wild game.

About the only time I would add anything is if I am making breakfast sausage. Summer sausage I only add the spices

When grilling hamburgers using ground elk, only flip the only once and they will hold together

Have used pork, last batch I used some bacon with moose, have to say its been the best burger to date. I forget the ratio?

Using Jack Daniels may not be the best example at this time! As….they’ve now gone “woke” by supporting LGBTQIAXYZ, ect., ect! Jus’ Say’n! memtb

https://twitter.com/endwokeness/status/1643728597050327041?s=61&t=dBbdqd_YOX7K8phCZrsUOQ

Pork fat rules!!

Did not know that. Changed it

I figured that……things are changing so fast, it’s impossible to keep up! Sad times, indeed! 🤬 memtb

When I process any of my wild meat...elk, deer, moose, antelope, etc... I overtrim the meat, cutting off anything white, then coarse grind adding 10% beef fat and then re-grind it through the fine grinder.

Mix 1/1 with fresh ground pork or mix with equal amounts of Jimmy Deans hot pork sausage works well.

I’ll have to try some of these methods. Really wanna try bacon in the burgers

No elk this year, but we put 4 whitetails in the freezer. Nothing added to the grind and burgers hold together fine. I like blue cheese on/in my burgers so after thawing a package, I've been mixing seasoning and blue cheese crumbles in with it.

Fat is good for you, put it in some in your burger.

The bun on the other hand is killing you.

1st how old of bull elk did you shoot ? if its a old bull elk don`t waste your money on the meat i shot a big old bull that scored 376 B.C. and was huge , that bulls meat was nasty for burger.my wife would not fix it after a while kids did not like it either hotdishes was ok burgers were bad from my bull. good luck,Pete53

We have been crushing smashburgers lately

Smashburger Recipe

I’m definitely trying this

20% beef fat with elk burger. As long as it wasn't a rank old bull, or shot to doll rags, it'll be excellent. I'm not a fan of dry burger. Get the trimmings from a well fed steer and it'll be as good, or better, than beef burger.

For longer storage: When cutting the elk, we bag large chunks in gallon freezer bags. 1 bag will hold about 5lb of meat. Whole meat is a lot less susceptible to freezer burn. We grind 1 or 2 bags at a time as we use it. When we grind it, we'll refreeze some of it in 1lb packages and the rest we'll make into burgers using a LEM burger press. Put plastic coated burger papers between them. Don't use waxed paper. It will soak up and freeze too hard to get the burgers apart.

I add 10-15% beef fat or trimmings to my burger whether it’s deer, elk or moose. A few years ago a friend gave me some bacon ends that I mixed with elk. I think the ratio was about 3 lbs of bacon to 17 lbs of elk. It was a big hit!

Smash burgers have been my go-to the last year. Make a double with fried onions, hatch peppers, and cheddar or american. I've added pork or beef fat10-15% in the past. The pork can be more sensitive. I haven't had it happen to me, but I've heard it can go rancid faster than beef fat for some. That being said, my meat processor adds 15% pork fat. This year I added fat to half my ground and no fat in the other. Going forward, I'll stop adding fat for health and use egg as a binder for burgers, otherwise, most of our ground goes in chilli, tacos, bolognese, etc.

topic drift alert...On the Left Coast, the Columbia Blacktail has a rich and varied diet, is generally killed prior to the rut, ergo, the meat is arguably the mildest and best game meat out there, with the possible exception of alfalfa field antelope. One of my favorite recipes is pan seared Blacktail with salt and pepper. That good, yes. Grinding it into burger? What a damn shame.

Mack1112: I carefully and completely trim all fat and white tissue from the Elk meat - ALL of it.
Then I obtain some sweet suet called "kidney suet" and grind that in with the well trimmed meat - 15% or so.
Best of luck to you with your "recipe" (and on your Hunts).
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I think it makes a difference mixing it all together like sausage, as opposed to sprinking on top after making patties.

Add the pork fat as everyone has mentioned before, more is better.
Then when putting patty on the grill add a pat of butter on top of it. PS. I do this especially with deer and on steaks also.

We use beef clod / shoulder meat trimmed real well ground with our venison. Enough fat to make Pattie’s, and still fairly healthy as red meat goes….

There "ain't no best way" just cook it and remember the hunt!...........

100% moose makes the best burgers

why would you contaminate wild, organic meat with steroid beef fat and pork ?

Can honestly say that the best hamburger I ever had was made with elk.

A friend/neighbor up north where I have a cottage on a lake shot a cow elk in Colorado a couple years ago.

Had us over for a cook out.

Elk burgers. Said they were 5% beef fat. Seasoned well.

Big half pound patties, grilled over charcoal, medium rare. Red onions, yellow mustard, and a slice of cheddar on an onion roll.

My wife who isn't a big fan of "wild game" still talks about them.

I ate 2 burgers and had a few Modelo Negras and was very very happy

I mix mine with pork shoulder about 20%.

I put the burgers on aluminum foil to firm up on the top rack…..before I put it directly on grill.

Thanks for that recipe huntinaz, that gal is taking some sort of happy pills, gotta get me some lol.

I will be making it then for sure this week. Do you make your own brioche buns, I do it's easy and they are better than anything you will get from a store or a bakery and 1/4 of the cost. If you would like the YouTube recipe link I can post it if you like.

KB

3#-4# of ends and pieces bacon ground into 10# of venison. Patty and maybe just a hint of salt and lightly pepper just before hitting the grill/griddle/pan.

I mix 50/50 beef hamburger 85% fat and elk or deer. Since beef hamburger and beef fat are about the same price around here. I often will just eat the hamburger as 100% elk or deer though, depending on what it's going to be used for.

No animal fat added. Single grind though a medium plate, and try to be do a decent job of trimming out 'undesirable' pieces.

To make a patty: add an egg yolk, a little olive, and steak seasoning to taste. Grill and don't flip more than once.

Never heard of that before, so I will have to give it a try, thanks for the tip djb!

KB

Enjoy KB.

Oh man no I buy them. I bet they are great homemade

They are under indirect heat.

The pot is full of water.

IT’s hickory sawdust smoldering

Once the burger tightens

Direct heat……….


And cheeeeeze!

Pork fat's freezer life is about 6 months before it starts to go bad. It will develop on "off" taste even if frozen/vacuum packed. I use 10% beef ribeye trimmings to mix with venison burger.

We routinely find a lost package of venison hamburger at the bottom of the chest freezer that is a couple years old and is still as good as the day it was frozen. Double wrapping in freezer paper is also a key to long freezer shelf life.

Would you like me to post how to make them, not really hard to make and they will put your burgers over the top. Grand Slam of North America Burgers especially with elk or moose

PS: I will just post it, in case anyone wants to see it. You do not need a "Manbun" to make awesome brioche buns, I certainly do not have one lol

KB

These are a batch I made, the most excellent and delicious buns I ever had.

After taking the time and spending the $$ to kill an elk or a moose, it's good to take the dining experience to the next level, right?

KB

Ah yeah those look great, thanks for posting

I never ever add beef or pork meat or fat...you LOSE the taste of your elk. Crack in an egg per pound mix it up and season with salt and pepper. If the mixture is a little too "wet" add in very small amount of unseasoned bread crumbs to dry it up a little bit.

No it won't tast like meat loaf. I use this basic mix for my breakfast sausage also and just add the spice I need.

For meatballs, I add in the pre-mixed Italian Seasoning and then purposefully add-in some seasoned Italian bread crumbs.

I am a firm believer of not adding any domestic meat to any of my ground game meat.

This is the way.

This. package straight ground meat it will have the longest freezer life. If you want bacon burgers partially thaw 4lbs and mix with a chopped up 12 oz package of bacon, regrind, form into patties put in a plastic bag with a piece of wax paper between patties to make it easier to separate as many as you need per meal.put bag with remaining patties back into the freezer. They will be gone before you know it..mb

Depends on the quality of the burger. If it is good meat properly handled, then you should cook it so the character of the meat shines through. If it is foul/funky meat, then you should cover that with spices.

With good meat, I like "clean" tastes. I usually smash it into burger patties then cook them like steak. Usually use just enough bacon grease to keep them from sticking to the pan. Possibly some salt but no other seasoning. Cheeseburger is acceptable .. good quality bacon, etc. Don't overwhelm the taste of the meat though, let it shine through. Done right, you're not making fast food burgers, you're making ground steak served on a bun.

With sketchy meat, "gamey" or whatever, then spaghetti sauce, meatballs, etc with heavy enough spices to cover the funk seems appropriate. I had one buck 20 ish years ago that was just vile. He was big, old, and it was late in the rut when I shot him ... and that's what he smelled like when the meat cooked, "rut". It took a lot of garlic and chipotle tabasco to cover the foulness .. but it did work and I ate a lot of spagetti that winter.

I mix 15% pork shoulder roast with my elk. I used 15% kidney roll beef fat before but like the pork roast better and it is a ittle leaner. I have a commercial vac packer and use 4 mil bags, it keeps very well. I've done 8 elk and25 deer this way in the past 8 years.

I grind my own with about 15% pork butt or pork shoulder roast. I have never had a problem with it lasting all year.
In fact I just finished grilling some burgers about an hour ago. Delicious.

1/2&1/2 venison and ground lamb works great.

Only turn the burgers when they don’t stick to the grill anymore

I like my burger with 10% beef suet, then mix in a bowl with diced onion and some Johnney's seasoning salt make patties and broil.

I use leaf lard and beef suet for some of my grinds and have never had fat go rancid. We usually finish it all within one year, but have had some cased sausage with 25-30% pork leaf lard go several years with no problem.

It’s best to start with a moose…

If you plan to grill burgers......add cheap Amish bacon-ends at a rate of 1:6 before grinding. Label as 'baconated'.

You can add an egg and a some Ritz crackers......if you prefer.

Elk burger straight is great for chili, lasagna, or other fill ins.

Every meal doesn't have to be a granola health ritual.

This x 100, except for the Jack Daniels part.... I drank plenty of it, but I ain't buying anymore of that chit! I'll stick to my Bird Dog...

http://www.backwoodsbound.com/zdeer145.html I have used this recipe for venison, don't see why it wouldn't work for elk meatloaf as well.

3:1 venison to wild hog.

15% fat.

Great sausage and burgers.




GR

Theyre great! I go 15% beef fat when ground. I do a salt pepper and a spicy dry rub I make with chipotle powder, cumin, coffee and ceyanne.. Cook whole thick smoked bacon from Smart and final.. Cook burger in bacon fat for bonus points. Toasted sourdough, too much lettuce, onion slices, lots of crunchy bacon slices and real thick tomatoes... Now I am hungry!

That's the way it is supposed to work.

Good burger methods/recipes.

End of recipe.........

Because elk is so lean and healthy, we don't add any beef or pork fat. When I defrost it, I just mix in a tablespoon of olive oil per pound. Super easy and makes delicious juicy burgers. After making the burgers I put them in the freezer for 15 minutes right before I cook them as someone else mentioned they stay together much better.

I grind elk or antelope with 15% of pork shoulder or butt, and then regular mix in seasonings to your taste, the best burgers you ever ate. Just make sure patties are large and decently thick.

The bun is the unhealthy thing, not the fat. It's 2023, time to leave the 80's behind.

It is not about the health it's about "corrupting" the taste. The flavor of any meat is concentrated in the fat. If I wanted a beef burger, I would go buy ground beef. I want an elk burger or a venison burger ot an anteope burger or a moose burger. I eat wild game at least 4 times a week..I add nothing to any of the ground meat. I crack an egg in as a binder.