Does anyone here have an aversion to the smell of deer burger cooking? I have such a strong aversion that the last time I made deer chili, I couldn't eat it, even though my family was bragging about how good it tasted. Even the picky eaters loved it. I have lots of burger left from last year, and more from this year. Does anyone have suggestions or tricks to lessen or mask the smell?
Try putting some garlic powder in it first. but do what I do--never ever get any ground--I am not a big fan of any ground meats and so I only get them to make/cut stew meat for me. Every so often I do buy a bit of good chuck and have it ground for burgers, or get some good ground turkey but I am not a big ground meat fan--I think it stems from my folks going on strike every other year and having to live on hamburger helper dinners or ring bologna and mac and cheese for months at a time. Yick. But still better than my Dads famous kidney beans on bread and butter dinner!
What I do when I process my meat is to keep cool running water flowing over the meat, washing it continously while I cut-n-package. All my meat that is going to be ground also goes through that process. With that being said, my buger-patties are hand-made (of course, eh) and what I do is: 1 pound of ground meat 2 eggs toasted bread-crumbs (made from bread-ends normally) - how much? I go by feel where it is no longer sticking to much to my hands Sprinkles of: Carawray (about 2 tsp), RedPepper seeds (about 1 tsp), basil (about 1/2 tsp), powdered sage, and whatever else I feel like at the moment. Then it comes down to mixing it all in a stainless bowl by hand till it looks / feels right and then place on the BBQ ...
I mix 1LB of Jones reg sausage with about 3lbs of ground venison, then add one sp liquid smoke,one spoon of worcestershire sauce,one spoon of montreal or canadian steak seasoning,mix fast so all the fat dosen't seperate, make the burgers, cook under the broiler for 8-9 minutes per side, the sausage just holds the lean meat together,adds some fat and has some seasoning I cook ours on the charcoal grill outside with homemade charcoal, but I put some soaked hardwood on so the burgers are smoked more than grilled.
How was it made? Did you make the hamburger or or have a meat processor do it? Was anything added to it? Did you/they trim all the fat off of it? If you took it to be processed did they guarantee that it was your deer that you got back or do they just mix everyone's together and hand you the packages. Very few processors around here will guarantee that it's your venison when you pick it up. That means you may be eating venison that rode around in someone's pickup for a week before they brought it in. That's one of the major reasons why we do our own. The only venison I ever got a bad smell when cooking was the one deer I processed "by the book." I used a meat saw and made pretty steaks, roasts, etc. and left the fat on the meat. Big mistake! I always trim every ounce of fat off when it's venison or elk meat. Some people mix beef or pork fat with it to help it hold together better in a pattie but we don't. I just cook it at a lower heat and cook it most of the way through before I turn it over to do the other side.
Thanks for the tips and ideas guys. Will try as many as I can over the next while. Even though "Charlie" really needs the meat, it kills me to pay for the processing and then end up giving most of it to him. I had a bit of minor success by mixing in about 2 lbs ground deer with a 10lb chub of ground beef and cooking it together. I then froze it in portions big enough for a pot of soup/chili/spaghetti sauce. But that is the only way in a while. I do like the idea of stew meat. My aunt had deer stew last time I visited, it was so good that I have been doing that a lot with our deer steak. As to a guarantee of getting back our own, no clue. DH handles that. I do know it is the same processor that does our beef, so I sure hope he gives everyone back their own.
Well with the exception of making a "burger patty" I use the stew meat for almost everything else-we slow cook and shred it for "sloppy Bambi" or we brine and smoke and then serve pulled BBQ Bambi or with the right seasonings you got shredded taco Bambi! Which, by the way, went over well at the boychilds open house. I usually don't mind the smell cooking but I come from a family that has been hunting and eating deer for all of my life. I also take exception to the fact that you label deer processing places so poorly MMM! I know our guy and they are super strict about everyone getting their own deer back. I have even been privy to all the kitchen and smoking secrets he has. that ol' fella and his sons make some of the best venison hot dogs and other yummy stuff ever. Sure I bet that there are some really poor places out there but not all of them. my family also used to butcher deer but then they also had their own butcher shop and butchered out other animals also-well they did till it went out of fashion to go to a butcher.
I did some checking here and very few processors will guarantee that it's your deer you'll be getting back. They wait until they have several then weigh each one and note the weight for later use then butcher them all and divide the meat proportionately to the weight of the deer the people brought in. Be sure you ask them if the deer you bring in is the one you get back in those packages! The big problem I have with that is that I am meticulous about field dressing and skinning our deer. I know too many who are not and I don't want to be eating a deer that's spent a week bouncing around in the back of a pickup getting road grime all over it and who knows what else! Or one that the hunter got sloppy and cut open the intestines or bladder when field dressing it. If your processor is good then stick with him. If you don't know how they handle the meat then ask. This isn't a personal insult to anyone. Just heads-up.
Lenny guarantees that you get your deer- the tags have to be with the deer all thru the process, but it might just be a Michigan thing here- and I have asked due to the fact that I too, am very fussy about how it was field dressed, and how long it was aged and at what temps.. It is a smaller family run operation and they are to the letter of the law-and I have gotten to watch them do one of my deer due to it being an off-season farmer cull.(friends are having deer damage to their orchards and blueberry farms.) It might also be due to the fact that I am friends with the people and have known them for many years and that they knew my family when they butchered deer. I also know the procedures that my family used and we always made sure that the deer/cow/pig that you brought in was the one you got back. Any processors that don't follow those procedures would not get my repeat business. And I do realize that there are people out there they cut corners and are shady. I would do my own but due to the back/shoulder/head injury from that car accident 10 years ago- I am just not able to do it any longer. After a couple of years trying I just gave up. Now when TSHTF- I will try to train my hubby and son and any other members of the family, as it will be a "do it or starve" deal. But then it will be a cook it and preserve it asap not just butcher and vac-wrap like now.
Just speaking for me!!... I do not like the smell of a buck killed in rut, which all are where I hunt, so I shoot does.. I do once in a while have to take a buck and when I do I try to make it a White Tail not a Mulie.. Bucks n rut will always have a odor when cooked as will a bull Elk in rut.. I did get a spike once that was as tender and tasty as could be, but he wasn't breeding... As for the OP's issue I guess frying some onions with the meat might work.. as MMM said if the meat is cut in a butcher shop tell them to bone it out , the marrow in the bone has a nasty taste and really ruins it for me.. and I don't care what the old Mountain Men had to say about that!.. Hell they were noted for slitting open the gall sack and dipping raw chunks of Liver in it and eating it that way... I keep the Back straps and "maybe" a roast but the rest goes into bulk sausage that I season and grind with pork fat... makes great breakfast sausage and wonderful meatloaf and chili ...
