I read a recent article by David Draper on “The Perfect Game Meat to Fat Ratio is None at All – Stop adding fat to your healthy ground game meat, you don’t need it.”
Draper writes: I’ve been processing my own (and others) deer and elk for about a dozen years and view adding some type of fat to ground venison as a necessary evil. I prefer ground pork, adding anywhere from 10 to 20 percent. Due to a calculating error on my part… the grind ended up at about 25 percent pork, a bit more than preferred. You don’t need to add fat to your ground game meat to make it taste good.
This math problem set me to wondering why hunters take a healthy source of protein and fatten it up? That’s like someone on a diet taking a carrot stick and dipping it in ranch dressing. Quick research shows no clear consensus on what or how much fat to add. Some hunters swear by 50/50, others just 10 percent. Some like pork, others beef tallow. Some add bacon ends and pieces.
Certainly, there’s a rationale to adding fat, including enhancing flavor because, hey, we all know fat tastes good. Fat also keeps meat from drying out when you fry it and helps patties from falling apart. But is there a better, healthier alternative? Yes, depending on how you’re planning to cook it.
Burgers on the grill are probably how much of the ground venison in America makes it to the table. I’ll be the first to admit, making a good burger without fat sounds impossible. The fat not only makes a burger juicy, it also helps it stay in patty form. Next time you have some 100 percent ground venison you want to throw on the grill, trying adding an egg and some breadcrumbs to serve as a binder. [Many also use…] steel-cut oats, diced onion, shredded potato and even powdered milk.
When frying ground venison for tacos, chili or spaghetti, cook it without fat. The spices should cover any gamy flavor you or your family might object to. (If not, find a new butcher to process your deer or learn to do it yourself. Since I started DIY processing 12 years ago, I’ve never had gamy game meat.) If the dry texture turns you off, try frying it in a little bit of olive oil, or add moisture as the venison browns in the form of stock, tomato juice or other flavored liquid.
The rich, robust nature of wild game is the perfect complement to the vivid flavors found in the recipes of Mexico and the American Southwest. What’s more, the cooking techniques are tailor-made for turning tough cuts of antelope deer, elk, upland birds, and waterfowl into tender, tasty fare. With that said, here are six recipes that will turn taco night into a full-blown Tex-Mex fiesta. Just be sure to have some citrusy sodas and cold cervezas on hand to cool the fire.
We agree. We do not find it necessary to add fat when grinding game meats. When sauting or cooking in a pan, we add olive oil for the fat. This allows you to control the amount needed. The only time we add fat for grinding is in the making of pate`. For white-tailed deer processing, we like to remove fat and sinew and process with a Toledo Scale Company meat grinder Model 5320, which makes for the best hamburger ever.
