Making perfect venison burgers isn’t hard. All you need to do is add a bit of fat and a few flavors to make this underrated meat shine on burger night.
Ah, venison burgers. A popular dish to make with ground deer meat, but they often end up dry, tough and gamey.
If you find that this is usually true for you, you’re probably cooking venison burgers like you’re cooking beef burgers. With just a few simple tricks, you can take your wild game burger night to the next level and start using up that ground venison you have in the freezer. (For more venison cooking tips check out my free guide!)
Venison burgers are always a go-to in our house year-round when we’re trying to use up ground venison, and these honestly are so crazy flavorful and juicy, I like them even more than traditional beef or turkey burgers. The best part is the lean, grass-fed, responsibly sourced protein.
How do you make venison burgers that aren’t dry?
The trick to cooking venison burgers is to add a bit of fat to the meat because it’s very lean, and make sure you don’t overcook them.
Adding fat
In this recipe, you’ll see below that I’m using cold, grated butter and mixing a bit into the patties. Not too much, you don’t want the burger to be greasy, but just about 1/2 tablespoon of grated butter per patty to give it some juice.
Our deer meat is also cut with 10% pork fat, so be sure to add some sort of fat to your grind (or have your butcher do it) when processing the meat.
Cooking to perfection
One of the #1 ways to ruin deer meat is to overcook it. I like my steaks rare to medium rare and my burgers just over medium, so about 140F internally.
Once your burgers reach about 140-145F, pull them off the heat source you’re using and let them rest for a few minutes before serving them. This is SO important.
How do you make deer burgers taste good?
If you don’t love the flavor of venison, or even if you do and you want to enhance it, you’re going to want to add a bit of seasoning and acid to your burgers to let the meat shine.
I add a bit of balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire sauce to combat the richness but bring out the meaty flavor.
Then, it’s just simple salt, pepper, garlic, and onion powder. It’s really that easy!
Love this recipe? Make sure to order a copy of my cookbook, Venison Every Day, for more amazing deer meat ideas.
Venison Burger
Making perfect venison burgers isn’t hard. All you need to do is add a bit of fat and a few flavors to make this underrated meat shine on burger night.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 12 minutes
- Total Time: 22 minutes
- Yield: 4 burgers 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Grill/Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground venison
- 2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp. garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp. onion powder
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. pepper
- 2 Tbsp. freezing cold butter, grated*
- Burger buns (brioche is best and toppings you like – cheese (we like Pepper or Colby Jack), lettuce, tomato, pickles, ketchup, etc.
Instructions
- Before beginning, place a stick of butter in the freezer.
- If you’re cooking your burgers on a grill, go ahead and preheat the grill to medium-high (450-500F). If you’re cooking on a stovetop, get out a large pan (preferably cast-iron) and set it on the appropriate burner. You’re going to want to heat the pan for 3-5 minutes before cooking, so keep that in mind.
- Mix together the venison, balsamic, Worchestershire, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. I like to use a fork and my hands. It’s good to use a fork to “fluff” and break up the meat, you don’t want it too packed.
- Right before you form the patties, grate in about 2 tablespoons of freezing cold butter (I use a regular, old cheese grater). Mix again quickly just to distribute, but not so much that the butter melts.
- Form the meat into 4 evenly sized balls and then shape them into patties. Form a divot in the top of the burgers to help catch some of the juice.
- Place the burgers on the grill or in the hot pan, and cook for anywhere from 5-8 minutes per side. I like to just flip the burgers once so they have a nice crust. If you’re using cheese, add your cheese when you flip your burger over.
- I use an internal read thermometer and pull my burgers at 140-145F (medium) but you can pull them at 150F-160F if you like yours more well done.
- Let your burgers rest for 5-10 minutes (SERIOUSLY) before assembling and eating. Voila!
Notes
- When I tell people to add butter to burger meat I sometimes get flack from the health police. To me, it makes a huge difference, but of course, it isn’t 100% necessary. If you’re wanting to not use the butter, just don’t use it. But, your butter won’t be as juicy and it’s only about 1/2 Tbsp. per serving. I always opt for very high quality, grass-fed butter, by the way.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 burger (patty only)
- Calories: 269
- Sugar: 1 g
- Sodium: 678 mg
- Fat: 15 g
- Saturated Fat: 8 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 2 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 30 g
- Cholesterol: 126 mg
Keywords: venison, deer meat, burger, burgers
this post was originally published in June 2020. It was updated in June 2022.
Thanks for the recipe. It looks so delicious.
Thanks for checking it out!
I made a double batch of whitetail burgers to add to other burgers at a club gathering This afternoon, My venison burgers were absolutely delicious. The common comment was “I’ve tried venison before but it was (tough, gamey, just ok, fill in the blank) but this was REALLY good! Thank you for the secret ingredients and tips. A keeper for the recipe book.
★★★★★
Linda – you’ve made my day! I’m so glad you enjoyed the burgers! 🙂
I made a double batch tonight but added finely diced onion and minced garlic to the burgers. My husband who has only had his father’s venison burgers was initially a little apprehensive ended up DEVOURING 2 of them and my girls ages 4 & 6 could not get enough of them either. That being said I did have a little difficulty with the burgers crumbling apart while grilling, wondering if this has been an issue for you at all? I may add an egg next time to bind them a little better but all-in-all these were delicious!
★★★★★
Using fresh onion, I. E. Adding water to the burger probably made them crumble. Hence she uses dried. You can grate, salt, rest the onions for 30 mins then squeeze off the liquid to minimise this effect if you want to use fresh.
I long ago changed to onion and garlic powder, however finely you chop the onions the aways break or fall apart on the larger harder lumps. Powder solves this whilst keeping the taste!
This looks really good. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
of course!
Can’t wait to try this recipe this weekend. Been craving for burgers since last week. Thanks for this!
Hope you enjoyed them!
So what’s the temperature to cook the elk burgers.
If you want a medium burger, 140-145F, 150-155 for med-well
Thank you for the information.
Amazing! This recipe was everything and more. Made our venison burgers in a cast iron skillet and wow were they flavorful! Definitely will make again with this recipe.
What’s your recommendation on how to grate the butter?
My son got his first buck and we’ve never made venison burger before. Thank you!
I’d freeze it for a bit and just do it on a standard box grater like you would a block of cheese!
Just made them didnt use anything but the plain deer burger no ketchup pickles etc. Was fantastic will be using this recipe from now on. Deer meat in NY is a bit pricey but this sure is a nice treat to have.
★★★★★
I’m so glad you enjoyed!!
If you’re in a laid back state of mind, hence, lazy simply add your ground venny to a can of Hormel Bold Manwich. It’s got so much flavor to add to the meat.
I agree 100%! I have been doing this for years except I add chopped onion and bell pepper when I am browning the meat!
I’ve cooked with venison for years but have never tried making a burger with it because it’s so lean. These were SO tasty, and my kids did not detect the gamey flavor (they usually do). I’ll definitely make these again! Our venison was not mixed with another fat during processing; the only fat was from the butter.
★★★★★
If you got your Meet processed at a processor, do you still add the butter?
Yes! We frequently do and still add the butter.
This was absolutely the most delicious burger! My neighbor said he’d pay big money for a burger like it. It had such incredible flavor. So good!
I did add diced jalapeños as its my husband’s favorite way to eat a burger. My husband grilled beef burgers along side the venison burgers. There was no comparison, this recipe blew the beef burger out of the water…or I should say grill.;)
★★★★★
This venison burger was insanely delicious! I did add fresh diced jalapeños to them. Our neighbor said he would pay good money for that burger. We did grill beef burgers alongside the venison burgers and the Venison burgers out shined the beef burgers by far. So good! Thank you so much! Yum yum yum
★★★★★
Can the patties be made in advance and stored in the fridge?
YES! We make them, freeze them raw, and then cook either from frozen or thawed out. Great idea.
Bestest I’ve had in years, will do again along with other recipes in Venison everyday
Thanks
Rich
★★★★★
Thanks so much, Rich! Glad you’re enjoying!
I made these burgers last night for my husband, and 2 grandchildren. My granddaughter who is picky about her venison loved them. My husband said this will be the only recipe we will be using from now on. They had so much flavor and were so juicy. Thank you for the recipe!
★★★★★
Thank YOU for trying them and for taking the time to leave this kind review!
So good!!
★★★★★
So glad you like them!
If you are cooking on stove, use carbon steel or cast iron pan. Instead of butter try using duck fat, adds nice flavor and has high enough fat content. Enjoy.
Yum!
Best venison burger recipe I’ve tried so far!! Thanks so much for posting 🙂 I paired these patties with blue brie, sweet pickles, mesclun greens and a garlic balsamic aioli on brioche bun – perfection!
★★★★★
Great venison burger recipe! Loved by everyone. Thank you!
★★★★★
Thank you for trying, Mark! These reviews mean the world to us.
This recipe is fantastic! Adding the butter made a huge difference in the texture. I cooked mine in a cast iron skillet on the stove. NEVER again! My house smoked up SO badly. Next time they’re going on the grill, outside! LoL This will be my go-to recipe for venison burgers.
★★★★★
MAKE THESE!! Didn’t change a thing! Delicious!
★★★★★
This recipe made for a great delicious venison burger. Thanks for the idea. I have used grated butter before. I like to grate the frozen butter and then pop it back in the freezer while I get other stuff prepped. Makes it easier to handle. Also made a second batch with grated onions that I leave sitting in a strainer to remove some of the moisture. It was delicious. Thanks again.
★★★★★
This is an excellent burger recipe! The only ingredient I didn’t have was Worcestershire sauce, it was still good. I will be making this again 🙂 Thank you for sharing!
Quick question, if I intend to bake these – what temp and how long would you say? Also how many burgers are you getting for a pound? Making these for my hubbies lunches for the week. I love the idea of some quality butter added for the fat!
Hi Jacqueline! For baking burgers I like baking them at 375 for about 18 minutes but time varies based on thickness and your oven. You should get 4 burgers per pound!
Hope this helps! Enjoy!!!
These are awesome!! They never disappoint me and are really easy to put together and cook!
Thank-you:)
★★★★★
I made this for my family get together. The adults, even the ones who don’t like deer, loved it. The kids enjoyed the taste and couldn’t tell the difference. Will be my goto recipe.
★★★★★
Perfect! I am so excited that you and the family are loving this recipe 🙂
Can the cooked burgers be frozen for consumption later?
Hi Don – Yes! You can freeze these burgers before cooking. Enjoy!
This turned out amazing. The balance of flavors and using butter make these a real treat! Thanks for sharing your recipe.
★★★★★
Yes! This is the best, I am so glad you are loving these burgers. Thanks so much for your review, I appreciate it so much!
Last time I cooked these in a cast-iron on my stove. They were absolutely fantastic, but smoked up my house. This time I cooked them on the grill. Still absolutely fantastic!!
★★★★★
My son (I call him the “Burger King” LOL) made these last night.
Absolutely out of this world.
★★★★★
Been using this recipe for quite awhile now and definitely husband improved, I first opted out the butter and then I used the butter the next time and my husband can definitely tell the improvement! Definitely adding the butter for now on! Thank you again for a wonderful recipe!
★★★★★
Amazing! My children devoured these. I followed the recipe and used a cast iron skilled turned up high. Used brioche buns. I’m in awe!
★★★★★
The burger bun is far less healthy than the butter.