Antelope burgers

[Work2hunt]

So I'm thinking about making some burgers out of some ground antelope I have. The meat I have is straight ground antelope.

What has worked for you when mixing for your burger so it stays together and tastes good?

Yes, I realize I put this in the reloading cook em up instead of the cooking forum. Moderators, feel free to move if you want.

 

[go_deep]

1 tablespoon pepper, 1 tablespoon sea salt, 1 cup red wine, 1 egg, 3 tablespoons of butter. Soften butter and mix into 2# of butter, then mix in the rest of the ingredients. Patty the burger, and grill.

 

[Work2hunt]

1 tablespoon pepper, 1 tablespoon sea salt, 1 cup red wine, 1 egg, 3 tablespoons of butter. Soften butter and mix into 2# of butter, then mix in the rest of the ingredients. Patty the burger, and grill.

Sounds good. Does it hold together well? When I use wild game it always falls apart on me.

 

[go_deep]

Egg and the butter keep it together. If you need you can add an additional egg if it's still not holding together as well as you'd like.
You can substitute 3 shots of decent bourbon, or whiskey for the wine. Gives it a bolder flavor, and goes really well if grilled with real wood.

 

[LCH]

I'm pretty simple.. Make a patty, I usually don't even add egg or anything to it, just some salt and pepper or some other seasoning I may have on hand. Fry a pound of bacon. Fry burgers in the bacon grease. Top the burgers with the bacon. Consume.

 

[ScottR]

I add the bacon while grinding the burger...

 

[6mm Remington]

I buy cheap fatty pork roasts and shoulder roasts to use as my grind mix. I cut them up into chunks and feed them in with the antelope meat as I'm grinding it up. I like to grind the beat once, mix by hand again, and then grind once more before packaging. It tastes great and holds together well. I've done antelope burger like that but if I have a deer or two to make some burger out of some of the lesser cuts on the critter I have no problem mixing deer and antelope together along with the pork . It all tastes great.

 

[Hilltop]

You can make the ground meat stay together without adding fat. Knead the meat longer before patting them into shape. You will know when you have done it long enough as it will start to get sticky- almost like you have sausage with pork fat in your hands. I learned the trick from a chef 20+ years ago. Kneading the meat thoroughly activates the proteins and makes it stick together. As far as seasonings, I like a very light coating of pepper and garlic. The benefit to not adding any other fats is that you can grill the burger to medium rare and safely consume it. Medium rare straight venison burgers are very juicy and taste amazing... and they are healthier since you have no added fat.

 

[Ikeepitcold]

I always mix beef fat in with my grinds. Adding in bacon, smoked cheese or jalape?os in while grinding works great too.

 

[Tim McCoy]

You can make the ground meat stay together without adding fat. Knead the meat longer before patting them into shape. You will know when you have done it long enough as it will start to get sticky- almost like you have sausage with pork fat in your hands. I learned the trick from a chef 20+ years ago. Kneading the meat thoroughly activates the proteins and makes it stick together. As far as seasonings, I like a very light coating of pepper and garlic. The benefit to not adding any other fats is that you can grill the burger to medium rare and safely consume it. Medium rare straight venison burgers are very juicy and taste amazing... and they are healthier since you have no added fat.

That works great.

 

[Gr8bawana]

I add the bacon while grinding the burger...

I second this.
I just use bulk bacon ends and pieces. It give the burger just the slightest bacon flavor and it makes great patties that don't fall apart.
Meat as lean as venison, elk and antelope needs to have some fat added otherwise it's just a dry, crumbly mess.
The saying "fat is flavor" is very true.

 

[nv-hunter]

I prefer fat beef trim at about 70-30 game to trim ratio. End up with about 80 20 and I like the beef flavor.