How To Grind Venison (Simple 5 Ways)

Ground venison meats are widely famous for their rich taste and quality. These are mainly deer or elk meats and have been used in various ways, including burgers, spaghetti, meatloaf, and sausages.

Freshly ground meat is much tastier and healthier than store-bought ones. With proper equipment and ingredients, you can grind venison on your own. To get the best results, you must know the proper ways of grinding venison meat.

Here I will discuss the necessary steps, tips, and some essential information you need to know to have a perfectly ground venison. 

How To Grind Venison Using A Manual Meat Grinder

For household use or small restaurant or cafe owners, manual meat grinders can be a perfect choice. Let’s find out how you grind venison meat with meat grinders.

Install the Grinder: First, find a stable surface to secure the grinder on it using a bolt or built-in clamps. After installation, try to move it using some force to check if the installed grinder is stable. 

Freeze the Grinder Parts: Here, like previous methods, you cut the meat into small pieces that fit the hopper, remove excess fat and bones, and put the meat into the freezer. 

Place the grinder parts such as the auger, plate, blade in the freezer for 30 minutes before you start working. 

Put the Meat Into the Meat Hopper: Now load the cold meat inside the meat hopper and place a large clean bowl at the grinder. The bowl will hold the ground meat.

Turn the Hand Crank: Turn the handle steadily, and you will get your minced venison. 

Clean the Grinder: After you finish mincing the meat, run a few bread slices through the grinder to make the cleanup process more manageable. Finally, disassemble and clean the grinder.

Related: How To Tenderize Venison (3 Effective Methods)

How To Grind Venison Using Electric Meat Grinder

There are two types of meat grinders- electric and manual. If you run a big restaurant or you need to mince the meat quite often, you can use the electric grinder. 

Grinding meat with an electric meat grinder is easier than other methods. Just follow the steps and ground venison meat will be ready to go with your desired recipes.

Cut and Prepare the Meat: First, cut the meat into cubic shapes. Remove the silver skin and gristles as they may stick in the blades while grinding. Remove bones too. 

Venison meats are mainly lean meats, so add some fat to enhance the flavor and texture. 

However, do not add venison fat as they have an unappealing strong flavor. You can use beef suet instead of venison fat.  It is advisable to use fat about 10% to 20% by weight. 

Cool Down the Meat: Grinding slightly frozen meat is much easier because they can hold together and retain the appropriate shape. So place the chopped meat into the freezer for some hours before putting them into the grinder. 

Freeze the Parts: In this step, you need to put the grinder and mixer’s parts, including grinding plates, blades, bowls, etc., in the fridge to lower the temperature. The meat and the grinder parts need to maintain the same temperature.

Push the Meat Into the Grinder: Now put the parts back into their original place in the grinder and turn the grinder on to see if it’s working properly. 

After checking, push the meat into the grinder and run them through one of the earlier mentioned grind modes according to your dish type.

Cook The Meat: Your ground meat is ready. Now you can use it to make your desired dishes or freeze them for future usage.

Grind Venison With Chopping  Knife

Grinding venison meat with a chopping knife is an alternative way of using a meat grinder. In this method, you’ll need a chopping board and a sharp knife. 

• Place the meat on the board, cut them at a 45-degree angle, and maintain a ¼ inch thickness between the slices.
• Flip the meat and do the same thing again in the opposite direction. After that, cut the meat at a 90-degree angle on both sides.
• Now, pile the meats together and chop them rapidly from left to right a few times until you get the perfect fine texture needed for your dish. 
• Following the steps correctly, you can get your perfectly ground venison. However, this method can be time-consuming.

Related: How To Make Venison Burger Stick Together?

Grinding Venison Meat Using Food Processor Is Another Great Way

Step 1: Cut the meat into smaller pieces, about one-inch cubes, and place them in a baking sheet/ tinfoil.

Step 2: Put the sliced meat for a few hours and the processor’s blade for 30 minutes in the freezer.

Step 3: Lastly, put the blade and the meat into the processor and start blending. Pulse for one second up to 10 times until you get your desired texture.

How To Grind Venison Using A Blender 

Typically we make juices, smoothies, or mixing foods with a blender. But you can use it to grind venison meat too. 

Like the previous method, you first need to cut the meat and remove bones, skin, and extra fats. 

• Put the meat in a cold metal bowl or a bowl full of ice. 
• Place some meat into the blender jar and close the lid. 
• Run the blender for 10 to 30 seconds. 
• Repeat until you get the desired consistency.

Also Read: How To Tell If Deer Meat Is Spoiled?

A Few Exclusive Tips For Perfectly Grinding Venison 

To get your perfectly ground venison, make sure to follow these tips.

• Don’t wait too long to remove intestines and other indigestible internal parts after you catch the deer. Before processing, make sure to keep the deer on ice.
• To get tender meat, remove gristle, silver skin, and other non-muscle parts as much as you can while processing.
• Before you start processing the venison, make sure your work equipment and the work surface are clean.
• Cooking time for venison is faster than beef. So for cooking rare venison, don’t reach above 130 degrees temperature. Overcooking will make it rubbery.
• When slow and low cooking, use a dutch oven as it can maintain the temperature between 131 and 149 degrees.
• When grinding, put the rest of the venison in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes to make sure they remain cold all the time. 
• When storing, label your freezer bags with the date, location of the harvest, and type of meat cut before adding the meats. For paper-wrapped venison meat, mark it after the packaging.

Which Method Is Most Preferable And Why?

All the methods mentioned above are helpful and would do a great job in mincing the meat. However, personally, I prefer using a manual meat grinder for several reasons. 

First of all, it consists of a blade, mincing disk, auger, and a handle- which are very easy to assemble and disassemble.

It may require a bit of physical force, but it’s easy to use and can mince the meat quickly. Cleaning is pretty straightforward too. You can clean them easily with soap and water and dry them using a paper towel.

Unlike an electronic grinder, blender, or food processor, manual grinders do not need electricity to run and are very cheap. 

One of the most significant advantages of these grinders is they are very small in size and lightweight. You can use them anywhere as they do not require much space. 

I have used many manual grinders throughout the years, but among them, the best manual meat grinder would be the grinder from LEM Products for me. It comes with stainless steel construction, easy to use, and lasts for a long time.

Modes Of The Venison Grinders

There are different grinding plates for various purposes when using a venison grinder. Let’s check them out.

All-purpose grind

This mode helps make venison burgers where you need to grind all of the meats one way. First, grind the meat and fat with a medium grinding plate alternatively, then grind them together. 

Chili grind

This mode comes in handy when making great chili with ground venison. For this mode, you don’t need to add fat; just run the venison meat through the coarse grinding plate.

Sausage grind

This mode uses both a medium grinding plate and a fine grinding plate to grind the meat for sausages. 

Depending on the sausage recipe, the grinding mode may vary. The all-purpose grind mode may also work well for coarser ground sausages.

Things You Can Make Using Ground Venison

Freshly ground venison improves the taste and flavor so much more than the store-bought meats. 

You can make a wide variety of dishes of restaurant-quality taste with ground meats, including burgers, sausages, meatballs, chilaquiles, venison cornbread bake, kebab, steaks, venison taco bake, etc.

Grinding meat ensures health safety too. Store-bought venison might sit for a long time and get exposed to air, increasing the chances of bacterial contamination. 

You also don’t have an idea about the things added in the venison. By grinding yourself, you will have complete control over the process; you can add seasonings and fat according to your preference. 

How To Store Venison After Grinding

Proper storage is a must for preserving the quality of the venison. Here are a few freezing options you can utilize.

Vacuum sealers

Vacuum sealers suck out the air from the stored food. Although this appliance is quite expensive, it is five times more effective in preserving venison meat than plastic bags. The vacuum-sealed meat can last in the freezer for one to three years.

Freezer paper

Freezer paper is a cheap and excellent way to preserve your meat. You can easily find these papers at the grocery store. 

If wrapped correctly, the meat will last 6 to 12 months in the freezer. Make sure the meat is next to the waxy side of the paper.  It is a time-consuming process, but it’s worth your time. 

Zip style freezer bags

Zipper bags, made with high-quality thick plastic, are inexpensive and easy to use. This method is quicker, but it can store the meat for a short time, about six months. 

How Many Times Should You Grind Venison?

It is best to grind the venison at least two times. Start grinding with the large or medium plates, then for the second time grinding, use the small grind plates. Grinding twice will slice the tougher cuts and help to achieve the perfect texture.

What Do You Add To Deer When Grinding?

You may add fat such as beef suet or tallow, but it depends on the type of dish you are making. 

When making venison burgers or kebabs, you can add 15-20% fat to make the venison meat juicer and flavorful. But for recipes that contain other moisture-enhanced ingredients, you may exclude adding fat.

What Is The Difference Between Grinding Venison And Beef?

Deer are grass-fed, and their meat is much leaner than beef.  Venison meat per serving contains less fat, calories, and more protein, vitamins, and minerals than beef. However, beef contains less cholesterol than venison.  

Can You Eat 2-Year-Old Frozen Ground Venison?

As long as the venison stays properly stored at 0°F, it is safe to eat. Suppose there are signs of discoloration or freezer burn on the frozen venison. In that case, it won’t be unsafe, but the texture and taste will get damaged significantly.

Conclusion

Often while cooking, we found ourselves wishing to make a dish that requires ground venison meat. However, it’s not possible without knowing the proper methods or having the right equipment. 

Now that you know everything about how to grind venison, you can easily make any dish whenever you want. We have included various options; you can choose the one that meets your needs the most. For a better experience, don’t forget to follow the tips and storage methods we discussed.