Butter instead of fat in venison burgers?

[Ludders]

I grate butter in to my burgers and it works really well. I cook them on the bbq and they taste delicious.

 

[slider]

Hi all,
I am finding pork fat inconvenient to source and butchers seem to want to charge a a fair bit for it, which is fair enough as I can see that it is a valuable product.

I would like to try making venison burgers with an alternative - grating frozen butter into the mince instead of pork fat has been mentioned before but I wonder how many of you have tried it? What were the results like? Same ratios? I use 4:1 meat to fat normally.

Any advice would be appreciated,
All the best, Mike

Tescos cooking bacon does the job. 500g for 75p

 

[Puds]

I use beef suet in mine, and it works well. You do have to cook them slowly to allow it to come up to temperature and render out.

 

[Cheviot]

I find the fatteyest belly pork strips I can in Lidl, add about 20% to the burger mix.

+1

 

[VSS]

Anyone tried adding vegetable suet?

 

[BigPat]

Anyone tried adding vegetable suet?

I was thinking the same?

Also, maybe vegetarian Ghee?

 

[timbrayford]

Mix in cheap pork sausages!

Just don't do it. I tried a similar trick with cheap supermarket bacon off cuts, I ended up with burgers with the horrible texture and chemically taste from whatever nasty compound they had used to plump up the stuff!

 

[tikkathreebarrels]

Thank you for all the replies gents. Bearing in mind that I won’t be frying them in a pan, do those of you who don’t add fat ever find them dry if cooked on a barbecue?
@StephenToast @johndeere
Thanks

I find that they'll dry if cooked in a fan oven so loosely covering them with a sheet of foil and adding a splash of water to the tray: same with sausages. Otherwise I'm still experimenting. 10% fat pork mince works better for me than sausages of any quality but right now I'm on butcher-sourced pork fat or deer cavity fat.

 

[Puds]

Anyone tried adding vegetable suet?

I’m guessing it would perform the same function as beef suet (retaining moisture etc), so can’t see why it wouldn’t work.

 

[timbrayford]

Tescos cooking bacon does the job. 500g for 75p

Precisely the mistake that I made!

 

[Lampwick]

Just don't do it. I tried a similar trick with cheap supermarket bacon off cuts, I ended up with burgers with the horrible texture and chemically taste from whatever nasty compound they had used to plump up the stuff!

Did it with Muntjac off cuts and the burgers were super!

 

[slider]

Precisely the mistake that I made!

works well for me

 

[VSS]

I’m guessing it would perform the same function as beef suet (retaining moisture etc), so can’t see why it wouldn’t work.

I was thinking it could be better than beef suet, because the strong flavour of beef can mask the subtle taste of venison (which is why I wouldn't use beef suet in burgers, or beef stock in cooking).

 

[Apthorpe]

Have you tried asking at your local liposuction clinic?

 

[Lancaster]

Another vote for belly pork, slice it and mix the cubes with the cut venison and put it through the mincer together.

 

[Kbuck]

Just don't add any fat.

+1
I don't add fat and they come out great

 

[Heym SR20]

Don’t overcook and let rest for a few minutes before serving.

 

[nicowilson]

I would hesitate with butter as it has such a low melting point that it may escape before the burger is cooked, which would mean that the burger ends up too dry

 

[User00044]

Don’t overcook and let rest for a few minutes before serving.

This , plus fresh meat products should not be cooked from chilled , clearly not including poultry in that . Grilling or pan frying from chilled prevents the meat from cooking evenly .
Cook from room temperature, sear the outside first , don't overcook , it will denature the protein and any moisture will be squeezed out , then allow to rest before serving as Heym SR20 has already stated .
Traditionally, meats with a low fat content have fat added and are cooked pink . Joints would be larded using a needle to draw pork fat through and birds barded with fat sliced and placed over the breast before roasting.

 

[Lancaster]

Another tip is don't add salt to the burger mix, it draws moisture out of the meat.
When you are about to cook the burger, add salt to the side that is going on the heat, then just before you flip the burger season the uncooked side.

If you fancy a cheesy burger, make 2 thin patties, but a lump of boursin, soft blue cheese or a 2" round slice of cheddar in the middle of one, put the other on top and press the two patties together with the cheese in the middle but with a 1" seal of meat around the cheese.
Self bastes as it cooks and you have a gooey cheese filling.