Tag: Bacon

Burger Taste Test – Venison and Pork

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This was a fun little experiment I tried with my husband last week. If you’ve ever cooked with venison, you will know that people love to add pork to their venison, and people love to cook with bacon fat. For this taste test, we tried 3 different burgers. The first one was just venison fried up with a little vegetable oil. The second burger was a venison burger that was fried up in bacon fat. And the final burger was half venison and half ground pork fried in bacon fat. To make this test fair, I served all burgers on the same type of bread with no cheese, condiments, or even salt! Check out my findings down below!

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Pure Venison Burger

The pure venison burger was just that, only venison. I made this burger on the side in it’s own pan so I didn’t have any crossing with the bacon fat. I used about 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil to fry this burger since venison has very little fat, and I cooked this burger for 4 minutes per side. This inside was medium well compared to the other burgers that were all well.

What did I think of the burger? Honestly I thought this one was probably the best. It tasted most like a burger. The other burgers were very good and had their own unique flavors, but this one was unmistakably a burger. To me, I guess a burger should taste like beef more than anything else, but you can chose on your preferences what you might like most.

Venison Burger in Pork Fat

This venison burger was also fried on it’s own in a skillet with some pork fat rendered from bacon. Like the last burger, I cooked this burger 4 minutes per side. This burger cooked well, though the inside wasn’t completely gray.

This burger tasted like bacon. The crisp and browned parts of the burger tasted exactly like bacon. The inside of the burger had a slight bacon flavor, but still tasted like venison. This burger was juicy and had a good texture. This was a very tasty burger, and if you really enjoy bacon, I think you would like this probably more than the plain venison. As for my taste, I like bacon, but I don’t believe everything needs to taste like bacon.

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Half Pork, Half Venison in Pork Fat Burger

Finally, this franken-burger was fun to make and had a unique appearance before cooking that I had never worked with before. I ground some pork chops to get some ground pork. I mixed half a pound of venison with half a pound ground pork, then I hand mixed them together to the best of my abilities. I divided it in half then cooked each burger in the pork fat pan for about 6 minutes per side because these burgers were the biggest. This however, left this burger the most well done of the three types.

This burger was the juiciest of the three burgers. Not only that, but it was a good tasting burger. The pork covered some of the natural venison flavor while also not making the entire burger taste like pork. It seems to be a great way to make venison taste more like burger. That being said, in my opinion, I think this mixture would make an amazing meatloaf, but it just didn’t taste like a burger to me.

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Conclusion

Each person could look at this and come to a different conclusion. If you like bacon, fry your burger in some bacon fat to make a savory bacon burger. If you like burger and not so much venison, mix venison with pork to hide some of the flavor. Or, mix venison with pork to get a delicious and juicy burger. You could also chose just plain venison if you enjoy the taste of lean venison burgers pure of other flavors. The important thing to note with this trial was that I didn’t season these burgers at all. Seasoning added to any of these burgers would have changed the test completely.

Inconsistencies in Testing:

  • How much each burger was cooked
    • For more consistent testing, cook to a set internal temperature
  • Bread Used
    • I used my homemade white bread which was way too big and sweet, for more consistent results, burgers should be eaten on their own without bread, or on a very neutral flavored bread
  • Amount of Fat per Burger
    • If the test is to see the difference in flavor, they should all have the same fat content. Fat is flavor and to truly judge which burger is tastiest, the amount of fat per burger should be equal.
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Fried Rice

Fried Rice is so easy and can be made in so many different ways. This fried rice has a little bit of everything. I used up the remaining ingredients from the hot pot, but I also added new flavors. Fried rice is a great way to use leftovers and still be able to feed your family. For this recipe, I used two meats, sliced venison steak and diced bacon. I cooked my bacon before adding it to the dish, so I did have to add a bit of bacon fat just to keep everything from burning. As for veggies, I used a bit of everything. I used sliced mushrooms, sliced water chestnuts, diced cabbage, sliced carrot, sliced onion, and diced bell pepper. I also used 6-8 cups of rice in this dish and it was still very flavorful. If your really wanted to feed a crowd and stretch the dish, you could easily use 10-12 cups of cooked rice. This recipe makes 8 adult sized servings.

Fried Rice Recipe CardDownload
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What You’ll Need

  • 1/2 lb Sliced Steak/Venison
  • 1/4 Cup Diced Bacon
  • Sliced/Diced Veggies
  • 1 Cup Stock
  • 1 Clove Minced Garlic
  • 1/2 Tbsp Ginger paste
  • 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
  • 1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
  • 1/2 tsp Sesame Oil
  • 1/2 tsp Fish Sauce
  • 6 Cups Cooked Rice
  • Large Wok
  • Oil/Bacon Fat, As Needed

Directions

  1. Begin by heating the wok over medium high heat. Once it’s hot, add your steak and bacon. Once your meats are both browned, add your veggies, and stir fry until your meat begins getting a nice maillard crust on it, add about 1/2 Tbsp of oil at a time if needed it during this time. Then add tha stock and remaining seasoning until stock comes to a boil.

2. Once the stock is boiling, add your cooked rice. Make sure the rice is fully broken up and everything is coated. Cook rice for 2-3 minutes, then serve.

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Bacon Wrapped Chicken Breast with Ranch Pasta

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Chicken, bacon, and ranch is a very popular flavor combination right now, and I’m also a huge fan of the flavor combination. Sandwiches, salads, or casseroles, that were all good options, but I decided to do a special meal and made bacon wrapped butterflied chicken breast with a homemade ranch pasta side. This meal won’t serve a huge family the way a casserole will, but if you are looking for a special meal that is also very easy to make, this is a great option. This recipe has very little active cooking since most of the time is baking. Also, if you want your chicken to be a bit more brown, broil your chicken breasts for 30 seconds to 1 minute watching carefully to prevent burning! This recipe made 4 adult sized servings.

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Breast with Ranch Pasta Recipe CardDownload
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What You Will Need

  • 1 Large Chicken Breast, Butterflied in Half
  • 4 Thick Slices of Bacon
  • 1 Lb Rotini, or Pasta of Your Choice
  • 1/2 Cup Ranch Dressing
  • 1/4 Cup Mayo
  • 1 Tbsp Parsley
  • 1 Tbsp Chives
  • Baking Pan
  • Aluminum Foil
  • Large Sauce Pan
  • Colander
  • Medium Serving Bowl

Directions

  1. Fill large sauce pan 3/4 with water and place over high heat. Heat oven to 375 F. Line baking pan with aluminum foil. Wrap each half of chicken breast with 2 pieces of bacon and place in baking pan. Bake chicken for 30 minutes or until internal temp of at least 165 F is reached.

2. Once water is boiling, add pasta and cook as directed on the box. Strain, and rinse with cold water before transferring to the serving bowl. Add ranch dressing, mayo, parsley, and chives to serving bowl and stir everything together. Once chicken is cooked, remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Serve chicken over noodles, or dice chicken and stir together. Serve hot or cold.

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Bacon Parmesan Penne Pasta

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This bacon parmesan penne pasta is full of flavor and very filling. Despite the oil, this dish is not a heavy dish, however it is also a good idea to serve with a veggie on the side. What more is there to say? Cook the pasta until al dente, make your oil sauce with onion and bacon, add your pasta then cheese, stir and serve. This dish isn’t healthy enough to eat everyday, but if you are in the mood for something a little unhealthy, this is a great meal and oh so tasty! This recipe made 5 adult sized servings.

Bacon Parmesan Penne Pasta Recipe CardDownload
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What You Will Need

  • 1/2 lb Bacon
  • 8 oz Penne Pasta, 1/2 box
  • 1/2 Onion, diced
  • 1 Tbsp Butter
  • 2 Tbsp Oil
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan
  • Baking Sheet
  • Small Frying pan
  • Large Saucepan
  • Large Mixing Bowl

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 F. Place Bacon in a single layer on baking sheet(s), and once oven is heated, bake for 20 minutes. Heat a small frying pan over medium heat, add butter, oil, and onion, and cook until caramelized. Transfer onions to mixing bowl.

2. Fill large saucepan 3/4 with water, and place over medium heat until boiling. Add Penne and cook 11 minutes or as directed on package. Strain and transfer to mixing bowl. Dice cooked bacon and add to mixing bowl, also add 2 Tbsp bacon grease to pasta. Add Parmesan, then stir and serve.

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