Tag: bread

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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Homemade White Bread

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I love this white bred recipe! I make this bread all the time for ourselves and as gifts for family and friends. This bread does slice well for sandwiches, but I really enjoy it as is, with butter, or as french toast. Sweet but not too sweet, this bread is a real treat. This recipe makes 2 loafs, and this bread is good frozen for 6 months.

Homemade White Bread Recipe CardDownload
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What You Will Need

  • 6 Cups Flour
  • 2 Cups Warm Water (110 F)
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp Yeast
  • 1/3 Cup Sugar
  • 1/4 Cup Oil
  • 2 Bread Pans
  • Non-Stick Spray
  • Mixing Bowl

Directions

1. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, water, yeast, sugar and oil. Stir until a smooth supple ball forms, dough will be sticky. Coat bowl and dough lightly with oil, then let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

2. Grease the bread pans. Punch down dough and divide in half. Form into a loaf shape and place into the pan. Heat oven to 350 F, and let bread rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour until loaf is 3/4 up the pan. Bake for 30 minutes, and let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

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Pan-Fried Meatballs and Spaghetti

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Spaghetti and meatballs is such a classic and easy meal, but sometimes we just don’t have the time to wait the 50 minutes it would take to bake them in the oven. So, why not make your meatballs like you would make a burger? Cook it in a frying pan with some oil for 4 minutes a side, and bam! You’ve got yourself and your family a delicious and easy topping for your spaghetti. Most spaghetti takes 6-10 minutes to cook, which give you plenty of time to make these meat balls. I liked the recipe that I used below, but feel free to use your own meatball recipe with this pan-frying method. This dinner was made with just under 1 lb of meat, so by following the directions, you should get about 11-12 meatballs. The recipe below made 4-5 adult sized portions.

Pan-Fried Meatballs and Spaghetti Recipe CardDownload
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What You Will Need

  • 1 lb Ground Beef/Venison
  • 1 Egg
  • 1/4 Cup Panko Breadcrumbs
  • 1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
  • 1 Tbsp A1
  • 5 Tbsp Oil
  • 12 Oz Spaghetti
  • 1 Jar Pasta Sauce
  • Medium Mixing Bowl
  • Large Frying Pan
  • 2 Medium to Large Sauce Pans
  • A Colander

Directions

1. In the mixing bowl, add meat, egg, breadcrumbs, Italian seasoning, and A1. Mix by hand until combined. Roll out about 3 Tbsp into a ball and add to the frying pan. Once done, add the oil to the frying pan and place over medium heat. Cook meatballs 4 minutes on each side.

2. Cook Pasta as directed, then strain. Add sauce to second saucepan and place over medium heat until beginning to simmer. Add the meatballs once they are done and coat in sauce. Plate noodles, then top with sauce, meatballs, and grated Parmesan.

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Steak Fajitas

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Fajitas are delicious and very easy to make. I made these tortillas too, which only took another 20-25 minutes. I halved this recipe and made 8 tortillas instead of making 10, but this recipe makes enough filling for 10 six to eight inch tortillas. This recipe is very easy, and if you wanted to, you could also make this dish without the steak, and it would be just as good. Otherwise the recipe is what I made. My spices are a bit on the weak side, so you might need to reduce the amount of Cumin and Cayenne. This recipe makes 3-5 servings since 2-3 Fajitas is enough to feed one adult.

French Onion Chicken Noodle Casserole Recipe CardDownload
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What You Will Need

  • 1/2 lb Steak, Diced
  • 1 Bell Pepper, Sliced
  • 1 Medium Onion, Sliced
  • 1/2 Cup Salsa
  • 2 tsp Ground Cumin
  • 2 tsp Ground Cayenne
  • 1 Cup Shredded Sharp Cheese
  • 10 Tortillas

Directions

1. First, make your homemade tortillas, if you desire. Then I wiped out the pan and began by adding the steak over a medium heat. Once browned, add 2 Tbsp oil and the pepper and onion. Cook until the the pepper and onion are softened.

2. Add your spices, stir to combine, then add the salsa. Stir until everything is covered and the salsa is hot. Top with the cheese, and stir in. Once stirred, remove from heat and begin plating.

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Smash Burgers with Quick Fondant Potatoes and Acorn Squash

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Smash burgers are a classic form of burger that doesn’t need any altering. You simply form balls, place them onto a hot skillet or flat top, smash them thin with your spatula, then season with salt and pepper and cook one minute per side. These burgers are always delicious and are super easy to make. You can also make a lot with only a little bit of meat, which is another huge plus! Beyond that, I also made fondant potatoes and squash to go with these burgers. Fondant potatoes usually take a while to make since you cut your potatoes into large patties then cook them covered for almost an hour. This recipe makes it all so much easier, and adds a different flavor and texture with added squash. The savory broth adds amazing flavor to these potatoes and makes fondant potatoes one of my very favorite forms of potatoes. We also served this meal with a side of sliced dill pickles, and they were delicious! This recipe makes 8 burgers, which is 8 adult servings, and 5 servings of the fondant potato and squash side.

Smash Burgers with Quick Fondant Potatoes and Acorn Squash Recipe CardDownload
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What You Will Need

  • 4 Potatoes, Peeled and Roughly Cubed
  • 1/2 Acorn Squash, Cored, Peeled, and Cubed
  • 2 Tbsp Oil
  • 1 1/2 Cup Chicken Broth
  • 1 1/2 Lb Burger
  • 2 Tbsp A1
  • Medium Mixing Bowl
  • Salt and Pepper
  • Sliced Onion, Ketchup, Mustard, and A1 to Serve
  • 8 Burger Buns
  • 2 Large Frying Pans

Directions

1. Place potatoes and squash in one frying pan. Add oil and place over medium heat. Cook for 10 minutes stirring regularly. Begin heating second frying pan over medium heat.

2. Mix together Burger and A1 in a medium bowl. Form into 8 equal sized patties. Add broth to potatoes and squash, and boil until most/all liquid is gone.

3. Begin by adding 2 balls of meat into second pan, and smash into a very thin patty. Add salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute, then flip. Salt and pepper the second side, cook for another minute, then remove patties from heat and place on serving plate. Repeat for remaining burgers.

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