Tag: burgers

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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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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Megan’s Cheeseburgers

I love cheeseburgers. Cheeseburgers were one of the first things I ever cooked. I like mixing the meat, picking the flavors, and the wonderful smell as the burgers cook. I started making normal cheeseburgers, but over time I started experimenting with topping. I found topping a burger with speedied mushrooms and caramelized onions to be one of my favorites. I also liked covering them with Cooper sharp cheese and covering them to fully melt the cheese before plating. After a while, I began placing the toppings under the cheese and that is my preferred method today.

  1. Place a pound of ground beef into a medium sized bowl. Add 2 tbsp A1, and about 2 tsp worcestershire sauce. Mix together with your hands. Divide into 3-5 pieces.
  2. Begin heating a small frying pan over medium low heat. Add 1 can of strained mushroom stems and pieces. Add 4 Tbsp Italian dressing or speedie sauce.
  3. Heat another large frying pan on a second burner over medium heat.
  4. Each piece, roll into a ball. Press these balls between the palm of your hand. Make them thinner in the center, and wider than you want them. They with get thicker in the center and shrink on the edges as they cook. Place each patty onto the large heated frying pan.
  5. Cook on the first side until it is browned about 3/4 up the side of the burger. Flip your burgers and cook just as long on the second side. Top flipped burgers with a dollop of A1. Once you only have about 5 minutes of cooking, top your burger with mushrooms, then top with cheese.
  6. Let burgers rest for 5 minutes before placing on buns to eat.
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Hamburger Buns

Bread is becoming one of my specialties! These burger bun came out crisp outside and light and fluffy inside. This bread was very easy to make, and made so many of these beautiful buns. I decided to divide my dough into 8 rolls, these ended up about 4 inched in diameter, and about 2 1/5 to 4 inched tall. If you wanted you could probably add some decorative cuts in the top, or you could brush with egg wash and sprinkle with poppy seeds or sesame seeds. Perfect for a hot or cold sandwich, or just butter and have as a side with your pasta!

  1. In a bowl, mix together 4 cups flour, 1 Tbsp sugar, 2 tsp active dried yeast, a pinch of salt, 1/2 cup warm milk, 1/2 cup warm water, and 1 egg. Beat until it comes together. Add in 2 tbsp oil and mix. Add up to an additional 1/4 of water if needed. Knead until dough is soft, elastic, and smooth.
  2. Lightly oil a bowl. Form the dough into a ball, and coat with oil. Place in oiled bowl and let rise till doubled, about 1 hour.
  3. Punch down dough. Turn out onto a clean work surface (flour the surface if your dough it too tacky). Divide your dough into 8-10 pieces. Form into a ball and hide all seams.
  4. Grease a large baking sheet. Space out dough on sheet and let rise till doubled about 45 minutes. Towards the end, preheat oven to 350 F.
  5. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden. Let cool for 15-30 minutes before eating.
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