Tag: Pork

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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Thick Crust Pizza

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If you like pizza with thick crust, nothing gets thicker than this pizza! This pizza is almost just bread with toppings! However, this pizza crust absorbs the savory liquid from the sauce and paired with the salty cheese on top, this is one of the tastiest pizzas I’ve ever had. I used a 12 inch diameter deep dish pizza pan, and the dough before topping was about an inch and a half thick. The par-bake is important to ensure that the crust is cooked completely before serving. You can use store bought pizza sauce with this pizza, but you’ll want it to be a thinner sauce and savory rather than sweet. This pizza made 6 large servings.

Thick Crust Pizza Recipe CardDownload
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What You Will Need

  • 6 Cups Flour
  • 2 Cups Warm Water (110 F)
  • 4 tsp Active Dried Yeast
  • 3 Tbsp Oil
  • Homemade Sauce
  • 2 Cups Shredded Mozzarella
  • 1/2 Onion, Finely Sliced
  • 1/2 Bell Pepper, Sliced
  • Dutch Oven
  • Large Mixing Bowl
  • Deep Dish Pizza Pan

Directions

  1. In a large mixing bowl, mix together flour, water, yeast, and oil. Add additional flour until the dough doesn’t stick to your finger. Form the dough into a ball, coat lightly with oil, and place somewhere warm to rise for 45 minutes to an hour and a half, or until doubled in size.

2. Heat oven to 350 F. Punch down the dough and transfer to the pizza pan. Work to hide any crack, then stretch evenly to edges of the pan. Let rise for 30 minutes, then stretch again leaving a crust up the sides. Bake for 15 minutes then remove. Top the par-baked crust with pizza sauce, cheese, and toppings. Return to the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes or until toppings begin to brown. Let cool 10 minutes before cutting.

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Homemade Pasta and Pizza Sauce

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This homemade pizza/pasta sauce is a great way to use up any veggies you may have while also making a hearty and delicious sauce. Below is how I made my sauce, but substitute in what you have! Add some blended beans or spinach, or just stick with meat, tomatoes, and season with salt and soy sauce. I used 1 quart of diced tomatoes, and one can of fire roasted tomatoes to add extra flavor. The mushrooms add extra savory elements to the dish, and if you want to have some diced in the sauce it adds great pockets of flavor. I ended up boiling my sauce for 1 hour to thicken it a bit, but it could still be considered too thin to your taste. The recipe below makes about enough sauce for 5-6 pizzas, or enough sauce for 8-10 servings of pasta.

Homemade Pasta and Pizza Sauce Recipe CardDownload
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What You Will Need

  • 1 lb Sausage
  • 2 Carrots, Finely Shredded
  • 2 Celery Stalks, Finely Shredded
  • 12 Oz Mushrooms
  • 1 Cup Water
  • 1/2 Onion, Finely Diced
  • 1/2 Bell Pepper, Finely Diced
  • 6 Cups Diced Tomatoes
  • 2 tsp Salt
  • 1 Tbsp Soy Sauce
  • 1 Clove Garlic, Minced
  • Blender and Grater
  • Dutch Oven

Directions

1. Add sausage to a dutch oven over medium heat. Prepare the veggies, and add mushrooms and water to blender and blend. Once sausage is browned, add the onion and pepper and cook until onion is translucent. Add the carrot, celery, and mushrooms and cook until hot. Add tomatoes, salt, soy sauce, and garlic, and simmer over medium heat until sauce begins to become thick.

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Pressure Canning Baked Beans with Ham Hock

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Pressure canning is seen as scary by many people who are interested in preserving their food but have never tried pressure canning. This was my first time pressure canning, but the process really isn’t worth the stress. If you follow the directions for your pressure canner, and are willing to take your time, there is really nothing to worry about. Pressure canners are designed with safety precautions anyway, so really there is nothing to fear. I’ve made these baked beans before and made a post, but at the time it was is much smaller quantities. If your don’t have a ham hock, any pork will do fine, or you can easily leave it out. I looked at many recipes for how others pressure can beans, but in the end I just used the reference time, weight, and cooking process recommended by my canner, the Presto 23 Qt pressure canner. I did my beans in two batches though all could have fit at once, and I should have just done one batch, but I wanted to be careful just in case. Just watch your canner the entire time you are canning and follow the instructions. This recipe made 19 pints of beans, with about 1 pt of left over sauce. The sauce may be a bit thin, but it’s definitely not watery and is full of flavor. These beans taste very similar to a Original Bush’s Baked Beans.

Pressure Canned Baked Beans with Ham Hock Recipe Card Download
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What You Will Need

  • 4 lbs Northern Beans (8 Cups Dried)
  • 1 Ham Hock, De-boned, Fat Trimmed, Cubed
  • 4 Cups Brown Sugar
  • 4 Tbsp Dried Mustard
  • 2 Cups Maple Syrup
  • 4 Cups Ketchup
  • 2 Cups Worcestershire Sauce
  • 2 Tbsp Ground Black Pepper
  • 10 Cups Water (use bean water, then supplement with additional tap water as needed)
  • Large Stock Pot
  • Dutch Oven
  • 19 Pint Jars, Cleaned and Hot
  • Lids and Rings
  • Pressure Canner and Canning Tools

Directions

1. Place the beans into the large stock pot and cover beans with 2-3 times as much water. Hydrate your beans using either the quick soak method, or the overnight soak method. For the quick soak method, bring the beans to a boil, boil for 2-3 minutes, then remove from heat, cover, and let cool for 1 hour. For the overnight method, leave the beans on the counter for 12-18 hours. Once the beans are hydrated, strain off the water, then cover the bean with 2 inches of fresh water. Heat the beans to boiling temperature (100 C or 212 F) then start a timer for 30 minutes. Once done, remove from heat.

2. Place your pressure canner over a medium heat and add the recommended amount of water. In the dutch oven, add the brown sugar and the mustard then stir together. Add the maple syrup, ketchup, worcestershire sauce, black pepper and water. Stir thoroughly and place over medium heat until the sauce begins to bubble. Place the lids in a bowl of hot water.

3. Place 1 heaping cup of par cooked beans into each hot jar. Add the diced ham hock evenly between the jars, then fill with about 1 1/4 cup sauce or until until 1 inch head space is reached. Remove any bubbles, wipe the rims, add the lids and rings to finger tight, then place into pressure canner. Heat pressure canner as instructed by the canner manufacturer to the pressure needed for your elevation. Process pints for 75 minutes and quarts for 95 minutes. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions for pressure releasing, place hot jars on a towel lined counter and let sit for 24 hours. The remove the rings, wipe the jars with a wet towel, label and store.

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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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