A friend gave us some ground venison. I could make burgers out of it, but is there anything more interesting I could do? I don’t want to make sausages, and turning into meat loaf seems like a waste.
Louisiana Cajun-style dirty rice. Would be amazing.
Ground venison makes delicious chili. I’d pair it with pinto beans, unless you’re making it Texas-style.
why a waste? I’ve had some delicious ‘bambi’ meatloaf before, as well as ostrich and emu meatloaf. Makes better loaf than burger in my experience.
This guy gets it.
BEANS? Get that guy!
You have just summoned The Great and Terrible @silenus. May James Beard have mercy on your sole.
I also had delicious reindeer stew on the Arctic Circle in Finland. I see most recipes call for chunks of meat, but ground venison works just as well.
I didn’t care for the hamburger, I thought it was ‘gamey’ . I liked the steaks and loins. Disguising it in chili and such only makes gamey chili. But I do remember making burgers and adding various seasonings, garlic powder, and A-1 sauce, with onions, cheese, and ketchup or BBQ sauce, they weren’t too bad. (just my opinion)…if you want to make meat loaf, go ahead, it makes a fine meatloaf as long as you like the taste of venison.
I did say “unless you’re making it Texas-style.” It’s up to the chef, though I’d probably serve the beans separately in any case.
Black beans might be good too.
Just a thought, but Wisconsin has the largest deer herd in the US, outside of Pennsylvania, and it makes some really good venison sausage/salami. I’d give it a go if I had the right spices and a link-stuffer.
I sense…a disturbance in the Force.
…as if millions of beans suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.
Back in the day, my kids were pretty fond of bambiburgers.
Beans are not a “silent food”!
Things I’ve done with ground venison:
Stew
Bambi tacos/burritos
Venison bibimbap
If you haven’t cooked with venison before be aware it is a VERY lean meat. I always add some fat/oil to it when I cook.
Venison does make a very good Texas-style chili. As noted, add fat. Bacon grease if you’ve got it. Personally, if I were to make Bambiburgers with it the patties would be no more than 50% venison. Too lean otherwise. Fat is where the flavor is!
Of course, the best chili is made with Alces alces. But you work with what you have.
Venison is very lean meat. Unless about 20% beef suet was added when it was ground it can seem very dry. It is very good in meals where you don’t want that added fat and it would be drained off anyway. Things as already mentioned like chili or spagetti. If you are wanting to make burgers or something like that it will be too dry.
Tasty, but lean.
I get a lot of ground venison, and thinking about it, I’ve always used it to make chili 
Properly cleaned and prepared venison should not be gamey at all. Some people, maybe most, do not know how to properly handle wild meat. Deer have little lymph glands or whatever, we call them greenies, that if handled too much when butchering the animal will greatly increase the gamey flavor. You do not grind up that shit. As will leaving the hide on too long, you need to get the carcass cooled down as soon as possible, Even in camp, you should get the hide off and hang it up to cool. I see people driving around with an animal in the back of the truck, hide still on, for hours or until they get home. More than a couple hours is too long.
Have you thought of making lasagna or stuffed shells? Both are quite good when made with venison.