Cooking burger rare

[willidru]

I cut my ground venison with pork butt (about 20%), but I like my venison on the rare side. I have never had a problem with doing it this way, but my wife has concerns with the pork not being cooked enough in our burgers and bulk sausage patties. I know you can go med rare safely on pork, but do you see issue with getting a nice bloody center on my burgers?

 

[muddydogs]

The newest food temp guidelines say to cook whole cuts of pork and beef to 145 degrees and ground pork and beef to 165 degrees to be safe, the ground they are referring to is meatloaf type dishes so my pork and venison mixtures in burger patty forum I am usually 150 ish degrees as its not as dense as a meatloaf.

You don't really know what temp your meat is at unless you stick a thermometer in it, going by the look is just winging it. I know I don't measure the temp of my burgers or sausage patty's but if my wife was worried about it and making a fuss I would pick up a thermometer off Amazon and take the temp of the cooked items in question so I could show the wife and say see the government says its safe and the government is always right. Then after her concern faded away I would cook the items to my liking.

I think you will find that 150 ish degrees will give you the safe cooking temp with that nice trail of bloody juicy slime on the plate your looking for.

 

[willidru]

thanks for input, I use the finger poke method, but I guess I can try this thermometer gadget

 

[Gr8bawana]

Today's pork farming methods no longer require us to cook pork until it's gray and dry. Trichinosis is no longer a danger in today's commercially raised pork.
Since you're using your own venison you know it's clean and safe and store bought pork is just as safe.
Why not just cook your burgers to your liking and your wife's to hers by cooking for a few extra minutes?

 

[willidru]

True, then it's just my boys who have to get more dried burgers. I agree it seems the food is more than safe. Anyone cut with anything other than pork fat?

 

[LWC]

I've cut the ground meat with a little bit of bacon. Don't know for sure, but would think the bacon would be a safer option since it has already been cured.

 

[Brock A]

True, then it's just my boys who have to get more dried burgers. I agree it seems the food is more than safe. Anyone cut with anything other than pork fat?

I dont cut mine with anything anymore. I used to, but I thought I was defeating the purpose of trying to only eating meat I kill or catch. When we make our bratwurst, we do cut it with pork butt, but thats the only exception nowadays.

 

[dreamingbig]

Same here. Straight up elk burger. We do add a small amount of bread crumbs when making burgers


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[jspradley]

Trichinosis is no longer an issue with commercial pork.

What can be an issue is e.coli from surface contamination, when you grind the meat all that surface gets mixed in so cook to rare at your own risk... I personally wouldn't do it with any commercial meat but if you are doing small batches and sear the outside then grind it I cant imagine there could be any risk so long as your tools were clean

 

[TauPhi111]

My parents just bought a quarter steer from a local farm, and I asked them to see if they'd package some beef fat trimmings for me. I've been using that to grind into my burger and it's been great. It gives my burgers a nice beefy flavor and i cook them to whatever temp I want. I've used bacon too, but i feel like they taste too much like bacon when I do that.

As for your pork butt, as other said, I wouldn't worry too much if it is commercial pork.

 

[boom]

it's nuts: they stopped feeding dead pigs to pigs and the trichinosis went away. the old days must have been crazy. pandemonium

 

[Brushbeater]

I use beef fat, if you don't have a local butcher you can get done fat from go to your grocery store when they have rib eyes on sale and ask if you can have the fat trim from when they are cutting steaks

 

[Bulldawg]

It gives my burgers a nice beefy flavor and i cook them to whatever temp I want.

That just sounds terrible! If I wanted beef I wouldn’t have to spend so much dang money going hunting!

Don’t cut your venison with anything! Don’t trim all the silver skin off, it helps bind the meat, when you are making burgers tightly pick very cold then throw on a hot grill and be patient! Only flip once. Burgers will be moist and delicious.


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[boom]

to each their own. people have been adding stuff to burgers forever.

like ranch dressing mix..

 

[danarnold]

beef fat is the bomb

 

[Gr8bawana]

That just sounds terrible! If I wanted beef I wouldn’t have to spend so much dang money going hunting!

Don’t cut your venison with anything! Don’t trim all the silver skin off, it helps bind the meat, when you are making burgers tightly pick very cold then throw on a hot grill and be patient! Only flip once. Burgers will be moist and delicious.
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Yeah! Everyone like chewing on those pieces of silver skin that are indestructible no matter how long you chew on them.

 

[Bulldawg]

Yeah! Everyone like chewing on those pieces of silver skin that are indestructible no matter how long you chew on them.

When you grind it up you don’t chew on it, you never notice it and it holds the burger together so it doesn’t crumble when you cook it. I Cut the large tendons out but silver skin, I used to trim it all up for my grind pile, then I realized it was a waste of time and I liked it better with a little silver skin in it.

I really do not like my venison tasting like beef, I hunt deer and elk and moose etc, I would go by half a beef if I wanted beef.


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[Murdy]

If your grind is so lean the patties are not holding together, mix an egg into it. That'll up the fat content a bit and bind the meat.

Of course that doesn't really take care of the problem, because then you do have to consider salmonella (tastes good though!).

 

[Gr8bawana]

When you grind it up you don’t chew on it, you never notice it and it holds the burger together so it doesn’t crumble when you cook it. I Cut the large tendons out but silver skin, I used to trim it all up for my grind pile, then I realized it was a waste of time and I liked it better with a little silver skin in it.

I really do not like my venison tasting like beef, I hunt deer and elk and moose etc, I would go by half a beef if I wanted beef.


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To each his own. Have at it.

 

[Murdy]

A lot of the silver skin ends up wrapped around the grinder shaft anyway.