Ultra Juicy Venison Burgers

Two venison burgers on top of parchment paper and a wooden serving tray with a beer in the background.

Make your next backyard grill-out extra delicious and put these ultra juicy venison burgers on the dinner menu! These tender venison patties are seasoned with a simple yet flavorful spice mixture and piled on a buttery brioche bun with your favorite toppings. Best of all, you can put these delicious deer burgers on the table in under 30 minutes to make for easy entertaining.

Course Burgers and Sandwiches

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 7

Resting Time 5

Total Time 22

Servings burgers

Calories 422kcal

Author Amanda McGrory-Dixon

Equipment

Grill or skillet

Ingredients

1 pound ground venison 10-20% pork fat added if given option at butcher shop
1 beaten large egg
2 tablespoons butter grated
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon smoked paprika
4 cheese slices
1 tablespoon olive oil for indoor skillet cooking
4 burger buns
Desired toppings such as lettuce, tomato, red onion, bacon, avocado, condiments, etc.

Instructions

Venison Patties

Add the ground venison, beaten egg, grated butter and Worcestershire sauce to a mixing bowl. With your hands, gently mix the ingredients just until they become one cohesive mixture — you don't want to overmix the meat to avoid tough burgers.
Form the venison mixture into four equal-size balls and then shape into burger patties. They should be slightly larger than your burger buns to account for shrinking during cooking. Use your thumb to make an indention in the middle of each patty. Refrigerate the patties for 10 minutes.
Mix together the salt, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and smoked paprika. Sprinkle over the four venison patties right before cooking. Salt starts to immediately draw moisture from the meat, so it's important to season right before they go on the grill or skillet.

Grilling

As the patties refrigerate, grease and heat the grill over medium-high. Place the patties on the hot grill and cook for two to three and a half minutes on one side with the lid closed, depending on your desired level of doneness (see notes for internal temperature and cooking time guide).
Flip the venison burgers and cook for another two to three and a half minutes on the other side. The patties are done when they reach your desired internal temperature. If using cheese, add the cheese in the last 30 seconds or so of cooking.
Remove the patties from the grill and cover them with foil. Allow the patties to sit for five to 10 minutes to allow the juice to redistribute throughout the meat. Place the patties on burger buns with your favorite toppings and serve. Enjoy!

Skillet Cooking

Heat the olive oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil and skillet are hot, add two venison patties to avoid overcrowding the pan. Cook for two to three and a half minutes on one side, depending on your desired level of doneness (see notes for internal temperature and cooking time guide).
Flip the venison burgers and cook for another two to three and a half minutes on the other side. If using cheese, add the cheese when you flip the burgers.
Remove the patties from the skillet and cover them with foil. Repeat with the remaining two patties. Allow the patties to sit for five to 10 minutes to allow the juice to redistribute throughout the meat. Place the patties on burger buns with your favorite toppings and serve. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

Internal temperature and cooking times: Rare 125 degrees F for 4 minutes, medium rare 135 degrees F for 5 minutes, medium 145 degrees F for 7 minutes, medium well 155 degrees F for 9 minutes, well done 160 degrees F for 10 minutes.

Please note that the cooking time is for the total time spent on the grill or skillet. You’ll flip the burgers in the middle of the listed total cooking time.

Since ground deer meat is so lean, I don’t recommend cooking the burgers past medium, but this is ultimately up to your personal preference. Cooking times are approximate, so use an instant-read thermometer to ensure your burgers reached the correct internal temperature.

Only flip the burgers once to help them stay together.
If grilling, do not squeeze the patties with a spatula. This just presses out the juices we want to preserve.
Freeze the butter before grating. A quick 10 minutes in the freezer makes the butter easier to grate.
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Nutrition