Ground venison is a healthy, delicious alternative to ground beef that can be used in a huge variety of recipes. It’s a low cost option for chefs to add this exciting meat to their menus. It’s made from grinding the boneless neck & shoulder with some of the deer’s (very limited) fat to achieve a 95% Lean, 5% Fat blend.

Because venison is so much leaner than ground beef, care must be taken to keep it from drying out if you want to turn it into formed applications like meatloaf, meatballs, burgers or sliders. Some chefs grind in additional pork fat, add bacon or pancetta, or add higher fat meats to a blend in order to impart extra moisture. However, there is another way. Executive Chef Graham Brown adds a heaping tablespoon of instant mashed potato flakes to his ground venison – this holds in the moisture without adding fat.

Applications: Sauces, Burgers, Tacos, Dumplings, Sliders, Meatballs, Meatloaf & More!