Venison Burgers with Horseradish Sauce

If you’ve never tried venison, it is a lovely lean protein. Given that venison is wild game, it can taste more “gamey” than beef, but it is still subtle. Vension, ideally wild sourced - is rich in protein and micronutrients such as iron, copper, vitamin B12, selenium, and zinc.

For those who want something different from the usual beef or chicken while keeping it lean - this version of the burger or patty recipe is what you need.

Venison and Horseradish

This is a very British or Scandinavian food combination. In the UK, there is no wasabi or black pepper locally grown - but instead, we have an iconic vegetable horseradish.

You can find horseradish in most greengrocers/vegetable stores, farmers markets, or wholefoods. It has a unique spicy kick, similar to wasabi, so they’re in the same family.

Roast beef is a traditional Sunday meal and is sometimes accompanied by sauces. Mustard, hollandaise, but also horseradish cream. In this recipe, we have combined the gamey and nutrient-dense venison with a horseradish kick. It is a match made in heaven. If you don’t have venison, then using beef would suffice. Just follow the horseradish instructions.

To complement this, leaner red meat, aka venison. We wanted to create a fresh pairing sauce. We wanted to incorporate fresh rosemary to elevate the woody, herby flavor and prepared horseradish to bring out some zing. These two opposing flavors complement one another quite well and lend for the addition of any other flavors that you desire (i.e., fresh parsley, dill, oregano, etc.). We have also added onion for some sweetness when cooked.

Venison Meat Health Benefits

 We used a 90/10 lean/fat variety. This is enough fat content not to require a binder for the patties, but if you happen upon a leaner version, we recommend adding 1 egg to this recipe. 

Venison has a naturally beneficial fatty acid profile, especially when it’s wild. It is incredibly lean and an excellent option for those with a fat-loss phase and calorie deficit who do not want to lower their food or nutrition quality.

Venison is also low in heavy metals such as cadmium and lead

The noted content of cadmium and lead in the haunch of roe and red deer was significantly lower than permissible standard values, which corroborates that the meat is healthy and safe for consumers. 1

In a head-to-head comparison with beef, even farmed venison had a better nutritional profile.

Compared with beef, venison from two widely farmed deer species was superior in nutrient composition, thus offering potential benefits for human consumption, and it received higher scores for most of the sensory attributes examined. 2

Red Meat and Mental Health

A recent 2021 observational study - highlighted that the absence of meat in the diet is associated with more anxiety and depression. The sample size is around 160,000 people from multiple regions.

Venison and red meat can be a superfood and support mental health with their unique nutrient density and fatty acids, a rich source of amino acids, all supporting optimal health with neurotransmitter synthesis and detoxification. 5

MISteak 🥩 Avoidance of meat is associated with emotional and mental problems = anxiety + depression.
"The majority of studies, and especially the higher quality studies, showed that those who avoided meat consumption had significantly higher rates or risk of depression, anxiety,…

— livevitae.com 🌞💧🧲 (@livevitaeuk) September 10, 2023

There is a considerable variation in nutrients found in wild or farmed venison. The final product, such as its unique fatty acid profile with essential fatty acids omega 3/6 ratio or PUFA ratio, can vary depending on where your venison can change. Additionally, minerals vary depending on breed. However, in general, both farmed and wild, venison contains a significant intake of nutrients such as iron and copper with vitamins B12 and B2.

“Meat from farmed-raised fallow deer is a good source of iron and copper in the human diet and may be recommended as a part of a healthy diet.” 3

What to Serve Alongside Venison

Serving options alongside your venison burgers include sweet potato or potato wedges roasted in ghee or extra virgin olive oil or beef fat, raw carrot salad, and a simple chopped salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, and avocado with fresh herbs. We used lettuce wraps instead of standard burgers, brioche buns, or gluten-free alternative bread for our take on these homemade venison burgers,

Wrap in a firm, sizeable fresh gem or romaine lettuce wrap and enjoy the sides suggested above with the horseradish sauce.

You can adjust the kick with the quantity using a little less or more for the horseradish. The burger features horseradish, so you can emit this if you want to start with just the sauce.

Venison Burgers With Horseradish Sauce Recipe Step by Step

Serves: 5
Skill level: Moderate
Prep time: 10-20 minutes
Cooking time: 5-8 minutes

Ingredients

For the venison burgers/patties:

• 1 Lb (16 oz / 454 g) ground venison (ideally wild or farmed)

• 1/2 onion, diced - white or red

• 2 cloves garlic, minced 

• 2 sprigs or 1 TB rosemary, freshly chopped

• 2 tsp oregano or Italian seasoning blend

• 2 tsp horseradish - freshly grated.

• 1 tsp unrefined salt

• 1/2 tsp black pepper  

• 1/2 tsp cumin 

• 1/2 tsp paprika

  *note - Since ground venison is a lean protein, you may want to add 1 egg or even a handful of grated organic grass-fed cheese to add moisture. However, a binding agent is not necessary.

For the Horseradish sauce

• 1/4 cup or 3 heaping TB Greek or plain coconut yogurt 

• Juice of 1/2 lemon or about 1 1/2 TB

• 1/2 TB apple cider vinegar 

• 1/2 TB extra virgin olive oil 

• 1 tsp Dijon mustard 

• 2 tsp horseradish

• 1/2 tsp minced garlic

• 1/4 tsp unrefined salt 

How to Cook

1. Add all patty ingredients in a large bowl, including the meat, onion, garlic, horseradish, eggs, spices, and your optional egg. Wet your hands to prevent the meat from becoming sticky and messy. Combine all ingredients thoroughly with your fingers by kneading it all together. 

2. Estimate about 5 portions, and roll out into balls. Again, use wet hands to yield a smooth product that is not sticky. Lay the balls and press them flat - making them more balanced than you think, as they will shrink when cooked. Please place them in the fridge to set their shape while you prepare the sauce.

3. To make the sauce, combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk until fully incorporated. Feel free to adjust seasonings to taste. To make it thicker, add more yogurt. To make it thinner, add more extra virgin olive oil. We like a thicker consistency to put on our burger and dip sweet potato fries, but a thicker version would make for a great dip, and a thinner version would make for a great salad dressing. 

4. Take the patties out of the fridge and heat a saucepan to medium-high heat. When hot, add your patties, making sure not to crowd - usually 2 at a time. Note that we didn’t use additional cooking oil as we let the fat render and be the cooking fat. However, we recommend using ghee, avocado oil, or rendered bacon fat. 

5. Use your spatula to press down the patty, borrowing the technique for a smash burger to keep it from becoming too shrunken. Once the patty seems to be cooked about halfway up, about 2 minutes, flip and allow it to finish cooking without overdoing it, about 1 minute. Set aside and allow to rest for a few minutes. 

6. Once the patties are cooked, please serve them on a gluten-free bun. We opted for a lettuce bun to add crunch and freshness. We layered the lettuce leaves venison patty, topped with a big horseradish sauce dollop, and garnished with rosemary, jalapeno pepper, and dill. Feel free to use chives, parsley, or your other favorite herbs. We also served oven-baked sweet potato fries for a well-rounded feast.

7. Enjoy. Remember to serve in a lettuce wrap, sweet potato toast, or anything that works for you.

Nutritional Value (Per Serving)

CALORIES: 192
PROTEIN: 25.1
CARBS: 2.2G
FAT: 9.2G
FIBER: 0.3G
VITAMIN B1: 0.5MG
VITAMIN B2: 0.3MG
VITAMIN B3: 8.5MG
VITAMIN B5: 0.7MG
VITAMIN B6: 0.5MG
VITAMIN B7: N/A
VITAMIN B9: 12UG
VITAMIN B12: 2.1UG
CHOLINE: 94.9MG
VITAMIN A: 2.1UG
RETINOL: 1.9UG
VITAMIN C: 2.2MG
VITAMIN D: 0.3IU
VITAMIN E: 0.8MG
VITAMIN K: 2.2UG
CALCIUM: 30MG
COPPER: 0.1MG
IRON: 3.1MG
MAGNESIUM: 25.8MG
MANGANESE: 0.1MG
POTASSIUM: 376MG
SELENIUM: 10.2UG
ZINC: 4.8MG
OMEGA 3: 0.1G
OMEGA 6: 0.4G

REFERENCES:

1. Milczarek A, Janocha A, Niedziałek G, Zowczak-Romanowicz M, Horoszewicz E, Piotrowski S (2021) Health-promoting properties of the wild-harvested meat of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus L.) and Red Deer (cervus elaphus L.). Animals 11:2108

2. Bureš D, Bartoň L, Kotrba R, Hakl J (2014) Quality attributes and composition of meat from Red Deer (cervus elaphus), fallow deer (dama dama) and Aberdeen Angus and Holstein cattle (bos taurus). Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 95:2299–2306

3. Żmijewski T, Modzelewska-Kapituła M, Pomianowski J, Ziomek A (2020) Farmed-raised fallow deer (dama Dama L.) carcass characteristics and meat nutritional value. Journal of Food Science and Technology 57:3211–3220

4. Dobersek U, Wy G, Adkins J, Altmeyer S, Krout K, Lavie CJ, Archer E (2020) Meat and Mental Health: A systematic review of meat abstention and depression, anxiety, and related phenomena. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition 61:622–635