No fillers, just straight up tender and delicious meat! I love to make my own affordable burgers from the animals we have butchered for our family. Give moose burgers a try today!
There's nothing wrong with beef burgers, I know those are pretty standard and what many gravitate to. However, we do a lot more hunting than we have cows to butcher, so that's the ground meat often tucked in my freezer.
Any flavourful red meat will work here with these seasonings so go ahead and use whatever you have. And if you have lots of ground meat to use up, I have you covered there as well.
Why You Need This Recipe
- I don't use fillers, because then I think of them as meat loaves! This is just straight up delicious meat.
- You can make the patties ahead and store them raw in the freezer for future grilling.
- Making your own burgers means perfect portion sizes!
Key Ingredients
Moose - This recipe is for moose, which is a very lean wild game. I am for quarter pound burgers when cooking.
Salt - About 1 teaspoon per pound will give you the perfect flavour.
Seasonings - The largest quantity here is minced dried onion, and then I use garlic, thyme and smoked paprika.
How to Make Moose Burgers
***See recipe card below for precise measurements and instructions.***
Step 1: Add seasonings to moose. Isn't it pretty, all those seasonings?
Step 2: Mix well, until everything is well combined, but then don't go too far and make them tough.
Step 3: Form into patties, about 3" diameter and ½"-inch thick. Place on a parchment lined sheet and pop in the freezer.
Step 4: Grill on one side until they are cooked almost to the top when checked from the side, then flip and add cheese if desired.
Step 5: Add all your favorite toppings and call the family to the table!
Tips and Tricks
- Semi-freezing the burgers helps them stay together on the grill.
- You can freeze these ahead - make sure and keep parchment between them.
- Cooked burgers will last in the fridge a few days, and just give them a quick reheat in a pan.
Use these seasonings for any red meat! And the shaping technique I use is best for lean meats like moose. If you are using beef with a higher fat content, make sure and knuckle in a dimple in the middle. This allows the burger to remain flat as the fat cooks out and the burger shrinks.
One of the best reasons to make your own burgers is you can make them match the bun size. Sometimes store buns are just too big! And if you want sliders then just go ahead and make both hamburger buns and burgers that match each other.
Hate me for not wanting a tomato on my burger...but I am who I am ?.
FAQs
I am loving my Blackstone griddle! The flat surface makes it much easier to flip a burger, in my opinion, though you can definitely grill these. The key is freezing until the outside is solid/firm to touch. Then they will easily stay together when flipping.
Roll into balls and then flatten to desired thickness. Because moose is so lean, just make the burgers an even thickness across. For fattier meats you'll want to dimple the center to account for shrinking.
If you've never had moose, or much wild game at all, you'll find it has a strong flavour. It can be pretty gamey but it also depends on what all the moose had been eating. It's often described as a cross between beef and bison.
More Wild Game Recipes
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Moose Burgers
Ingredients
- 2½ - 3 lbs ground moose
- 1 tablespoon salt see notes
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon dried onion flakes
Instructions
- Mix seasonings well and decide on how many portions you want.
- To shape, I form a ball in my hand, then put it on a parchment lined tray and gently press it into a ½” thick patty. It will be 3+ inches in diameter. I stack parchment as needed and then pop the whole tray in the freezer.
- Let the tray freeze while you heat your pan, maybe 20 minutes or so. I like them firm to the touch but not actually frozen through.
- To cook, heat up grill, frying pan or griddle (i’m using my Blackstone griddle) to medium high. Grease the pan/grill if needed.
- Cook about 5-7 minutes, or until the burger is brown almost to the top on the sides, then flip.
- If using cheese, add it now on top. Cook until juices run clear/burger feels firm, another few minutes. If it's your first time cooking burgers from frozen don't be afraid to cut one open.
Notes
- Scale up or down however you like. I think 1 teaspoon salt per pound of meat is perfect. The other seasonings also have plenty of leeway so you don't have to think too hard when scaling, just go for it.
- 12 burgers will give you ¼ pound pre-cooked weight. I've also done up to 16 burgers depending on appetite or number of people.
joan thurston
Could I just ask why you don't use filler or egg? It adds so much to a burger.
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In my opinion, the egg is just a binder and fat does that too. The filler....not necessary unless you are trying to bulk up your burgers.