Venison Burgers

One of the things I will miss out on this year is deer hunting, and eating the venison for the rest of the year. Venison is pretty much the only meat I eat, except once in awhile when I go out.

I have been pretty aggressively using up the meat from the two deer I got last year, since it won't really keep well for another year in the freezer. Today I used up the last two packages of burger. I thought that I'd share my recipe for venison burgers.

This is one time when I use beef in a venison recipe. Mixing the venison with regular hamburger keeps the burgers moist and helps them cook better. Venison is very lean, and what fat there is is waxy and unappetizing, so you have to make sure you take that into account when cooking it.

Ingredients:

Two packages of venison burger (approx. 1 lb each)
Two packages of ground beef (I use chuck) (approx. 1 lb each)
Shredded cheddar cheese (1 cup, or more if you like)
Super secret family hamburger spice mix (McCormick "Grill Mates")
Salt and pepper

Flatten one package of hamburger out on the counter, spread on 1/4 of the cheese and a liberal sprinkling of spice mix, salt, and pepper. Flatten a layer of venison burger over the top of this, spread on 1/4 of the cheese and sprinkle liberally with spice mix, salt, and pepper. Repeat these steps so that you have 4 layers of alternating venison and beef with cheese and spices in between.

Smash the whole pile out flat, square up the edges and cut in half with a knife. Put one half on top of the other half. Repeat this step as many times as necessary to thoroughly mix the meats, cheese, and spices.

Divide into 8 parts to make 1/2 lb. patties. Freeze between layers of wax paper.

Cook thawed burgers over medium heat until done to taste.

I made eight of these, and had one for lunch today. Mmmmmm!