Really good deer (venison) burgers

Hey there,

Since we have an abundant supply of the ground deer (venison) meat, I thought I'd share a couple of recipes I came up with today.

The first venison burger recipe is the one I served to the guys.  It is not gluten or egg free, but can easily be made so.*  I used about 4# of the ground deer, 4 eggs*, 2 packets of onion soup mix, about 2 cups of bread crumbs/oats*, about 1/2 cup sour cream and 1/2 cup cooking oil.  Mix the ingredients well and form them into patties on baking sheets that have been sprayed with cooking oil spray.  Freeze them until they are nearly solid (or completely frozen if for later use), then grill the burgers over medium high heat until just done.  Do not over cook.  The favorite combination tonight with the burgers was pepper jack and jalapenos.  This made 16 burgers.  *To make this gluten free, use ground tortillas instead of the bread/oats or gluten free oats, but those are very pricey, (at least for me!)  Also, omit the eggs and use 1/4 cup ground flax plus 3/4 cup water or broth.

The second venison burger combination I did was gluten-free and egg-free, but it doesn't have to be.  I used 1# of ground deer meat, about 8 ounces of fresh mushrooms (about a cup, chopped), finely chopped, 2 tablespoons of ground flax seed meal**, 2/3 cup deer (beef) broth (or water), 1/3 cup olive oil, about 1/2 cup ground corn tortillas**, 1 tablespoon dried chopped onion, 1 1/2 teaspoons Adobo seasoning (or seasoning salt), 1 teaspoon or so of sea salt.  Mix the ingredients well and form them into patties on baking sheets that have been sprayed with cooking oil spray.  Freeze them until they are nearly solid (or completely frozen if for later use), then grill the burgers over medium high heat until just done.  Do not over cook.  This made 5 burgers.  **If you don't want them to be gluten and egg free, just replace the tortilla crumbs with bread crumbs or oats, and replace the flax with 2 eggs.  

Enjoy!

PS:  I thought of a couple of things this morning: If you don't like mushrooms, or don't have access to any, there are several other options that you could use. You could use some chopped spinach, fresh onions, shredded zucchini, shredded carrots or broccoli stem. The idea is to get moisture in there -- and yumminess, too :)

Easy Gluten (Wheat) Free Hamburger "Buns" and the easiest way to cook burgers

Hi!

Here are a couple of  really easy ways to have burgers, that my kids and I like.   They certainly aren't buns in the traditional sense, but they do give ways to enclose a burger, pick it up and eat it.  There's just something about sticking a big, juicy burger in your face that just doesn't get it with a knife and a fork!

Let's start with my preferred method for cooking burgers.  If I have frozen patties, I like to use my grill, however the taste of a burger made with fresh beef is definitely preferable to frozen.  These burgers are tender, juicy and flavorful.

Basic Burgers
Serves 4

1 1/3 pound ground beef
Sea salt

Lemon pepper
Divide the meat into four equal portions.  On a baking sheet, flatten out the patties into the desired size -- adding approximately 1/2" all the way around to the size that is desired in the end.  If a 4" patty is wanted, then flatten the meat to 5".  Also, when making the patties, make the edges a bit thicker than the center of the patty.  This will keep the burgers from shrinking into balls when cooked.  Season as desired with sea salt and lemon pepper.  Bake the burgers for about 10 minutes at 400F, (or 15 to 18 minutes at 350F.)  They will not get all brown and crunchy like they do on the stove top.  Instead, they will just look a medium brown.  Test them with a meat thermometer and ensure they have reached 180F before serving.  Pour off the cooking fat and reserve for later use or discard as desired.



Wheat and Gluten Free Hamburger Buns

Below are two different methods for getting that burger into that mouth.  Yum!

Method 1:
Makes 1 serving

Cook 2 corn tortillas in about 1/2" cooking oil over medium heat until they are just getting crisp, about 4 minutes.  I like mine at the "medium" stage where they are still tender in the center, but crispy all around the edges.

Put a paper towel or sturdy napkin on a plate.  Place one of the tortillas onto the towel.  Then, load it up as any burger -- meat patty, pickles, lettuce, tomatoes, etc.  Finish it off with the other tortilla.  Wrap it up around the bottom with the paper towel, and enjoy a burger!

Method 2:
Makes 1 serving

I don't prefer this method because it just seems like too much lettuce to me.  However, that being said, it is a very viable option.

Wash, dry then place 2 large lettuce leaves on a plate.  Load on the burger and toppings.  Wrap up the burger with the lettuce and enjoy.