Juicy Venison Burger

Friends frequently ask me how I make venison burgers juicy. Ground venison is dry and when I grind it myself (using my Kitchenaid) I don't add any fat to it. I add ingredients when I actually use it.  My favorite thing to do is to use my food processor and finely chop about 4 pieces of raw bacon for each pound of ground venison. Mix it with the ground meat and use your favorite seasonings.  The bacon fat will add moisture and flavor.

I tried a new recipe this weekend, though.  I added 2 Tablespoons of mayonnaise, 1 Tablespoon of orange Teriyaki sauce, an egg, 1/4 cup of finely chopped raw onion ... and a slice of bread finely chopped (I put it in the processor with the onion).  Don't worry that this is going to taste more like meatloaf than a burger ... it doesn't. It reminded me of the old-fashioned Maid Rite loose meat burgers that were popular when I was kid!  The juices oozed from the sandwich and the bun got a little soggy on bottom!  Lick your fingers good!

I grilled my burgers and cooked them slowly, so most of the liquid would cook out.  They were slightly crumbly, so I had to be careful turning them and lifting them off the grill ..... but they were delicious!  While they grilled, I also grilled a foil packet filled with sliced mushrooms and butter to use as topping.  When they were finished cooking, each burger got a slice of smoked Gouda cheese.  YUMMY!  Pass more napkins, please!

I'll be posting this with a couple parties listed on my sidebar, so make sure you click through. Right now my home page is filled with venison recipes, so browse around before you move on!

Left Over Venison Roast!

A couple weeks ago, I posted my Cranberry Venison Roast and if you missed it, you can find it right here!  Of course, I had left-over roast, so I froze a couple little packages and pulled one out to make this beautiful taco salad so I could celebrate Cinco de Mayo in style!  I keep a package of dry taco mix in a shaker and use a little at a time ... so I added about a teaspoon of the taco seasoning to a couple cups of the shredded meat.  The roast had been seasoned with Chipotle, but the addition of the taco seasoning changed the flavor a little bit and made it zippy!

You can buy packaged tortilla cups these days ... these are soft flour shells, but the other night I had a crispy corn shell at a party and it was really good, too!  I just put some of the seasoned meat in the shell and topped it with a little salsa ... popped it in the NuWave oven for 10 minutes and had a wonderfully toasted treat.  When I served it, I added shredded cheddar and sour cream.

I make all my salad dressings from scratch because I don't want bottles of packaged salad dressings living in the refrigerator for a year! This dressing is simple ... 3 Tablespoons of mayonnaise with 3 Tablespoons of salsa and a Tablespoon of chopped green pimiento-stuffed olives. I have favorite ingredients for salad, but you sure can make your salad your way! Mine was made from mixed greens, radish strips, cucumber bits and slices of avocado!  Delicious ...

I'll share this with a few parties listed on my sidebar.  Make sure you browse around a little!

Cranberry Venison Roast!

If you only think of using cranberries at Christmastime, you need to reconsider! I buy extra bags in the winter and freeze them. You don't have to do anything to them except place the bag in the freezer! Then I have them all year. I also love dried cranberries ... in the cranberry flavor.  You probably know that they flavor them with blueberry and cherry ... but I like the authentic tart/sweet flavor!

I'm blessed with a friend who put a deer in my freezer this past fall ... and with a sharp-shooter sister-in-law ... who gave me another half a deer. My brother processed that one (while I helped by watching and carrying on conversation about the old days) ... so my freezer is filled with this wonderful lean flavorful meat!

Venison is so lean, it can be dry ... so I always marinate and sauce my creations. This recipe is so good and anything left from the roast makes a great sandwich the next day. All you have to do is add a little bbq sauce, if you've eaten all the original sauce!

Remember that I frequently cook for just one person, so I had my brother cut all my roasts in less than 2 pound pieces. That has been a hard thing about becoming a widow ... cooking for 1 person and it has taken me five years to learn the lessons of not having left-overs that I'll never eat.

This delicious meal began with this roast that is less than 2 pounds. It has a nice piece of fat on one edge and that adds so much flavor. No need to trim it completely, when you are slow roasting or pressure cooking ... because all the shine and fat will disappear!

I love my electric pressure cooker ... although I am not afraid to use my stove top! I browned the roast on all sides in a little olive oil, before adding the other ingredients that make a spicy sauce.

The primary spices in this sauce are bay leaves, chipotle pepper and achiote (also called annatto). Achiote is made from the seeds of an evergreen shrub and is used to flavor and color foods. Chorizo sausage is colored with annatto seeds and many rice dishes are red/bronze because of the addition of the spice. The secret spice in the chocolate drink from the Aztecs ... was probably achiote!

To my pot, I added 1/2 cup dried cranberries, 1 cup of beef broth, 1 cup of a California Shiraz, 1 teaspoon of achiote powder, 1/2 teaspoon of chipotle pepper powder and 2 bay leaves.  I pressure cooked the roast for 1 hour ... remember it was just 2 pounds.

This is the end result ... flavorful, juicy and succulent! The flavors were bold, but not overly 'hot' ... and the sweet/sour cranberry flavors made it perfect. After you remove the roast from the pot, you might have to reduce the sauce for a few minutes ... to thicken it ... but it might be perfect without doing that!  You decide.

I served the roast with buttered noodles, sprinkled with a little parsley ... and it was delicious!  I'll be sharing this with Miz Helen and a few other blog parties ... If you'd like to see another recent post about venison ... click right here!