VENISON BURGERS

By Martin Auldist

Oct 16, 2023

Venison burgers are sure to become a family favourite!

LOCAVORE Nicolas Pearce

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Ingredients

1kg venison mince (20% fat: 800g venison leg, 200g pork back fat)

200g streaky bacon

2 brown onions

2 roasted beetroot

1 lemon

4 tbsp Kewpie mayonnaise

2 tsp Dijon mustard

4 brioche sesame seed buns

Green oak lettuce

4 slices high melt cheese slice

Olive oil

Flaky salt and pepper

The following method is used to prepare four delicious venison burgers. Preparation time is 15 minutes and cooking time is 30 minutes.

If you are mincing your own meat (which I highly recommend), do a coarse dice of the venison leg and pork back fat. Mix it (so it’s evenly dispersed) with a large pinch of salt and then pop it into the freezer to chill it down. You want it to be firm and icy but not frozen solid, so keep an eye on it (this will ensure it cuts nicely through the mincer).

Mince the chilled meat into a bowl, then press into a metal ring (the same size as your buns) to make even-sized patties. If you don’t have a metal ring just press out even sizes by hand. Set the patties to one side and let them come up to room temperature as this will ensure you can cook your burgers with a medium-rare centre.

Slice the bacon and pop it into a saucepan on medium heat with a good splash of olive oil. Cook that down until the fat has been rendered from the bacon and it is nice and crispy (approximately 5-10 minutes).

Next, finely slice two brown onions and add that to the saucepan with the bacon. Keep stirring it regularly and cook it down until the onion is caramelised (approximately 15 minutes). Add more olive oil if the pan appears dry.

Finely dice two beetroot (you can roast your own or buy the pre-cooked beetroot) and add that through the onion and bacon. Turn the heat to low and cook for a further 5 to 10 minutes, regularly stirring to make a relish consistency.

Take relish off the heat and add the juice of half a lemon, salt and pepper to taste. Stir and set aside.

Put a cast iron pan or similar on to super high heat on the stove. Sprinkle the patties with some salt. Once the pan is to temperature, add some olive oil and gently place the patties into the pan for three minutes with a weight on top (you can use weights or a second pan). Flip the patties over, add the cheese on top to melt, and cook the patties for another two to three minutes. These will be pink in the middle. Cook for longer if you want them to be more well done.

Add 4 tablespoons of mayonnaise to a jar with the Dijon mustard.

To construct the burger, add some mustard mayo to the base and lid of the brioche buns. Add some of the bacon, onion, beetroot relish and press it flat so the patty can sit flush. Add the patty. Add some more relish and flatten it with a knife. Add some washed oak lettuce and then close them up with the lid of the brioche. Enjoy!