Stuffed Venison Burger

When I had the vision for Chesapeake Cuisine, I wanted to bring you all of the things that we love to do, and how we love to eat. The name is more about the region than the body of water or what comes from it. Our focus is on the wonderful food found in Chesapeake country, and our interpretation of how to prepare it. So this week, we take a detour away from seafood, and go to one of my favorite foods. Venison!

Now before you get all uptight about venison and say,  "I've heard deer meat is dry and tough", let me explain something. Deer meat is dry and tough...if you don't know how to cook it. Once you learn the secrets of preparing quality cuts of deer, it is a pleasant, tender, juicy choice of red meat that is high in protein, low in saturated fat, and all around healthier than their much larger, mass produced cousins that are readily available in the supermarket. And if you take the deer yourself, you cannot get much more of an organic product that that.

We love to deer hunt. No question about it. When the leaves start to change color, and the crisp cool mornings of autumn are upon us, our thoughts start to turn to sitting in a treestand, bows in our hand, waiting on a nice buck to walk to within bow range. On more than one occasion, while a deer was walking in and I was preparing for the shot, I had already started thinking about what I was going to make with the venison before I had even pulled the trigger...I know..I need a therapist...

So if you are a deer hunter, and have some burger in your freezer, try this recipe and then tell me you don't love it!...If you are not a deer hunter, I suggest you buddy up with one this fall, and maybe, just maybe, they will share some hard earned venison with you. Especially if you come with an offering...one that say...comes in 30 packs?? Just sayin...... ;-)

For this recipe you will need;

1 pound ground venison
1 egg beaten
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried parsley, or 1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Montreal Steak Seasoning to taste
2 Tbsp breadcrumbs
salt and pepper to taste
3 oz of your favorite cheese (colby, cheddar, pepper jack, swiss, etc)

1. Mix everything together except the cheese

2. Shape the mix into patties, placing the cheese in the middle of each

3. Top with another patty of the same size and seal the edges by pressing together carefully with your fingers

4. Cook on a preheated grill, or skillet until cooked all the way through. Should take about 10-15 minutes depending on your heat source.

5. Serve on fresh toast brushed with butter, and you favorite burger accompaniments.