Ground Venison Blue Cheese Stuffed Bacon Burgers
I’m going to start this off with a warning: Do not bite into these burgers hot off the grill. The molten lava of cheese in the center of the burger will explode all over your face and potentially burn your mouth. That being said, this a hell of a burger! The addition of eggs and bread crumbs to the raw burger gives the ground venison the structural glue that holds them together with the cheesy center. Add a couple pieces of bacon and your favorite toppings and you have a backyard barbecue favorite in the making.
Ingredients
1 ½ to 2 pounds of ground elk
2 eggs
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup bread crumbs
4 ounces crumbled blue cheese
8–10 strips bacon
4–5 slices of Swiss cheese
4–5 pretzel buns (brioche bread can be a substitute)
Butter for toasting
Burger Toppings
Slicing tomato
Purple or white onion slices
Leaf lettuce
Sliced pickles
Barbecue sauce
Ketchup
Mustard
Directions
In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground elk or venison, eggs, spices and bread crumbs, and mix well with hands. Refrigerate until needed.
Slice your burger toppings, such as tomato, purple or white sweet onion, pickles etc., and tear lettuce into burger-size pieces.
In a frying pan on medium heat, cook the bacon to your preference (approximately 8–10 strips of bacon total).
Heat your gas grill or pellet smoker to 400–450 F.
Take the burger meat out of the refrigerator, and split it into 4 or 5 balls. Take ⅓ of each ball and set aside. With ⅔ of the ball, pack the meat tightly into a ball. Flatten the meat into rounds about ¼ to ⅜ inches thick. Place the round on a cutting board, and build up the outside edges to create a large well in the middle that extends as close to the edge of the patty as possible while maintaining a sound meat wall. Fill the well with blue cheese crumbles. Flatten the ⅓ remainder of the burger into a round that will cover the blue cheese stuffed half. Pinch the edges of the patties to seal the blue cheese crumbles in ,and press the two patties together to seal the well.
Once all 4 to 5 burgers are assembled, place on a hot grill. Cook for approximately 3–5 minutes per side depending on your grill temperature and how well done you like your meat.
Top each burger with a slice of Swiss cheese about 1 minute before you remove them from the grill.
Brush your pretzel buns with melted butter, and toast the cut side of the bun on the grill until grill marks are evident, approximately 1 minute or less.
Remove burgers and buns from the grill, and assemble your burger with your favorite toppings and sauces. I recommend a good barbecue sauce, 2 bacon slices, lettuce, tomato and onion.