Hugh's Venison Burgers Recipe | Food

Date Published:: 04/09/2007

Makes 10 burgers

Ingredients

1 tsp juniper berries
3 bay leaves
1 tbsp sage leaves
2 tsp white peppercorns
1 tbsp salt
1.5kg venison meat
500g fatty pork (i.e. belly)
a little white wine
a couple of apples
good quality oil for frying
knob of butter
10 baps

Method: How to make Hugh's venison burgers

1. Put 1 tsp juniper berries, 3 bay leaves, 1 tbsp sage leaves, 2 tsp white peppercorns and 1 tbsp salt into a coffee or spice grinder and grind to a fine powder. Combine 1.5kg venison meat with 500g fatty pork (i.e. belly) and put through a mincer on a coarse (8mm) plate. You can get your butcher to do the mincing for you.

2. Add the spice powder to the minced meat, and mix well, adding a little white wine to achieve a good, moist-but-firm texture. Heat a little oil in a frying pan, make a patty out of the mixture and fry it for about 5 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Taste to check the seasoning.

3. When you’re happy, form the minced, spiced meat into patties about 2cm thick and fry or barbecue them for 3-4 minutes each side, until nicely browned and cooked through. Serve in good-quality baps, augmented by a few slices of hot, butter-fried apple.