Venison Burger With Cranberry BBQ Sauce

Venison pairs beautifully with cranberries and burgers pair beautifully with BBQ sauce. This recipes does it all--the tart, homemade cranberry BBQ sauce is a mellow combination with the venison burger and Aged Cheddar Cheese.

• Ready In: 55 mins
• Serves: 3-4
• Yields: 3-4 burgers

Ingredients

• Cranberry BBQ sauce

• 1 (12 ounce) bag cranberries
• 1⁄2 cup water
• 1⁄8 cup  diced sweet onion
• 1⁄4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1⁄4 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1⁄2 tablespoon  steak sauce
• 1  tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1  tablespoon  balsamic vinegar
• 5  drops liquid smoke
• 1⁄2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1⁄4 tablespoon ground ginger
• 2  drops  hot sauce
•  tarragon, oregano, chili powder, thyme and paprika
• 1  teaspoon  garlic salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon dried mustard
• 1⁄4 teaspoon salt
•  liquid stevia, as needed

• Basic Venison Burger

• 1  lb  ground venison
• 1  tablespoon  oil (canola, etc)
•  salt and pepper
•  aged cheddar cheese, sliced
•  red onion, sliced
•  kaiser roll

Directions

1. For the Cranberry Sauce: Place all ingredients, except stevia, into a stock pot and bring to a boil. Boil for 15 minutes or until the liquid is reduced to 1/3. Keep stirring to prevent the sugars from burning to the bottom of the pan.
2. Remove from stove and allow to cool for about 15 minutes (this is to keep the blender from exploding on you).
3. Place in a blender and puree.
4. Strain the puree through a fine mesh strainer, using a wooden spoon to press and strain the sauce.
5. Refrigerate. This sauce will hold for a few weeks in the refrigerator!
6. Yield 1 ½ cups.
7. For the Venison Burger: Mix the ground venison, oil, salt and pepper well. You can also add some pork fat if you like -- I like my burgers very lean so I don't add fat. You just have to be careful they don't fall apart on the grill, so add as much oil as you need to hold them together.
8. Grill or broil for about 4 minutes per side.
9. To build the burger, slice the Kaiser rolls. Place one or two slices of the Aged cheddar on the roll. Place a burger over the cheese and add as much cranberry BBQ sauce as desired. Top with a slice of red onion.