Rarebit Venison Burger

Here's our version of Umami Burger's Welsh Rabbit Burger. Yeah, its typically Welsh-- but we adapted our rarebit recipe from an Irish cookbook, so we're sticking to it. Rarebit... rabbit. What the heck? Really, it's all the same. Call it however you want, but "rabbit" does add a bit of confusion. There is absolutely no rabbit in this recipe. Rick believes that "rabbit" is our bastardized way of saying "rarebit" in the United States. Any Welsh/Irish people out there? Please clear this up for us. 

Welsh/Irish Rarebit is basically a special cheese sauce that's poured over toasted bread and baked until golden and bubbly. We do know "rarebit" means "tasty morsel," so it's a snack served at "high tea." All we did was packed the same flavors into a venison burger. Please enjoy!

Servings: 4
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 6-10 minutes
Ingredients:
Cheese Mixture
- 3 cups of white cheddar cheese, shredded (buy Irish Cheddar, if you can)
- 1 tbs. cider vinegar
- 1/2 tbs. dry mustard
- 1/8 cup of whole milk
- 1/4 cup of Guinness Stout
- cracked pepper, to taste
Burger
- 1 lb. ground venison (ground with 20% bacon fat is best)
- 1/2 cup of Panko bread crumbs
- 2 tbs. dried parsley
- 1/8 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- hamburger buns
- sliced dill or bread and butter pickles
- corn oil, for brushing

1. In a medium bowl, combine cheese, vinegar, mustard, whole milk, cracked pepper and Guinness. Mix well. Set aside to allow ingredients to marry. 

2. In a large bowl, combine ground venison, 1/8 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. ground pepper and 2 tbs. dried parsley. 

Mix well. 

3. Next, add 2/3 of the cheese mixture into the venison, reserving the rest for later. Then add 1/2 cup of Panko breadcrumbs. Combine well. 

4. Prepare your grill. Form meat into 4 patties. Brush grill with corn oil to prevent sticking. Grill venison burgers, about 3-5 minutes on each side, or until just cooked through. When the second side is just about done, pile the rest of the cheese mixture on top of each patty, close the lid and allow cheese to melt. You can also do this under the broiler to get a nice golden brown color. 

Serve burgers with pickles and homemade french fries. 

*Do not overcook venison burgers. Ground venison dries out quickly.