“You Feta Not Miss Burger”
Description:
My wife is a 1st generation American whose family comes from Sparta in Greece. Our children and I have benefitted from her Mediterranean style cooking for the last 15 years. This burger is my attempt to mimic that style using wild game. The “You Feta not Miss” Burger is a sweet mash of dates, garlic, and honey atop a healthy patty under a smattering of crumbled feta cheese (get the good stuff from Greece, if you buy Turkish feta, it won’t taste as good).
When cooked properly, your mouth won’t be able to decide whether you’re tasting individual ingredients, or the amalgamation of flavors created by this western Mediterranean fusion.
-Makes 4 Burgers-
Ingredients:
1 pound of ground Mule deer (90/10 mix with beef tallow preferred)
10 Pitted Dates
1 clove of garlic or one tablespoon of minced garlic
1 medium Yellow Onion (chopped)
¼ cup sherry vinegar (apple cider vinegar works but isn’t as good)
2 tablespoons Local Honey
4 oz of GREEK Feta Cheese (crumbled works better than a block)
4 of your Favorite Bun (I prefer and onion or brioche bun personally)
Green leaf lettuce (or arugula if you’re going to Instagram the end result)
½ Teaspoon Dried Thyme
Cayenne pepper to taste
-Cooking Instructions-
Prep Work:
Heat Olive oil and Butter in skillet over low, medium heat.
Dice Onions, caramelize in skillet.
Mince and add garlic to the skillet.
Remove onions and garlic from heat. Set aside while you cook the burgers.
Butter and Toast Buns until insides are golden brown and crisp.
Cut Lettuce into bun sized parcels.
Crumble Feta into Pea sized clumps.
Dice, then work figs into a fine jam consistency
Burgers:
Form mule deer grind into 4 equal sized patties (patty should slightly overlap bottom bun when cooked)
Heat skillet to medium high heat.
Season burgers with cayenne pepper to taste.
Cook burgers in skillet with remaining butter and olive oil left from onions until medium rare.
Build the Burger:
Stack lettuce on Bottom Bun
Combine Caramelized onions, garlic and sherry vinegar. Stir until paste forms.
Spread Paste across top of Burger.
Spread fig paste onto Burger.
Sprinkle Feta Crumble over figs to taste.
Drizzle Honey over Feta
Cover with Top Bun
Serve with Greek Salad or French fries depending on how healthy you feel.
Good luck this fall everyone and remember to send any success pictures or stories from the field to Web@muledeer.org and you could be featured on our website or in our magazine. If this article or any of our articles have helped you become a better hunter or conservation steward, consider becoming a member of the mule deer foundation for only $35 dollars a year. Click here to join: https://muledeer.org/product-category/membership/
Author Bio:
Trevor J Hubbs @TrevorHubbs
Trevor is the Communications Manager for the Mule deer Foundation. He grew up hunting and fishing the eastern edge of the ozark mountains for quail, ducks, and bucks. Trevor is also a contributor for “Fur, Fish, and Game”, “Lethal Minds Journal”, “Strung Magazine”, “Fly Fisherman”, and “Shooting Sportsman” among others.
