Venison burger with a twist

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 4 large burger buns
• 500 g venison
• 250 g bacon
• 2 eggs
• some breadcrumbs
• 700 ml red wine, dry
• 200 g wild cranberries
• Juniper berry(s)
• Cinnamon powder
• Tabasco
• salt and pepper
• 3 bread dumplings
• 300 g red cabbage
• 4 leaves of iceberg lettuce
• 4 slices of cheese, e.g. mild Gouda
• butter

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 45 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 30 minutes

with red cabbage and bread dumplings

Put the venison through a meat grinder along with the bacon (which has been trimmed of rind and gristle), add the eggs, and breadcrumbs if desired. Season with salt and pepper to taste – note: bacon is usually salty enough. Knead the mixture thoroughly and form 4 burger patties, each about 180g. Reduce the red wine and wild cranberries in a saucepan. If you like, you can add juniper berries or even a dash of cinnamon. I also like to add a dash of Tabasco. Season to taste. If the reduction from the red wine is still too acidic, you can add brown sugar. If the sauce isn’t thick enough for you, you can add a knob of butter – when it’s not too hot and stirring constantly. Meanwhile, heat the red cabbage from the jar or bag and let the liquid reduce as much as possible. If you like, you can also add the bacon rind for flavor. Prepare the bread dumplings (I use ready-made ones here, too) according to the instructions, slice them, and fry them in a pan with plenty of butter until golden brown. Now cook the burger patties on the grill or in a griddle pan for 3-5 minutes on each side, turning them several times. Top with the cheese after the last turn. To avoid over-impairing the meat’s flavor, I recommend mild Gouda, sandwich slices, or something similar. Meanwhile, lightly toast the burger buns. Now it’s time to assemble them. To prevent the bottom half of the bun from getting too soggy, I recommend first placing a leaf of iceberg lettuce on top. Then add 2-3 slices of the fried bread dumplings. Spread a little of the sauce on top. Next, place the meat and cheese on top and cover with red cabbage. Add another generous amount of sauce to the red cabbage, and finally place the top half of the burger bun on top. The burgers are very filling; one burger should be enough for normal eaters. I recommend a nice cold beer with them.