First day of spring is almost two weeks away!! Can you feel it yet? Our weather is all over the place right now! Lamb wrestling the lion? This week, we’ve had rain, strong winds, cold weather, perfect spring weather. I love and hate March. I find March to generally be the most miserable month of the year. Maybe it’s not literally the worst weather-wise. But, that constant fight toward warm, spring weather and winter always sneaking back in for that last cruel snowstorm or two or brutally cold days… well, it’s miserable. We’ve endured the winter. At this point, we just want warm weather.. right?
March is my birthday month. But I hate it. I hate March. I feel like nothing good comes in March… for me, anyway. Winter seems to stubbornly hold its grip on the weather. My birthday is generally awful in some way or another… to the point that my husband and I started to go away for my birthday… usually after my birthday… sometimes waaay after my birthday. Obviously, we didn’t do that this year for my big 4. 0.
I mentioned before how my bff and I had wanted to go away together again to celebrate our next decade milestone. We are hoping beyond hope that we’ll be able to next year. I need a job and money first! But I do think this pandemic should be under control by the time we would want to go anywhere. I always love travel in the fall after the main tourist season. Usually there aren’t any kids about, it is so much quieter, and it is such a better way to actually experience the culture of a place rather than the tourists of a place.
So, the big 4. 0. was just with my husband and son. And, honestly, I’m such an introvert, that that was fine by me! So, we live five miles from Sandy Hook Gateway National Park. Sandy Hook is a large federal beach park in New Jersey on the northern most coastline of the state. It’s actually a really cool federal park with a lot of conservationism, particularly for bird life.
The Marine Academy of Science and Technology is located toward the north of the Hook… a public county high school that students have to test into ~ only 2 students per town are accepted and my son was one of the fortunate ones from our town! So, we have a lot of MAST pride in our house! We already had such a strong affinity for Sandy Hook that his acceptance into this super unique high school makes it all the more special!
Anywho, the big 4. 0. So, yesterday was a perfect spring day, so we all packed into my truck and drove out to Sandy Hook. Sandy Hook is quite literally a hook that claws itself out of the Northern shore of New Jersey, dividing the Atlantic Ocean from the bay heading into NYC. There are beaches to walk, relax, or swim off of on both sides of Sandy Hook… although the bay side is not really a great place to swim… the water is rather unsavory and a lot of garbage washes up (NYC garbage is transported off of the island on garbage barges that, well, always unintentionally drop some garbage into the water).
There is one beach on Sandy Hook that is rather secluded from any other part of the park. Very few people head out to this section of the beach. There are many times that I go the entire walk without seeing a soul. This beach is perfect for sea glass searching. And stretching out across the water is an amazing view of Lower Manhattan. Although, on foggy days, you wouldn’t even know that the city is a stone’s throw away!
So, we walked this section of beach yesterday, walking along the tide line, searching for sea glass. I consider it a successful day if I find one piece of blue sea glass, and yesterday I found a handful!
We came home and ordered a carb loaded dinner from a restaurant we haven’t ordered from in years! And it hit all the right spots! Ultimately, it was a really nice day. With my birthdays normally being horrible in some fashion, yesterday gave me hope that I can actually have nice birthdays in the future! So, enough blabbing about beaches and spring weather!!
The other day, I mentioned how I bought a bunch of different game meats from D’Artagnan… they’re not endorsing any of these posts, by the way! Besides the duck and boar, I also purchased rabbit, venison medallions, and ground venison! So, I obviously have several more game recipes coming up.
I had two great ideas for using up the venison, and one of them was this interesting twist on a burger! For a period there, we had burger night once a week to give my son something to look forward to during this pandemic. I pulled it back to every other week toward the end of last year, and in the New Year, I put an end to the regularity and stated we would only have burgers occasionally!
This is not anything like a traditional burger in any means! But, it is certainly a nice change of pace! Back in January, I posted a burger that may just give you a heart attack as you revel in eating every last bite. In addition to topping the burgers with macaroni and cheese, I spread Boursin cheese on the buns… and whoa, game changer! Holy crap was that delicious! So, when I started thinking about making a venison burger, using an herbed goat cheese was an automatic!
To me, raspberry sauce goes really nicely with venison, so that was another element that was a must when making this burger! Topped upon brioche buns with arugula, and easy peasy, a nice twist on a traditional burger! This seriously could not be easier to make. And if you’ve ever had the craving to make a classier burger, here’s your chance!
Enjoy!
Venison Burgers with Goat Cheese, Arugula, & Raspberry Sauce
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 4 burgers 1x
- Category: American, burgers
- Cuisine: Dinner
Ingredients
Venison Patties
1½ lb. ground venison
1 TB balsamic vinegar
½ TB brown sugar
Sauce
8 oz frozen or fresh raspberries
2 TBs balsamic vinegar
¼ cup honey
¼ cup water
salt & pepper
To Serve
4 brioche buns
soft garlic & herb goat cheese
arugula
Instructions
In a medium saucepan, whisk together the balsamic vinegar, honey, and water. Stir in the raspberries and heat over a medium flame. Stirring frequently, cook until the sauce has reduced and turned into a thin syrup ~ about 15 to 20 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, if desired.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, mix together the venison, balsamic vinegar, and brown sugar (NOTE: if the venison is particularly “bloody,” pat it dry with paper towels before adding the balsamic vinegar and brown sugar). Form into four – 6 ounce patties. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. When hot, add the venison burgers and cook 3 to 4 minutes per side ~ depending on desired doneness. Remove from the pan and let rest for about 5 minutes.
While the burgers rest, toast the brioche buns in the pan, working in batches. Spread the tops and bottoms with the goat cheese (NOTE: if needed, microwave the cheese for 15 to 20 seconds to help take the chill out of it and make it more pliable). Place the burgers on the buns and top with a handful of arugula. Drizzle over the raspberry sauce.
Enjoy!
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