There's something incredibly satisfying about enjoying a juicy burger on a hot summer day, and if you're looking to take your burger game to the next level, look no further than this Venison Caprese Burger.
This mouthwatering deer burger combines the flavor of ground venison with the classic Italian Caprese salad elements, resulting in a flavorful burger that's nothing short of spectacular!
Why you'll love it
Unique flavor combination: these flavorful burgers are packed with mozzarella, fresh basil, and spices for the best venison burger recipe!
Healthier alternative: lean venison is a healthier a healthier way to enjoy burger night.
Easy and versatile: these ground venison burgers can be made in a flash and can easily be fried in a skillet, made in the air fryer, or broiled in the oven.
Venison Caprese Burger Ingredients
- Ground venison: feel free to use all ground deer meat, or substitute half venison and half ground pork.
- Sun dried tomatoes packed in oil: this is used to make the aioli and added to enhance the flavor of the wild game meat.
- Mozzarella cheese: buy the brick of cheese as you will need to shred and slice cheese for this recipe.
- Fresh basil
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- Garlic powder
- Worcestershire sauce
- Mayonnaise
🔪 Instructions
- Preheat grill to medium-high heat, about 400 degrees F.
- In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise and 2 tablespoons of the sun dried tomatoes. Refrigerate.
- In a large bowl, using your hands, combine ground venison, the remaining sun dried tomatoes, shredded mozzarella cheese, fresh chopped basil, worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper until just combined. Do not over mix.
- Divide burger mixture into 6 equal portions and shape into patties.
- Place burgers on hot grill and cook for 5-6 minutes on each side, until internal temperature registers 160 degrees F.
- When burgers are almost ready, place slices of fresh mozzarella cheese on top of the burger and lower the grill lid to cook another minute until cheese melts.
- Remove burgers from the grill and place on a plate. Allow burgers to set for 5 minutes before serving.
- Serve burgers on grilled bread or burger buns and top with sun dried tomato aioli and fresh basil.
🥄 Equipment
Gas grill
Mixing bowls (you will need 1 large and 1 small bowl)
Grilling spatula
🥫Storage
Refrigerate: store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge up to 4 days.
Freeze: freeze leftover burgers up to 2 months.
Reheat: warm thawed venison burger in a skillet with a little bit of water to create steam, or in the microwave until warmed through.
📖 Variations
Bun Choices: Experiment with different types of buns, from classic sesame seed to brioche, or pretzel bun, to customize your burger experience.
Cheese Varieties: Swap out mozzarella for a slice of american cheese or gorgonzola cheese for a unique twist. You may also opt to use fresh mozzarella cheese slices for topping the burger.
Greens: Add arugula or mixed greens for a peppery kick.
Topping Choices: Drizzle a balsamic glaze over your burger for an extra layer of sweetness and tanginess or swap out the sun dried tomato aioli for a pesto mayonnaise.
Tips
- Enjoy this burger recipe made with ground beef, ground turkey or ground chicken.
- If desired, substitute ½ of the ground venison with ground pork. This adds fat and flavor to the burger recipe and will help prevent it from drying out.
- To prevent the burgers from sticking to the grill grates, before preheating the grill, coat all surfaces of your grates with a high heat cooking oil such canola, peanut oil, or olive oil. You can do this paper towel coated, but not saturated in oil.
Related Recipes
Mediterranean Turkey Burgers are juicy, and delicious!
These Homemade Hamburger Buns are the best and perfect for these Venison Caprese Burgers!
Looking for some super bowl recipes? Then you don't want to miss this post for 14 Delicious ideas for Venison Recipes for Superbowl!
🍽 Serve with..
Serve this Juicy venison burgers with more of your favorite toppings, a side of sweet potato fries or french fries.
When you make this recipe, please comment below and let me know what you think. I'd love it if you tag me on Instagram @honeybunchhunts or #honeybunchhunts so I can see your photos!
If you love this recipe, please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating
📖 Recipe
Caprese Venison Burger
Equipment
- Grill
- BBQ Spatula
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Ingredients
For the Venison Burgers
- 1½ pound ground venison
- ⅓ cup sun dried tomatoes packed in oil
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
- 4 ounces mozzarella cheese shredded
- 4 ounces mozzarella cheese sliced (for topping burger)(optional)
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
Sun Dried Tomato Aioli
- 6 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 2 tablespoons sun dried tomatoes packed in oil
Instructions
- Preheat grill to medium-high heat, about 400 degrees F.
- In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise and 2 tablespoons of the sun dried tomatoes. Refrigerate.
- In a large bowl, using your hands, combine ground venison, the remaining sun dried tomatoes, shredded mozzarella cheese, fresh chopped basil, worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper until just combined. Do not over mix.
- Divide burger mixture into 6 equal portions and shape into patties.
- Place burgers on hot grill and cook for 5-6 minutes on each side, until internal temperature registers 160 degrees F.
- When burgers are almost ready, place slices of fresh mozzarella cheese on top of the burger and lower the grill lid to cook another minute until cheese melts.
- Remove burgers from the grill and place on a plate. Allow burgers to set for 5 minutes before serving.
- Serve burgers on grilled bread or burger buns and top with sun dried tomato aioli and fresh basil.
Jenni
Man, with all the flavor in the patties and piled on top, there is no way this burger isn't a home run!! Looking forward to many more Burger Months with Honey Bunch Hunts!
Gwynn
Can you believe I've never tried venison? But you can be sure I'll be making these venison burgers because they look so delicious and I simply cannot resist them!
Shelby Law Ruttan
Eeks, well, we will remedy that problem Gwynn! I will make sure you get to try some 🙂
Ann from Sumptuous Spoonfuls
I love how you mixed cheese into the burger! And that sundried tomato topping ... OMG. My family hunts and they give me LOTS of ground venison so I'm definitely trying this.
Shelby Law Ruttan
Thanks Ann! I love having plenty of ground venison around, there is so much you can do with it!
Abra
I've never had venison either, but I am loving all of those yummy cheese bits throughout the burger!
Shelby Law Ruttan
Hi Abra! Venison is a great protein. I hope you get a chance to try it out sometime! Thanks for stopping by!
Sarah
That looks amazing. I have never had a venison burger. Also great idea about putting cheese in your burger. Umm.
Shelby Law Ruttan
Hi Sarah! Thank you, as far as I am concerned, the more cheese the better. Yeah. I'm a definite cheese addict!
Laura
Ooooh! I've had venison but never ground venison. This burger is definitely calling my name!
Shelby Law Ruttan
Thanks Laura, I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Angela Paris
I've never had venison before but this looks super tasty!
Pinning for later 🙂
Shelby Law Ruttan
Thanks Angela! It is a must try recipe for sure!
Christie
I have had venison, but wasn't a fan of it. I think if I had some fresh venison it might be different. The bite I had was chewy, tough, and not very good. I'm always open to keep trying things I haven't liked to either change my mind or make sure it's something I don't like. Like salmon. I hope I can find ground venison to try this. If only to make that sauce. It looks killer!!
Shelby Law Ruttan
Hi Christie, sometimes with wild game meat, you may get a "gamey" taste. It's all in how it was processed by the butcher and the conditions it was processed in. However, venison is also very lean, so it will be tough if it is overcooked. It is likely, whoever made the venison you ate, overcooked it. You'll have to come visit and I'll feed you some venison you will love 🙂 As a matter of fact, someone who said they hated venison ate this burger and liked it!