Smoked Elk Burgers

My husband is a huge hunter, and as a result, we have 3 freezers of meat sitting in our garage. One of our favorite staples is good ol’ burgers. The grill and the smoker are Jeremy’s specialty, so he was nice enough to share his secret burger recipe with you all. Without further ado!

Set your meat out on the counter. It needs to rest for around 10 minutes to taste the best. Let me clarify. Please put it on a plate or something that blood won’t drain all over your counter. Don’t set it directly on the counter as I made it sound earlier. Turn the smoker to the notch that says “smoke.” Leave the lid open and let it heat up for 5 minutes. Next, close the lid and turn the heat to 375.

While it’s heating up prepare the meat. Dump whatever meat you are using in a bowl. We typically use elk, but ground antelope, deer, or good ol’ hamburger will do. Crack in 1 egg.

Dice 2 jalapenos and a 1/4 red onion. Dump those in as well. Tip: Jeremy cuts these with disposable gloves so he doesn’t get the juice on his hands. If you do get it on your hands, the easy way to get the burn out is to wash with dishwashing liquid soap.

Here’s the secret sauce. Literally. The sauce. Jeremy doesn’t measure anything out, so as close as I could watch to him dumping it in it’s about 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire, 3 tablespoons of A1, and 1 tablespoon of liquid smoke. This can be adjusted to your individual flavors. He then sprinkles in about 2 tablespoons of the Traeger beef and blackened saskatchewan spices.

The fun part! You get to squish it all together with your hands. Mix it in really good! Jeremy, at this point, adds another tablespoon of liquid smoke. He swears it makes it a difference doing it at the end. Give it another squish or two to mix it in. Place it into whatever size patties you like. If you’re using elk, keep in mind that it is much less fatty and will not shrink up as much as hamburger.

They’re ready for the grill! Your grill temperature gauge should say 375 and smoke should be rolling out the top. Put your patties on and insert the temperature stick. This will show the internal temperature of the meat without having to open the lid and cut one open.

It will take about 20 minutes to cook. When the internal temperature gets to 160, you’re ready! Add some cheese onto the top and let it melt. We like to top the burgers with avocado, tomato, sprouts, spinach, mayonnaise, sriracha sauce, or horseradish.

Smoked Elk Burgers

This smoky and spicy burger will leave your mouth watering for more!

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Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 4

Equipment

• smoker

Ingredients

  

• 1 lb ground elk or antelope, deer, hamburger
• 1 egg
• 2 jalapenos diced
• 1/4 red onion diced
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire
• 3 tbsp A1
• 2 tbsp Liquid Smoke
• 2 tbsp Traegar Beef spice
• 2 tbsp Traegar Blackened Saskatchewan spice

Instructions

 

• Let the meat rest on the counter for 10 minutes. While doing that, set the smoker to the smoke setting with the lid open for 5 minutes.
• Dice the jalapenos and onion. After this, shut the lid of the smoker and turn it to 375.
• Place the meat in a medium size bowl. Crack the egg over it. Add in the jalapenos and onion.
• Pour over the mixture 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire, 3 tablespoons of A1, and ONLY ONE tablespoon of Liquid Smoke. Sprinkle the spices on top.
• Squish all the ingredients together in the bowl until well mixed. Now add in the additional tablespoon of Liquid Smoke and mix. Form into patties.
• Check that the smoker is at 375. Place patties and insert internal temperature gauge if you have one. If not, manually check at around 15 minutes. Once meat is 160, you are ready to eat.
• Top with cheese and allow to melt. Remove from heat and add any other toppings.

Notes

Jeremy likes to do this with disposable gloves to avoid the burn of jalapenos on his hands. 

Keyword elk burger, smoked burger, spicy burger, wild game burger