Baked Venison Burgers and Green Peppers

It is nearing the end of April, and here in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado we just got 12 inches of wet thick snow.  It snowed constantly during all of our daylight hours yesterday, which meant I stayed indoors, and waited for the storm to pass.  Even with a foot of snow on the ground and icicles forming on the eaves we managed to have home-made cheeseburgers.  We didn’t grill outside, or use a George Foreman grill…we baked them!

You can bake burgers all year round, regardless of the weather, and clean-up is so easy when you line your pan with foil.  Not to mention the burgers always come out super juicy. Super juicy. Say it again. Does that not have a certain ring to it? Good or bad, there is something there, for sure.  Okay, moving on…

This recipe works great with either beef or venison- elk or deer.  If you have never considered eating deer or elk you might consider the benefits of venison over beef, as outlined in this article at Outdoor Life. Venison is leaner and contains fewer calories per ounce than beef.  Plus, when you’re hunting your own food, you know where it came from, it’s all-natural, free of antibiotics, organic meat. Did I mention how cheap it is if you harvested the venison yourself? Venison easily comes out to less than a dollar per pound.

For someone who hates cooking, even I can muster the little effort this recipe requires. My threshold is about 15 to 20 minutes prep time, and this recipe comes in under that.

Baked Venison Burgers with Green Bell Peppers

Print Recipe

Easy, delicious, juicy venison cheeseburgers and green bell peppers. Baked, not grilled, with the ease of your kitchen oven or small toaster oven!

Servings	Prep Time
4 burgers	10 minutes

Cook Time

20-30 minutes

Servings Prep Time 4 burgers 10 minutes

Cook Time 20-30 minutes

Baked Venison Burgers with Green Bell Peppers Print Recipe Easy, delicious, juicy venison cheeseburgers and green bell peppers. Baked, not grilled, with the ease of your kitchen oven or small toaster oven! Servings Prep Time 4 burgers 10 minutes Cook Time 20-30 minutes Servings Prep Time 4 burgers 10 minutes Cook Time 20-30 minutes

Ingredients

• 1.5 pounds ground venison or ground beef
• 1/4 cup steak sauce choose your favorite brand
• 1/2 onion diced
• 1 green bell pepper sliced into thin strips
• 4 slices cheese choose your favorite kind
• several of your favorite burger toppings
• several of your favorite condiments

Servings: burgers

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking dish, that has at minimum 1" walls, with foil. In a large bowl mix together ground venison, steak sauce, and diced onions. Form into patties and place in the foil lined baking dish. Put sliced peppers in the spaces between the burgers. They will fry in the juices as the burgers bake. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 160°F and juices run clear (for either beef or venison). Flip the burgers once at their halfway mark. Add cheese slices for the last couple minutes of baking time. Place on hamburger buns with your favorite toppings and condiments. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

*Venison tip: Don't make the patties too large - because it is very lean meat they will not shrink much while cooking.

*Alternative for onions: Instead of mixing the onions into the ground venison, sautee the onions next to green peppers and add to burger as a topping.