Whether you’re a diehard face-painting fan ready for the big Super Bowl clash or a casual fan who likes a little football and good food, this weekend is one of the best.
The ramp-up to the National Football League’s annual championship game is monumental. Tons of print and online stories, of course, and folks wanting to know how does it cost for a Super Bowl commercial? (Answer: $4.5 million per 30-second spot!) Overdone, but that’s what TV does to make money: ramp, hype, promote, tease, and so on. Given the amount of interest, money, ratings and, this season, the top teams in the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, it could be a pretty good game.
Yes, we’ll have bags of chips and bowls of dip. Salsa and pico de gallo. Guacamole (make it fresh; easy, and better). Crock Pots full of a hearty stew or a good venison chili. Wings … glorious, fatty, delicious, crispy-skinned wings. Poppers and hot bites and all kinds of goodies.
Go the extra mile for your friends and family with venison on the smorgassboard this weekend. Make some venison chili, lay out some snack sticks or summer sausage with crackers. Whip up some of the best venison burgers or slow-cooked venison burritos and make ’em forget about the game. Break out the big guns for great venison chili or a nice venison stew.
You probably won’t have time to make this before kickoff time for this matchup of super teams, but this Venison Cheddar Jalapeno summer sausage from Weston Products is a knockout. Yum. The recipe calls for elk (which is fantastic) but you can sub with whitetail.
And don’t forget these fantastic venison meatballs!
Check the links above for recipes, and enjoy a few more recipes below from our DDH crew:
Teriyaki Burgers
Yes, it’s easy to look at the accompanying ingredient list and do a double-take. Tapioca? That’s no typo.
Tapioca is the critical ingredient D&DH Editor-in-Chief Dan Schmidt and his wife, Tracy, uses when making burgers from lean ground meat like venison. It doesn’t change the flavor of the burger, and it goes a long way to help hold the meat together when grilling. Venison is extremely lean, and it needs a little help with moisture so it doesn’t fall apart when cooking.
Tracy Schmidt first learned of this trick when experimenting with an old chili recipe that incorporated it as a thickening agent. Try it the next time you make burgers. You’ll be glad you did.
1 lb. ground venison
1 Tbsp tapioca
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
1/4 cup scallions, sliced
1/4 cup sweet green pepper, minced
Hamburger buns
Mix the first five ingredients and let stand for 10 minutes. Press into patties, and cook in skillet or on grill until cooked through.
— By Tracy Schmidt, author of Venison Wisdom, available here
Tzatziki with Venison
Ben Sobieck, one of our online product managers, said he enjoys this Tzatziki with Venison from Stacy Harris and has added his own spin to it.
Harris, by the way, is the author of three great cookbooks that you should check out here, here and here. She lives in Alabama with her family who is in love with the outdoors, growing healthy vegetables and living sustainably.
Here’s Sobiek’s spin on her recipe: “I used a pita instead of bread squares, store bought tzatziki instead of making my own and added spinach leaves. Other than that, the recipe is the same, and her dry rub is incredible. That’s some gourmet finger food right there, ladies and gentlemen.”