Venison Hot Dogs, Burgers and Grinds

Throw on the coals and light up the grill, because it’s time to get cookin'! When cooking hamburgers and hot dogs on the same grill, whether they be venison or otherwise, it’s best to designate certain cooking areas for each. There should always be a hotter and a cooler side of the grill. The hotter side is for the hamburgers, where they can develop that wonderful slightly crunchy seared exterior, and the cooler is where the hot dogs will be more delicately cooked. While you can play pretty fast and loose with hamburger patties in terms of heat, hot dogs need a careful hand and a close eye to ensure optimal results. Cooler temperatures are imperative as they help prevent the cases from bursting. A burst case allows all the moisture and delicious savory juice to leak out, leaving you with a big mess and a dry, lifeless hot dog. Because hot dogs are pre-cooked, you don’t have to worry about reaching a certain temperature your mission is to simply warm them thoroughly, developing a nice color on their exterior and adding to the intrinsic enjoyment of a good dog. With ground venison and venison burger patties, the only thing that’s different from cooking beef, pork, or any of your more familiar generic meats, is to carefully avoid overcooking them. Venison is a lean meat, so cooking to medium or well-done is a bad idea. Go easy on the heat and steer yourself toward medium-rare to rare, this will keep things juicy, moist, and significantly more enjoyable!