Cooking with Kokanee Quinn: The Perfect Game Day Venison Sweet Onion Bourbon Burger

Once again, resident flavor-hunter Kokanee Quinn scoured the darkest, hungriest corners of the internet in search of the ultimate recipe. The mission was to find a burger that respects wild game without letting it dry out into a hockey puck.

The verdict is in, and Quinn hit absolute pay dirt with this gem sourced from Mossy Oak: the Venison Sweet Onion Bourbon Burger.

Wild game gets a bad rap for being too lean, but this recipe fixes that with a double-whammy of bourbon—spiking both a homemade barbecue sauce and a pile of fire-kissed caramelized onions. It’s smoky, sweet, boozy, and dangerously good.

The DIY Bourbon BBQ Sauce

(Or cheat with your favorite bottled sauce—we won’t judge, but Quinn might.)

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup all-natural ketchup
• ½ cup water
• ½ cup fresh brewed coffee (or extra water)
• ½ cup bourbon
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
• ⅓ cup molasses
• ½ tsp fine sea salt & ½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
• ½ tsp garlic powder & ½ tsp onion powder
• ½ tsp chili powder (plus 1 tsp red chili flakes if you like a kick)

The Meat & Patty Mix

• 2 lbs ground venison (or game meat of choice)
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• ¼ cup sweet onion, finely minced
• ½ tbsp cracked pepper & 1 tsp sea salt
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder & 1 tsp onion powder

Bourbon-Grilled Onions

• 1 sweet onion, sliced paper-thin
• ¼ cup bourbon
• 1 tsp cracked pepper
• 1 tbsp oil

The Classic Fixings

• Crisp lettuce, ripe tomatoes, raw onion rings, sliced cheese, and a generous smear of mayo.

How to Build a Legend

1. Respect the Patty Chill

Throw your ground venison and all patty seasonings into a large glass bowl and gently mix. Grab a baseball-sized portion, roll it up, and slap it onto a sheet of parchment paper. Press down while cupping the edges with your free hand to shape a clean, uniform patty. Repeat until the meat is gone, then put them in the fridge for 30 minutes. Don’t skip this step—chilling is the secret to keeping lean wild game from falling apart on the grates.

2. Flame & Patience

Crank your grill to high. Lay the patties down and step away. Leave them alone for five minutes, then flip them once. Just once! No smashing them with the spatula and squeezing out those precious juices. Cook to your preferred level of doneness and pull them off.

3. Fire Up the Onions

Set a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat with a splash of oil and toss in your sliced onions. Let them start to break down for a minute, pour in the ¼ cup of bourbon, and carefully ignite the alcohol. Once the flames die down, sprinkle with cracked pepper and sauté until soft, sweet, and golden-brown.

4. Simmer the Sauce

In a separate saucepan, bring the bourbon to a boil (or light it up for 30 seconds to burn off the booze). Whisk in the rest of the sauce ingredients, bring it back to a gentle boil, then drop the heat to low. Simmer and stir frequently until it thickens into a glossy, sweet-and-smoky glaze.

The Verdict

Stack that chilled-then-seared patty on a toasted bun, top it with a slice of melted cheese, slap on the fixings, and smother it in bourbon onions and rich sauce. Kokanee Quinn didn’t just find a dinner recipe; Quinn found a reason to go hunting for more venison.