By Ambassador Jimmy Jones, @huntfishfeed
When it comes to quick and easy meals, it doesn’t get much better than a grilled cheese sandwich. Unfortunately, they just don’t seem to stick to my ribs. Within an hour of eating a sandwich, I always find myself rummaging through my pantry to find something else to subside my hunger. A few weeks ago on a chilly Ohio Sunday afternoon, I decided I’d make some grilled cheese sandwiches for my family. I set the bread aside, grabbed some butter, and reached for the cheese.
That is when I saw it - thawed ground venison sitting in my refrigerator. How I had never thought of combining ground venison into my grilled cheese sandwiches before now is beyond me, but I sure am glad I finally had the epiphany. This is not only a recipe that can help to incorporate venison into a quick 15 minute meal, but it is a great recipe to introduce folks to wild game.
Ingredients for 4 sandwiches:
½ lb ground venison
1 minced shallot or ¼ sweet onion minced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3 tablespoons pesto
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
Pepper to taste
8 slices of your favorite cheese (I use one slice of pepper jack and one slice of cheddar on each sandwich).
8 slices of bread
2 tablespoons of butter
Instructions:
1. Brown ground meat in a skillet with shallot or onion, minced garlic, pesto, Italian seasoning, and pepper. Drain excess fat.
2. With a butter knife, spread butter on one side of each slice of bread.
3. Please four slices of bread, buttered side down, in skillet.
4. Add one slice of cheese to each piece of bread that is in the skillet.
5. Equally divide ground meat mixture and place on all four slices.
6. Top meat mixture with remaining four slices of cheese.
7. Top with four remaining pieces of bread, buttered side up.
8. Heat skillet to low heat and cook sandwiches.
9. Flip sandwiches with a spatula when bottom slices of bread are golden brown.
10. Once both sides of sandwiches are golden brown. Remove from heat, slice in half and serve.