This Ground Elk Chopped Cheese is something the New York bodega’s would be jealous of! It is SO easy and delicious and would work with any of the ground big game in your freezer.
The chopped cheese is a relatively new dish to New York, but it is a star when it comes to flavor.
When researching them, I found that many bodegas use turmeric in their ground meat and WOW! What a game changer. To me, it gives it the extra layer of flavor that comes with your favorite greasy burger place. Tumeric is also in Adobo seasoning which was another common theme in both recipes and bodegas. Adobo has turmeric, garlic powder, salt, oregano, and black pepper. It is a phenomenal all purpose seasoning. I used sazon with the addition of onion powder and turmeric. However, I would personally interchange either. Both are delicious and will give you amazing results. AND, if you have a tried and true burger seasoning, you can also use that.
As for toppings, I used the traditional shredded lettuce, tomato, ketchup, and mayo combination. But if you are a mustard guy or pickle fanatic or want to spice it up with some jalapeños or even more onions? Go right on ahead. The fun thing about this dish is it is really hard to mess up. Got your meat too brown? Adds another flavor profile to the dish. Toasted your bread too much? Add more sauce to help soften the bread. It really is fool proof. Plus, it cooks up SO FAST!
Overall, this recipe is amazing because the cheese melts into the meat so every bite is full of cheese-y goodness. The toasted bread gives a little crunch, but is soft and soaks up all of the cheese and juices.
I love burgers and this truly is my new favorite way to make them at home.
Please give this recipe a try! I know it will not disappoint! ENJOY!
Ground Elk Chopped Cheese
Equipment
- bacon press not necessary but helps get your bread toasty
- metal bench scraper again not necessary but makes chopping and mixing easier
- parchment paper and foil not necessary, but helps sub keep its shape
Ingredients
- 1.5 lbs ground elk or venison/big game meat
- 2 T bacon fat or butter for cooking meat
- 4 hoagie buns or 1 loaf of po'boy bread
- 10 slices American cheese I like Sargento
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- seasoning of choice I did salt, pepper, onion powder, sazon, and tumeric.. Can also do adobo
- 4 T butter for toasting bread
- 1-2 tsp minced garlic for toasting bread
Toppings
- shredded lettuce
- tomatoes sliced, seasoned with salt and pepper
- mayo
- ketchup
Instructions
- Start by toasting the bread. Do this by heating a skillet or large enough pan over medium heat. Once hot, add butter and some minced garlic. I did ~1T butter and 1/2 tsp garlic per hoagie. Once the butter is melted, place the inside of the bread face down. I slid the bread around the pan to make sure all the butter was soaked up and then I placed a bacon press on top to flatten the bread some and get a good even browning (~1-2min). Once bread is toasted, set aside.
- In a bowl combine your meat with your seasoning. I used salt, pepper, onion, powder, sazon, and tumeric, but however you like to season your burger meat will work. I have learned that my meat is seasoned enough when it is combined and I can smell seasoning. Game meat does not have a lot of fat, so it takes a bit more seasoning than you think.
- Once combined, form 4 patties. In a skillet over medium-high heat, heat your bacon fat or butter. Once hot, place your patties in and toss in your onions.
- Cook patties for ~3 minutes or until browned and flip and cook for another 3 min.
- Once browned, begin to chop up the meat with your metal bench scraper or spatula.
- Continue to chop and mix until all of your meat is cooked.
- Once cooked, top with the American cheese slices. Let the slices melt a bit.
- Once a bit melted, start chopping and mixing all of the meat and cheese together.
- Assemble your chopped cheese. I like to use tomato, lettuce, mayo, and ketchup and then wrap it in parchment paper and foil. ENJOY!
