This recipe is from “Changing the Game.” Enjoy.
Liberty Steaks
“Liberty steaks” are what some of our American parents, grandparents, or even great-grandparents called hamburgers during World War II, since there were some claims that this“sandwich” originated in Hamburg, Germany. During WWII no one wanted to stop eating hamburgers, but many thought that this popular food was directly related to our Axis adversaries, so they started passionately referring to them as “liberty steaks.” Incidentally, other claims point to various locations in the United States as the place of origin for the hamburger. It’s often thought they were introduced at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, Missouri, smack dab in the middle of our continental 48. (There! Take that, Axis powers!) There were and still are many different versions of the hamburger, and here I’ve offered two different styles of burgers that use wild game. One uses my Fort Courage Southwest-Style rub, while the other mirrors the grilled large game steaks recipe in Chapter 8 of Changing The Game. These are my contributions to the long history of the hamburger in the good old USA. What’s your contribution going to be?
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- VERSION 1
- 2 pounds ground venison or large game with a small percentage of pork mixed in, or lean beef
- 1/3 cup Craig's Fort Courage Southwest-Style Rub use up to 1/2 cup if desired
- 1 cup finely chopped red onion
- 1/2 cup water
- sea salt to taste
- VERSION 2
- 2 pounds ground venison or large game with a small percentage of pork mixed in, or lean beef
- 1/2 cup water
- sea salt to taste
- freshly ground black pepper to taste (FGBP)
- granulated garlic to taste
Instructions
- For Version 1, thoroughly mix all the ingredients except the salt. For Version 2, thoroughly mix only the water and the ground meat. Form into half to three-quarters of an inch-thick patties.
- Sprinkle the desired amount of salt onto both sides of each patty, and for Version 2, add the desired amount of FGBP and granulated garlic as well.
- Preheat your grill to medium-high. Grill the patties to the desired doneness, flipping at least once after 2 to 4 minutes. Finish cooking to desired doneness. Grilling time will be dependent upon the thickness of your patties and the BTU output of your grill.
- Serve on lightly toasted buns or bread with your desired condiments.
Notes
Suggested sides: Coffee Dawg, Craig’s American Dressing (see that recipe post), onions sautéed in butter and oil, French fries, onion rings, tossed salad.
Suggested pairings: Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Merlot, Cuvée
