Burgers and sweet corn–what says summer more than those two?  We had the great fortune of sharing a dinner on the patio with two great friends, Chuck & Tara, who happen to be outstanding home cooks.   Tara’s dad procured some venison with his superb hunting skills and local farmers provided most of the produce we enjoyed.

Sweet Corn Salad

Ingredients

• 4-6 ears sweet corn
• jalapeno
• red bell pepper
• 1/2 medium sweet onion
• pancetta (or bacon)
• olive oil
• salt & pepper

Instructions

1. Toss the corn, husk and all, on the grill heated to medium.  Five minutes later toss on the jalapeno & bell pepper.  No need to oil anything yet, just set a timer for 10 minutes and when it goes off take the charred veggies off the grill.  Put the peppers in a bowl and cover tightly with a lid or plastic wrap.
2. Cook the pancetta (or bacon) in a pan until crispy and drain on paper towels.  Discard all but a couple teaspoons of the grease.
3. Saute the onion in the pork grease until translucent.
4. While the onions saute, peel the skin from the peppers, remove their seeds & stems, then chop finely.
5. The corn should be cool by now so peel the husk & remove the silk.  The silk usually slides right out when the corn cools a bit because it pretty much steams inside the husk.  See why we didn’t mess with it earlier?  Cut the corn off the cob–I like to do this by placing the stem end inside a bundt pan and cutting down the sides.  Thanks, Alton, for the trick!
6. Combine all ingredients with a bit of olive oil, salt & pepper to taste.

We garnished with a basil flower stem, but anything green would be perfect.

Venison Burgers

SPREAD:

• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• juice & zest of 1 lime
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• sprinkle of sugar

Combine all ingredients, cover and refrigerate until serving.

BURGERS:

• 1 bunch green onions, chopped
• 3 Tbsp yogurt
• 2 Tbsp jalapeno pepper,  finely chopped
• 1 egg
• 1 piece of dry bread torn up into small pieces
• salt & pepper
• 2 pounds ground venison
• some good cheddar slices

Combine ingredients & shape into patties. Chill for a few hours to set them. Pan-fry, grill or broil until meat is no longer pink. Serve on buns; top with cheese and mayonnaise mixture.