Summer is the best time to go through your freezer and take inventory of wild game. There is usually lots of ground meat, and if you aren’t going through larger cuts, you can make more hamburger.

Burger rolls are easy to make and if you don’t like blue cheese, feel free to stuff with your preferred type. If you use a hard cheese, like cheddar, just grate the cheese before adding it to the roll. Feel free to try mustard, relish, pickles, and onions in the roll to customize your signature log.

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ lbs elk, ground
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup breadcrumbs
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• ½ cup blue cheese, crumbled
• 3 tbsp chives, chopped fine
• 6 slices bacon
• 3 tbsp barbeque sauce

Directions:

1. Thaw elk in the fridge and drain off any extra liquid.
2. In a large bowl, blend eggs, breadcrumbs, garlic, pepper, and paprika. Add ground meat and mix well.
3. Lay out a large piece of plastic wrap on a cutting board. Place the meat mixture on the plastic wrap and spread it into a rectangle about 1 ½ cm thick.
4. Spread crumbled blue cheese in a line about 1/3 of the way from the bottom of the ground meat rectangle. Evenly distribute chives on the remainder of the meat.
5. Take the bottom edge of the plastic wrap and fold the meat to cover the blue cheese. Use the plastic wrap to help roll the meat into a log. When done, twist and seal the ends so the cheese can’t melt out.
6. Lay bacon strips side by side. Remove the plastic wrap and set the meat roll on the bottom edges of the bacon. Slowly roll the meat to fully wrap it in bacon.
7. Preheat smoker or barbecue to 350°F. Place the elk roll in the centre of the grill and leave for 10 to 12 minutes. The bacon should start to brown. Carefully turn the elk roll and cook for another 10 to 12 minutes.
8. Brush your favourite barbecue sauce over the top and edges of the roll and cook for another two minutes.
9. Remove from heat and let the roll rest for a couple of minutes before cutting. Slice and serve like meatloaf or put it in a bun and dress it up like a burger.

Tip: To prevent flareups from the bacon, place the elk roll on the top rack in your barbecue and use a drip tray under it. If you use a smoker, the long, slow cooking process will add flavour, and the bacon renders slowly meaning it doesn’t flare.