These little nuggets of delight are perfect for entertaining a crowd of hunters – or in this case, football fans. That’s what I was doing when I served these a couple weeks ago. We had a group of friends over to watch the first Carolina game of the season, and these were a hit. I have always been a fan of making a handful of hearty appetizers when entertaining a crowd, rather than worry about making one big dish and hope it comes out as tasty as I had planned. Or, trying to coordinate pulling it out of the oven/off the grill during half time so as to not disturb the boys who can’t peel their eyes away from ESPN. Never fear! These bite-sized snacks are like little cheeseburgers, and are the perfect compliment to a few chilly beers and an evening of football, or post-hunt downtime.

I assembled them ahead of time and popped them in the oven as everyone was arriving, serving them hot and melty just as we were finishing our first beverage. I actually made two versions, as you will see below, and both were equally well There are many ways you can change up or add to the ingredients to suit your taste buds since they are so easy, but they were fantastic as-is, and quite a hit!

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 lb venison sausage, browned
1/2 lb ground venison, browned
1 medium sweet onion, caramelized
1 tbsp Italian seasoning – fresh basil would be great, too
2 packages of pre-baked phyllo shells (36 shells)
1/2 cup shaved Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup sliced sharp white cheddar cheese
salt & pepper to taste

STEPS:

1. In separate batches, brown the ground venison and the sausage (make sure you have removed it from its casing) in a little bit of olive oil, salt and pepper, until it is no longer pink. Set aside.

2. In the same skillet, caramelize the thinly chopped onion in olive oil and butter until brown and tender, about 25 minutes. While the onion is doing its thing, remove the phyllo shells from the freezer and arrange on a large baking sheet, and pre-heat the oven according to package instructions. Even though they are pre-baked, I put them in the oven for about 5 minutes before filling them to give them some extra crispiness and warmth.

3. Time to fill the shells! Take half of the onion and mix it with the venison sausage, and mix the other half with the ground meat. Spoon about a tablespoon into each shell, filling half with the sausage and half with the ground meat. Next – the cheese! Just to keep things interesting, I topped the sausage bites with shaved Parmesan, and used the cheddar slices for the “burger” bites.

4. Pop those puppies in the oven at 350* for about 10 minutes, or until the cheese has become gooey and melty and you want to reach into the oven and snag one. Just for a taste. To make sure they’re not poisonous for everyone else, right? Look at what a good friend you are.

5. You’re not done yet. For the two minutes or so, turn the broiler on high so the cheese starts to bubble and turn golden brown on top. Now we’re talking.

6. Remove from the oven, and serve immediately! Well, maybe put them on a serving platter first. That’s probably a better idea. So plate them up, and serve immediately! That’s better. We also had mini sandwiches, dip, cheese and crackers, pretzels and honey mustard… You name it. Oh, and venison pizza.*