You don’t really think of 1940s teenagers as recipe trendsetters, but that is who came up with this one. It goes back to Hilo, on the Big Island of Hawaii. The story told traces it back to the Lincoln Grill restaurant, where a group of local teenagers wanted something filling and cheap that wasn’t a sandwich.

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Loco Moco is a dish born from hungry teenagers desiring a cheap meal. It works well with any ground big game meat. Images by author

What the restaurant came up with was a pan seared burger patty topped with a rich, oniony brown gravy and a fried egg. Being Hawaii, of course, it was all served over a bed of rice, making it a filling meal that didn’t cost a lot of money.

As with most brilliant recipe ideas, this one spread and now it’s a favorite around the world. We make it with venison burger, and that makes it even tastier.

Start by forming the venison into patties. Season them on both sides with seasoning salt, garlic powder, and black pepper.

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Form the venison into patties and season both sides.

Place the patties in a cold skillet over medium heat. Allow the skillet to come to temperature without moving the patties. Once the meat is sizzling and the burgers have set on one side, flip to sear the other side. Sprinkle each patty with Worcestershire sauce a. Move the cooked patties to a warm plate.

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Pan sear the burgers to your desired doneness level.

Add two tablespoons of butter to the pan and sauté the onion and mushrooms until both are soft.

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Sauté the onions and mushrooms in butter.

Add the soy, Worcestershire, and ketchup to the pan with the mushrooms and onion.

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Mix the corn starch into the beef stock. Pour the mix into the skillet over the onions and mushrooms.

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Thoroughly mix the corn starch into the beef stock before adding it to the pan.

Stir well to blend and bring to a simmer until the gravy thickens. Return the patties to the skillet to warm back through.

To plate, start with a bed of cooked white rice. Top it with a burger, then spoon over some gravy. Make sure you get enough to work its way down into the rice. Top the burger with a fried egg; I like mine soft so that the yolk runs down over the meat and into the rice. Enjoy. If you are still of the age to enjoy a night out on the town (don’t forget, it’s hunting season and you need to be up well before daylight), this is a meal that will cure what ails you before you head to the deer stand or the duck blind.