Bison Burgers

Bison Burgers

Bison! It’s all the rage, people love eating it. My brother swears by it and gets bison filets every week. By now, everyone knows the tragic story of the bison. It was hunted to near extinction by settlers in the 1800’s in the flatlands of the midwest. In fact, folks would shoot from their trains when it would stop just to kill a few bison on their trip.

But you have the health food craze to thank for the resurgence of the bison, since it’s not bred to be fatty like cattle it is much leaner and nutrient dense than traditional cattle. Whenever there is a meat that is deemed “healthy”, people will go in droves to get that meat, and that’s what has happened with the bison.

Bison burgers are now all the rage, because who doesn’t love a burger that they can self talk themselves that is healthy? This is a simple dish with onions and apples mixed that accent the gamey flavor of bison. Topped with a nice slice of gouda cheese, you have yourself a treat.

Some Fun Bison Facts (because who doesn’t want to know more about the bison?)

– They are good swimmers

– They travel in herds (duh)

– American Bison is easier to tame than its European brethren.

– The bison bottleneck of the 1800’s reduced the American Bison population to 541. To save the population some of these bisons were bred with cattle to make “Beefalo”

– They can get up to a speed of 35 mph and have an uneven temperament, so stay the eff away if you don’t want to get gored.

– The name buffalo for bison is actually scientifically incorrect, the bison is only a distant relative to actual buffalos which are the Asian or African Buffalo.

Now go and be bold in your bison burger consumption.

Recipe

1 Pound of Ground Bison Meat

1/4 Cup Finely Diced Red Onions

1/4 Cup Finely Chopped Peeled Apples

2 Tsp. Salt

1 Tsp. Pepper

2 Tsp. Cumin

2 Tsp. Garlic Powder

2 Tbsp. Butter

Method

Mix all of the ingredients together aside from the butter. Form the meat into medium sized meatballs. In a frying pan, heat your first tablespoon of butter. As it begins to foam, begin to add your first batch of meatballs to the pan, then using a potato masher smash the meatballs into flat patties. Allow the first side to brown, this will help you keep the shape. Then quickly flip the patty. It’s okay if this side isn’t perfectly browned. Lay these patties on a flat baking sheet.

Once you’ve made all your patties, broil them in the oven for about a minute on high to allow a good caramelization of the meat. If you are making just one or two patties you can skip this step, just cook it to whatever level of doneness you want. You can freeze the rest of the meat blend if you want to just make one or two.

I didn’t have buns, so I used Persian Barbari Bread which is just as good if not more delicious! But sadly not as cute for photos. Enjoy with a delicious carbonated beverage.