Bison Burgers

[DWolf]

I'm fortunate to have access to good quality bison meat. A farmer in Culpepper Virginia sells it a to varitey of local markets.

In addition to the steaks and the basis for the best chili I've ever had, bison makes great burgers. Properly cooked, I think bison burgers are unbelievably good. Try them and enjoy.

Because bison is so lean you have to add fat to the meat to keep it from drying out. I've experimanted with two ways of adding the fat.

The first is to mix in by hand small pieces of butter; the second is to add olive oil. A combination of both seems to work best. Add about 1 TB of butter and 1 TB of olive oil to 1 lb of meat. Don't overwork the meat while mixing it in, just get a reasonably even distribution.

Grill on high heat until medium rare (internal temp about 130). Do NOT overcook or the meat will be dry no matter what you do beforehand.

 

[Mack P. Bray]

DWolf, we enjoy buffalo burgers too. I add fat like you do, and also add lots of black pepper and sometimes diced horseradish cheese. Sometimes a little worcheschire is good. Before they go on, I like to generously sprinkle a little Kosher salt on 'em - not in 'em... Mmmm... Would love to smoke a buffalo chuck roast or prime rib but the prices are sky-high.

 

[DWolf]

Mack..

Thanks for the suggestions about how you cook your burgers. I have some ground bison in the fridge that I'm planning to cook shortly.


Be real careful before smoking bison. Because it's so darn lean it turns into hard rubber really easily. I've tried smoking bison brisket and ribs with no success. The brisket ended up resembling something Goodyear would be proud of, and the ribs were just chewy.

On the plus side.. bison is the best thing I've ever put on a grill. A rare bison steak done Tuscan style makes you realize you don't have to die to go to heaven.

Bison chuck makes the best chili I've ever had. It takes a long time to cook (like 3 hours to get tender) but is well worth it. I make mine with smoked paprika, and the usual combination of garlic and favorite chilis. I've considered putting the chili kettle on the smoker for a couple hours of its cooking time. Might be good thing to do while smoking something else.

 

[Joan]

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