Buffalo Burger Recipes
The Healthy Alternative to Regular Burgers!
In our search for great buffalo burger recipes we came up with several recipes. Not only do buffalo or bison burgers taste great, but they are a much healthier option, as well. I personally find that I do not have that “over-full” or stuffed feeling from properly prepared buffalo burgers.
Not all restaurants handle their buffalo in a health conscious manner, I know one nearby that actually grinds beef fat into their burgers. Not that this is all bad, but it negates the healthy aspects of the buffalo or bison burgers. Here we will give you recipes, options and techniques to optionally add healthy fats and flavors at the same time.
One challenge to understand when cooking buffalo or bison is as a lean meat, it can be dry if cooked well done. This is true ground or in the steak form. So although the USDA recommends cooking to 160 degrees I like to cook mine medium. Another way of helping avoid dryness is to incorporate another and healthier fat into the meat, I like to use olive oil. We also like to sauté onions or garlic with the olive oil so it brings great flavors to the buffalo burger too. The following is our basic guideline for this technique.
1 lb ground buffalo or bison 90 percent lean
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup finely chopped onion
2-3 cloves of garlic finely chopped
Place the olive oil in a sauté pan and heat to medium heat, add the onion and sauté for two minutes. Add the garlic and lower the heat stir until the onions and the garlic are soft and onions clear. Turn off the heat and cool. I recommend using three tablespoons of oil. If the onions and garlic start to look a little dry add one more tablespoon of oil. Cool the mixture down. When cooled gently mix this into the ground buffalo or bison. Make your patties not compressing them too much, just enough that they hold together.
Buffalo Burger Recipes
Greek Style Buffalo Burger
We love Greek food and this buffalo burger recipe brings in some of those great flavors, even if this is not standard fare in Greece. We entered this recipe in the LA Times Battle of the Burgers.
Serves four
1 lb. ground buffalo or bison 90 percent lean
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup finely chopped onion
3 cloves of garlic finely chopped
½ teaspoon oregano preferably Greek,
4 high quality Hamburger buns or Ciabatta will do as well.
4 slices of provolone cheese
4 teaspoons feta cheese
4 thin slices red onion
4 Romaine lettuce leaves
4 slices ripe tomatoes more if the tomatoes are small.
Place the olive oil in a sauté pan and heat to medium heat, add the onion and sauté for two minutes. Add the garlic and oregano and lower the heat stir until the onions and the garlic are soft and onions clear. Turn off the heat and cool. I recommend using three tablespoons of oil. If the onions and garlic start to look a little dry add one more tablespoon of oil. Cool the mixture down. When cooled gently mix this into the ground buffalo or bison. Make your buffalo burger patties by not compressing them too much, just enough that they hold together. Chill the patties.
Prepare your grill, while that is heating up prepare your veggies, warm your buns (hamburger buns that is) and prep your Tzatziki Sauce if you are making your own. Trader Joes stores have a pretty decent Tzatziki is you are lucky enough to have one near by. Many markets now sell Tzatziki.
Grill your burgers, I do not recommend more than medium with Buffalo. Put nice grill marks on and on the final turn, place the sliced provolone cheese on top and cover the grill to melt the cheese. Take them off and assemble the burgers. Sprinkle the feta on the burgers, place around a teaspoon of the Tzatziki on each burger and the veggies. Hope you enjoy your Greek style buffalo burger as much as we did!
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