Who remembers Fudruckers? The gigantic burgers of the 80’s. I miss that place. It reminds me of my first hamburger experiences as a kid, well outside of McDonalds. There are hundreds of other burger joints now, but it’s still not the same!
The other day, my coworker, (the ever talented and uber intelligent graphic designer Paul G) mentioned that he was making Bison Burgers for dinner. I knew I had definitely heard of bison burgers, but had never tried it, and definitely never tried to make it. The bells in my head started to ring, this should be the next post… Bison Burgers the other red meat. I was gleaming with excitement when I emailed my sister. This is how the conversation went…
“Hey, I am cooking Bison Burgers for dinner tonight. Are you interested?”
“Um, I don’t think so. I don’t think I like deer.”
“No fool, bison as in buffalo, not venison!”
HAHA.
I figured why stop at trying a different meat, I tried to think of the ultimate burger, and this is what I came up with. Check out my layers – ¼ pound Bison Burger, 2 strips of bacon, tomato, field greens, sautéed red onions and baby portabella mushrooms in white zinfandel, smoked provolone cheese, and secret sauce atop a toasted bun… Irresistible.
Bison Burgers
Makes 4 Burgers
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For the burgers:
1 lb Ground Bison Meat (you would be surprised that you can find this at your local supermarket!)
1 small onion, minced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
4 strips of smoked bacon, chopped super fine
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (don’t use olive oil!)
Salt and Pepper to taste
For the sautéed onions and mushrooms:
2 Tablespoons olive oil
½ a big red onion, sliced
6 oz baby portabella mushrooms, sliced
¼ cup wine (We had an open bottle of white zinfandel, so I used that)
For the Secret Sauce
½ cup mayonnaise
2 Tablespoons Honey
3 Tablespoons your favorite BBQ sauce
2 Tablespoons ketchup
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Toppings:
Spring Mix Salad
1 extra large tomato, sliced
¼ pound smoked cheese (we used provolone, but smoked cheddar would have been amazing also), sliced 1/8 inch thick
8 strips of bacon, cooked
4 hamburger buns, toasted
In a medium bowl ,combine meat, onion, garlic, chopped bacon, vegetable oil, salt and pepper. Don’t bother using a wooden spoon or a spatula. Get your hand in there and mix it up good. Divide the meat into 4 equal portions. Shape each portion into patties. Put the patties in the refrigerator until you are ready to grill them. Grill burgers to your liking. About 4-5 minutes on each side. To be safe, burgers should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees.
Toast Hamburger buns. You can do this on the grill or in your toaster oven. I like the toaster oven better, but that is totally up to you!
Heat a small skillet. Add olive oil. Then add red onions. Cook for about 4-5 minutes till onions start to wilt. Add mushrooms and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Then add wine, and let simmer for about 5-6 minutes, stirring frequently. Cook until mushrooms and onions are tender.
For the sauce, in a small bowl, whisk together all ingredients (mayonnaise, honey, bbq sauce, ketchup, Worcestershire). Taste, and add salt and pepper to your desired taste.
Now it’s time for assembly! Spread sauce on both the bottom and top buns. Now the exciting part begins. Put the grilled burger on top of the bottom bun, smoked cheese, tomato, spring mix, sautéed mushrooms and onions, and 2 slices of bacon.
I served this with some French Fries (frozen of course!) that I baked in the oven. It was an amazingly filling meal!