Bison Burgers

[The Supper Model]

I've been cooking with Bison for the past few days, but I'm just not getting the kind of kick or moisture from the meat that I want. Been testing recipes for bison burgers and sliders and what I've got is good but not out of the park great.

Any advice on how to make a bangin bison burger?

I've been using 100% grass fed antibiotic free ground bison meat from Wild Idea Buffalo Company.

[conor610]

Don't overcook it, or over-work the meat. Med rare is the most you can cook it for it to be juicy. Season the meat while mixing it, before forming the patties, too.

If all else fails, a fried egg on top can hide many flaws!

[annachan]

Add butter!

[Mjx]

Might be a good idea to add some fat... what fat percentage does it contain?

[Deus Mortus]

Generally you want to wrap bison in something fatty like bacon, bison have a lot less fat then cows so it tends to dry out, wrapping it with bacon or stomach lining helps.

[The Supper Model]

Agree on the butter and adding fat content.

Any ideas for spices or flavorings?

Thanks so much.

[Deus Mortus]

Generally just salt and pepper does it, but what I like with meat is a bit of anise, it really brings out meaty flavors and if you have a good piece of bison, you don't want to temper with it to much. Salt, pepper and if you really want some anise and/or chili.

[AAQuesada]

From Ideas in Food, on doctoring up burgers: their suggestion was butter and onion juice. The onion juice seems to bump up the savory-ness

[Mjx]

Agree on the butter and adding fat content.

Any ideas for spices or flavorings?

Thanks so much.

I'm partial to a lot of black pepper, rosemary, and possibly some roasted garlic. Deus Mortus's, anise suggestion sounds good really good (I'm going to keep it in mind for the next batch of burgers I make), but only if you like licorice-y notes.

[heidih]

I thought the appeal of bison was its very leanness. Adding fat in would seem to defeat this. Does it have a unique flavor that would make someone select bison over beef and make adding fat make sense?

[gdenby]

Ground bison is fairly hard to keep moist. As above, the first thing to consider is adding butter.

I've heard mentioned that "Cook's Illustrated" considered adding gelatin to ground bison. I don't know what method they might have used. I have added a bit of my own beef stock, which is heavy with gelatin, and it improved the texture, but was too strong of a beef flavor with the mild bison.

I often mix it 75% - 25% with pork or lamb, which adds just enough fat to make a good burger.

I find that bison tastes rather sweet, and so I sometimes add bits of dried fruits. Cherries are nice. I've also added a bit of apple wine.

[Deus Mortus]

I thought the appeal of bison was its very leanness. Adding fat in would seem to defeat this. Does it have a unique flavor that would make someone select bison over beef and make adding fat make sense?

It has a nice mild gamey flavor and is slightly sweet, I found it perfect for converting vegetarians who found beef to beefy.

I personally wouldn't add onions or onion juice, I would think it would quickly overpower the flavor of the meat.

[Dejah]

Cook over medium heat and never beyond medium doneness. I usually add shredded mild cheese, such as Monterey Jack.

We don't make many burgers, but we do BBQ NY strips. Again, a shake of Montreal Steak Spice, then grilled to med. rare on medium heat. Perfection each time: tender, juicy...

[deepfryerdan]

If you season with just salt and pepper you can leave it up to each person eating the burger to add their own spices before consumption. I prefer onion powder, seasoned salt, and pepper but my wife only likes the addition of salt and pepper. Good choice, btw, by going with bison.. I LOVE bison burgers!

[Deus Mortus]

If you season with just salt and pepper you can leave it up to each person eating the burger to add their own spices before consumption. I prefer onion powder, seasoned salt, and pepper but my wife only likes the addition of salt and pepper. Good choice, btw, by going with bison.. I LOVE bison burgers!

I would personally just go with different sauces then, a lot of people get intimidated by spices and tend to add too much or too little, while everyone is comfortable with sauce.

[AAQuesada]

btw, you don't actually taste any of the onion juice in the burger. That would be gross, just acts to boost the natural flavor of the meat IME.

[heidih]

The June edition of Sunset magazine features bison burgers which include 1/4 c. quick cooking rolled oats to one pound of ground bison. The only seasoning is salt and pepper and a few tablespoons of ale.

[jmbuehler]

Do you have access to sous vide cooking appliances? 51-52C and a quick high heat sear should set you in the perfect temperature range.

I haven't used bison yet, but when making my own ground beef from leaner cuts I tend to grind chunks of butter right in with the meat, so I'm not left with gaps once the butter has melted from the pattie.

Adding a minute amount of ground anchovy to your pattie will aid the umami aspect of your flavour profile, but make sure to go very easy on them.

Make sure to let us know how it went and what did the trick to go from good to 'out of the park' fantatstic!