Buffalo Burgers? Your input

[Mylegsbig]

What do you know about buffalo burgers? do you like them? what is best way to cook these indoors?

my girl is always hyping about them.

She says her mom told her something that you have to add something to the meat to make it keep moist or something because it's too lean?

what do you season your buffalo burgers with?

what does the meat taste like?

Whats the best type of cheese on a buffalo burger?

Any miscellaneous facts throw em at me.


Cheers

 

[Andy M.]

I've never been that keen on them. You could cook a buffalo burger and pass it off as beef. Most people wouldn't notice. Do what you like for beef to the buffalo.

It is a very lean meat so you have to be careful not to dry it out. Cook it quickly to medium rare or less. Don't press down on the burger while cooking as it forces out all the juices.

 

[scott123]

I've purchased a bunch of different brands of ground buffalo, both fresh and frozen, and they didn't seem that lean to me. No leaner than, say, 90% lean beef, but probably more in the 85% realm.

Ground buffalo, for me, is almost indistinguishable from ground beef in flavor. Maybe just a little bit 'darker' in taste, kind of like the 'darkness' you get with a filet mignon. I'm pretty sure that if you put a buffalo burger next to a hamburger in a taste test, most people wouldn't be able to taste the difference.

This being said, it is a nice change in pace to have a buffalo burger every once in a while.

 

[Barbara L]

I love buffalo. I haven't had it in a few years (hard to find here), but I can't remember cooking burgers any differently than with beef. My favorite thing to make with ground buffalo is meatloaf (I call it "Buffaloaf.") It has much less fat, so it doesn't shrink, and it really holds its shape when it cooks.

Barbara

 

[buckytom]

legs, we buy buffalo meat often, directly from the rancher thru a co-worker that lives across a stream from the ranch. i've found the flavor to be much like beef, but i think it is different enough to be able to tell them apart. slightly gamier. (a restaurant owner/friend says some places try mixing buffalo with cheap beef to save money and add some fat.)
like scott said, i've found most pure ground buffalo to be about 90% lean. but do not try to cook them well done. you can cook them forever until they dry out like a puck, but they'll still be a little pinkish inside. so just go by the "feel", ya know, like the heel of your palm, to tell when they're done.
i've wanted to try something someone here mentioned. gonna put a pat of frozen butter in the middle of the burger, see if it helps the juiciness.

 

[Consul]

Okay, you say "buffalo burgers" and my first thought is, "burgers could be good tossed in hot sauce."

See what this addiction has done to me?!

 

[Michael in FtW]

Buffalo is very lean .... aka very little fat. I think it has a little lighter (sweeter) taste than beef .... but if your going to douse it with steak sauces, etc. you probably don't notice the difference. Some people think it has a "gamey" taste ... I'm guessing it is because they knew what they were eating before they tasted it. Grass fed Angus beef taste just as "gamey".

Buffalo is also more tender than beef.

As for cooking ... just treat it like you would a very lean cut of beef.

 

[Erik]

I used to work with a chef that lived for Buffalo...this when I was first cooking professionally, about 15 years ago.

I learned a lot of good recipes from him, very resourceful, and flavorful meat!!!

 

[kitchenelf]

I'd say that the #1 thing you need to watch is the "doneness" - medium rare and no more. I have added a little olive oil, smooshed fresh garlic with kosher salt, Worcestershire and some horseradish - gives it a nice flavor. But that's how I make my burgers too.

 

[jpmcgrew]

That is all we eat here.The proccesser will ask us how what % pork fat we want in the ground meat we go about 5 % if there is no fat and Im frying them in a pan I put some canola oil in pan the meat seems to soak it up I bet you could mix a little olive oil in the meat to moisten it or what I have done with pure ground venison with no fat is to mix in a little hamburger meat in to add a little fat to it.And of course dont overcook.

 

[Raine]

Love buffalo burgers. Just do them like you would beef.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I find the meat just a bit lean and so add an egg, per/lb. of bison meat. I sometimes add reconstituted TVP granules or add nourishment and texture improvement, but at no more that 1/3 TVP for 2/3 meat. This is especialy useful if you're going to use the bison in any recipe that would use browned ground beef, as in tacos, enchilada pie, lasagna, etc.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[Otter]

On the few occasions I've had it, I put a pat of butter in the center, same as I do with lean ground beef. Buffalo is extremely expensive here and not all that fresh, so I personally stick to hamburger most of the time.

 

[AllenOK]

That is all we eat here.The proccesser will ask us how what % pork fat we want in the ground meat we go about 5 % if there is no fat and Im frying them in a pan I put some canola oil in pan the meat seems to soak it up I bet you could mix a little olive oil in the meat to moisten it or what I have done with pure ground venison with no fat is to mix in a little hamburger meat in to add a little fat to it.And of course dont overcook.

Hey, jpmcgrew, I just noticed you're from Raton, NM. Do you know where your supplier is getting his buffalo? By any chance, is it from the Philmont herd?

Only reason I ask, is I worked out there in the CHQ kitchen the summer of '92. I know the ranch would slaughter some buffalo every week. When we made meatloaf, it was usually a 50/50 mix of ground beef and ground buffalo.

 

[pdswife]

On the few occasions I've had it, I put a pat of butter in the center, same as I do with lean ground beef. Buffalo is extremely expensive here and not all that fresh, so I personally stick to hamburger most of the time.

I like the butter idea. I'll have to try that some time soon.

 

[BlueCat]

We have a herd of buffalo at work (believe it or not) so I just can't eat a buffalo burger, knowing them as I do.

BC

 

[jpmcgrew]

Hey ALLEN MI

I live at Vermejo Park Ranch just west of Raton its a fishing and hunting guest ranch some of the hunters want to get a buffalo and alot of times they dont want the meat so we get it for free and just pay the 69 cents to have it processed the ranch has no cattle as Ted Turner owns it and only wants Bison.

 

[AllenOK]

OIC

I made it into Raton a few times when I had the time off. I remember there was a shopping center on the south side of town (I think), I know it had a K-mart, and there was a colony of prarie dogs that had started a town in the grass between the parking lot and the sidewalk. Are they still there?

 

[jpmcgrew]

Hey ALLEN MI

I dont think they are there any more but we have alot of them here they aren't to popular with the locals as their holes break horses legs and they can be carriers of the black plague which tends to pop up once in awhile in New Mexico. Once in a while a human will contract it but it can also kill dogs and cats as it is transmitted by flea bites.

 

[62Gidget]

Buffalo or Beef

Mix in some worchestershire sauce. Cook fairly rare in a little butter. Top with blue cheese & some carmelized onions on a good quality wheat bun. Add any other condiments you like, mayo, bbq sauce, tomatoe & lettuce. It is juicy & messy but oh so tasty. Makes for a really hearty meal. Best to use a cast iron skillet or broil.