Sunday, May 10, 2009

Shuffalo Burger - Sheep Feta Stuffed Bison

This is really just a re-visitation of the Gorgonzola stuffed burgers I made a couple weeks ago. This time, however, I found some ground bison.

OK, Fun facts about Bison... The way Beef SHOULD taste. Ounce for ounce, Bison is 30% higher in protein than Beef, and contains less cholesterol than Chicken (with the skin removed, even)

3 oz of Bison contains 93 Calories; 1.8g of Fat; 43mg Cholesterol

3 oz of Beef contains 183 Calories; a whopping 8.7g of Fat; 55mg of Cholesterol

Persons who have Beef allergies, do not experience a reaction when eating Bison. All this, AND it was actually cheaper than the 90/10 ground beef! So I happily tossed a Bison into my cart and toddled on down the aisle, only to discover sheep milk feta was on sale. Then the wheels started turning... This however did not slow down my shopping expedition.

Upon grabbing milk I happened to notice something different stashed in among the various little containers of Yogurt...

Yep, a small single serving size Greek yogurt!!! Just enough to make tzatziki for a single meal. Woo Hoo!!

So the wheels in my head finally stopped on Feta burgers with tzatziki. Cause that way I got to play with my little BBQ grill.

Shuffalo Burger


1 lb Ground Bison
1 egg
2 TB Panko
Kosher Salt and Pepper

For Stuffing:
Sheep Feta
Lemon Zest
Oregano
Thyme
Garlic powder

I simply followed the same procedure that I did for the Gorgonzola burgers.

Mix the egg, Salt and Pepper into the ground bison, then add the panko and mix again.
Divide into 4 equal portions, then divide each of those in 1/2

Divide each one of those into two pieces and flatten, placing crumbled feta and top with a little lemon zest.

Sprinkle the herbs, a pinch of Oregano, a pinch of Thyme, a little Garlic Powder in the center of one.

Cover with the other half of the patty and press together.

Repeat... then chill while the grill is heating up...
Take them to the grill and cook em up about 3 minutes on each side.

Place on toasted focaccia rolls with Tzatziki.....


Make up the Tzatziki,

Honestly this time I just eye-balled it this time, because I am use to making a large amount and the 5.3 oz was about 1/3 of a cup of yogurt, so I couldn't really do a simply halving or quartering my original recipe from "Greek week", but this is my guess on the amounts I used. The garlic ended up being a little stronger than my original recipe, but it stood up to the bison a little better.

5.3 oz Greek Yogurt
4 Mint leaves, Chopped
1 tsp Chopped Dill
1/2 tsp Lemon zest
1/4 tsp Lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced fine
3 TB Chopped Cucumber
Kosher salt
White or Green pepper

Chop up the Mint and Dill, then add it to the yogurt along with the Lemon Zest, Lemon Juice and Garlic.

Chop cucumber....

Add to the mix and stir until combined, then season with salt and white or green pepper.

One should always consume 1 large spoonful, just to check the seasoning, before serving... ;)

Mangia!!
~~

4 comments:

Dajana said...

From a hamburger NON-lover, I have to say this looks very inviting and yummy...it must be because of the cheese and tzatziki (I'm writing from under my desk, in case someone decides to throw tomatoes at me...)

Shane T. Wingerd said...

HA HA HA - To be honest I am not really that big on Beef burgers either... That is why I stuff 'em with goodies.. ;) But I do love a good Cheven burger, Lamb burger or Elk burger... and now, I am hooked on Bison burgers too.. LOL

Dajana said...

Good, now I can come out from under my desk.
I do buy hamburgers to prepare at home from time to time, and usually they have either speck or cheese mixed to the meat

Bob said...

Mmmmm, bison. Bison rules. Those look wicked good.

I'm jealous you can find that Greek Yogurt, I can't around here. And they sent me coupons to try it for free too! I wanted to make your tzatziki with it and do some souvlaki or something.