Wednesday, January 21, 2009

President Obama Bison Burgers

Overwhelmed by information and updates from the inauguration yesterday, I decided to turn my attention to dinner preparations as an outlet, a way to channel the media-frenzied energy that was beginning to make me feel listless and patriotically chaffed. Off my mind wandered to thoughts of Red, White and Barry Parfaits or a Barry Obama Pie, or perhaps an Onion Obama Frittata. It was about seven seconds later I realized that all of these possibilities were down-right obnoxious, crossing the line to overkill, and that I needed to regroup and plant my feet on solid ground.

Something simple, hearty, with just a dash of national pride was required. I recalled seeing a recipe for bison in a food magazine recently and thought there could be nothing better suited than burgers for a celebration of our 44th President. Having recently read about the benefits of bison in lieu of beef, it was a topic I felt compelled to research more thoroughly.

The nutritional benefits make a strong case for integrating bison, or American Buffalo (even though it isn’t technically buffalo), into your diet. Whereas beef cattle are often injected with hormones and drugs, and are subjected to over-handling, bison deliver quality meat with no intervention. It is substantially lower in fat and calories than lean beef, while providing more protein, iron and B-12 to your system. But if you, like the rest of us, are not into calorie-counting, the environmental impact of bison versus beef cattle may be more resonant.

While grass-fed beef is now widely available, cattle still require grain to supplement their diet, the cultivation of which eats up prairie land and emits enormous amounts of fossil fuels from crop processing machinery. Most of the environmental benefits of bison can be attributed to the fact that they are non-domesticated and therefore require as little human influence as possible. Prairies and grass pastures naturally provide a sustainable food source, simultaneously reducing soil erosion, and allowing other species a habitat in which to thrive.

There is a downside to bison (though it took me a while to uncover), which is that they are very temperamental and sometimes dangerous, which is exactly why indigenous populations never domesticated them. I came across a statistic that claimed you are about 4 times more likely to be injured or killed by bison than bears. Though, if you provoke a bison, which is the only reason they would attack, you deserve what’s coming to you.

In closing, bison are rad and look prehistoric so stop eating cows, you terrorists, and get your fix with the true American beast.

To the recipe!

  • a few glugs of olive oil
  • 2 onions (sweet or yellow), sliced
  • 1/2 cup dry red wine
  • 1 pound ground bison (you can buy it at Whole Foods and it’s the same price as their ground beef)
  • 2 shallots, chopped
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • large pinches of salt and pepper
  • a few splashes or Worcestershire sauce
  • 4 hamburger buns
  • enough white cheddar (or provolone or pepperjack) for the burgers, and snacking while you prepare the burgers
  • Dijon or stone ground mustard
  • a few handfuls of whatever greens you have on hand (spinach, arugula, romaine)

Sauté onions with a bit of oil and salt over medium heat until golden brown, turning to prevent out-right burning, and lowering heat if necessary. Add the wine and reduce until the liquid is absorbed, set aside.

If you have one, fire up the broiler which will come in handy for bun toasting and thawing the interior of your kitchen. Combine the meat with the shallots, garlic, S&P and Worcestershire. I made four patties with the pound of meat, but they were a bit scrawny so three may be better. Heat a well-oiled skillet on high and cook until well-browned (about 2 minutes per side will be med-rare.)

Cover the bun-tops with cheese and broil both tops and bottoms for a few seconds until toasted (turning your back to the oven will inevitably turn them to charcoal briquettes, as I well know). For easy assembly, spread mustard on the bottoms, top that with greens, then the bison, and finally the cheesy bun-top.

(See Bon Appétit for a similar, yet less refined recipe.)

No comments: