Cook Like a Cowboy - Bison Burger Recipes

This is a guest post by Kara Taylor, a freelance writer who loves to write about a number of topics including cooking, health, and the outdoors.

For burgers, it's bison or bust! After falling into a long-time nationwide bad habit of poor diet and nutrition, with belts a bit too snug around the waist, America has started to look for ways to stop their old bad habits and seek healthier alternatives.

One of those healthier, more nutritional alternatives is bison meat. It's probably not something most people would even expect, but it's true.

Bison meat is a hit across America, and for a whole lot of really great reasons. Excitement mounts as the trend continues to grow and the popularity of this healthier, leaner, better tasting meat soars. Hopefully soon everyone will have tried it for themselves and know just how amazing bison meat is. The flavor, texture, and nutritional benefits just can't be beat by other meats. The chemically enhanced and genetically engineered pre-packaged meats just don't stand a chance.

Here are a few of the reasons bison meat is becoming a major, or even primary, source of red meat for meat-loving Americans.

1. Bison often aren't handled or hassled as much as cows.

They usually walk around chomping on grass just like they always have. They don't get stuffed into little pens or feedlots, and they don't get injected with chemicals, steroids, drugs or growth hormones to help beef them up. Consequently, you don't have to worry about these things getting into your body either. At least, not from your meat.

2. Bison meat is very high in nutritious value

There is a good proportion of fatty acids, minerals, proteins, and fat that comprise the caloric value of bison meat. This makes it a highly valuable food in terms of nutrient density. Compared to other types of meat, bison comes up with higher concentration of iron, which is especially noteworthy for women. It's so important that Reader's Digest magazine ranked bison as a top-five food that women should be eating.

3. Bison meat is healthier than other meats

Bison contains a lower fat content than other meats like beef and pork. It is at the top of the list coming out as the healthier choice in term of calories and fat grams, even when compared to the same portion size of lean beef or lean pork.

4. Bison meat is delicious

Some people worry that maybe the meat will not taste good enough or have a good enough texture to serve as a replacement for their beloved red meat or other kinds of meat. However, given the chance most people would prefer bison meat. It is definitely as flavourful as other red meat, and is a pleasure to cook with.

Here's an excellent bison burger recipe for you to try:

Awesome Bison Gorgonzola Burgers

Ingredients:

• 1 lb of ground bison meat
• 2-3 oz of crumbled up gorgonzola cheese
• 1/3 cup of chopped, drained sun-dried tomatoes
• 2 chopped garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp of cumin powder
• Optionally add salt and pepper if desired
• Kaiser roll hamburger buns

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients, including the bison meat (but not the bun, of course!), in a bowl and mix them up.
2. Form the mix into 4-6 patties depending on preference, and grill.
3. Top it off with spicy Dijon mustard for a little kick.