Bodacious Burgers

Ever try bison meat? Well, you should. Not only is it delicious, it’s also much better for you than conventional hamburger meat. Bison (sometimes also called buffalo) are rarely factory farmed. They require no artificial shelter, and they’re extremely hardy, disease-resistant animals that thrive in most landscapes. All this means you’re much less likely to get a substantial helping of antibiotics, steroids, bovine growth hormone, and other toxins from bison meat.

Knowing that I’m not a big fan of bread, Chef left the bun off this delicious burger and replaced it with lettuce leaves (an option that’s becoming more widely available, even at fast food restaurants such as In-N-Out Burger). But if you’re not particularly concerned about carbs, go on and add the bun. There are excellent gluten-free bun options available if you want to go that route.

This dish captures the flavors of buffalo wings with the lean ground bison, adding just a touch of blue cheese (which goes fantastically with grass-fed meat), carrots, and celery, all wrapped up in this crowd-pleasing burger that’s just perfect for Labor Day grilling. -Dr. Jonny

Stuffed Buffalo Burgers Recipe

Notes from …

Chef Jeannette, the Clean Food Coach
This simple stuffing technique works for many other types of fillings as well. The key is to avoid overworking the meat when blending your base, don’t over-stuff, and seal the two patties tightly around whatever you wish to enclose.

Pizza Burgers are a favorite at my house: stuff patties with thin slices of fresh mozzarella cheese and top with a good-sized dollop of hot, prepared pizza sauce and shredded fresh basil.