Best BBQ sauce for bison burgers?
June 3, 2013 3:22 PM   Subscribe

I picked up a couple of premade bison burgers from a local farmer and will be grilling them tonight, weather permitting. What's the best kind of BBQ sauce to apply? Sweet, spicy, smoky, what? Preference given to something I can swing by the (Canadian) Safeway and pick up on my way home. If it matters, the buns are sweet Hawaiian, the side dish is sweet potato fries with chipotle dipping sauce, and this will be my first time with non-beef hamburgers.
posted by Nyx to Food & Drink (7 answers total)
 
Best answer: Yum, bison - I haven't had it in a few weeks. Anyway, first thing first - Bison is a very lean meat so plan on cooking the burgers less then a standard burger otherwise you'll be chewing cardboard. I would even recommend brushing the grill with vegetable oil to make sure they don't stick. Second, bison is generally better if it can be marinaded to absorb some of the flavors so if you're willing to give it another try after tonight, I would recommend picking up some ground bison and making your own.

However, your actual question - I've had great success with just a bottle of the Safeway original bbq sauce or Famous Dave's original sauce.
posted by lpcxa0 at 3:30 PM on June 3, 2013


A good technique for overcoming bison's leanness is to get some shredded cheese into them. A sharp cheddar works well, or your favorite strongly-flavored cheese. You won't notice the flavor of the cheese if you mix it in with the meat; it will just make the meat taste richer and fuller.
posted by kindall at 3:43 PM on June 3, 2013


With the sweet bread, sweet potatoes, and chipotle sauce I would think either sweet or spicy BBQ sauce would be too much, so I would go with smoky but on the milder side.

Once or twice a month I get some bison from the farmers market and their basic advice is always "Prepare it as rare as you can stand to eat it." (I make bison tartare with it, but that's a little extreme.) It doesn't take much to overcook it, so watch it carefully. It's really tasty, enjoy!
posted by Room 641-A at 4:00 PM on June 3, 2013


Bone Suckin' BBQ Sauce
posted by Blazecock Pileon at 4:27 PM on June 3, 2013


At the risk of not answering the question: burying its flavor under BBQ sauce seems like kind of a waste. When I'm having bison I kinda want it to be the star of the show, y'know?

So I'd suggest: sauce on the side, dip the burger into it as/when it takes your fancy.

I rather like A1 sauce with bison burgers; the spike of vinegar sourness cuts nicely against the richness (and IMHO slight sweetness) of the meat.
posted by We had a deal, Kyle at 4:30 PM on June 3, 2013


Terikayki with grilled pinapple on it!
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 5:06 PM on June 3, 2013


Response by poster: Thanks all! The bison went down very well rare (I wouldn't've known otherwise - typically I char my meat) with a smoky sauce & SO enjoyed it with 8 yr old cheddar.
posted by Nyx at 9:47 PM on June 3, 2013


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