Buffalo and Blue Burgers

I posted a photo of these little darlings on my Face Book page and was astounded by the response, so I thought I'd share the recipes I used in making them. They really are very easy, and once you bite into one, you'll think you're at one of those gourmet burger places - only better!!

First, you have to start with your burger. Now, if you're watching calories and fat, you can use buffalo, but be aware that when you are cooking buffalo burgers you must cook over a lower heat than you usually do with hamburger, and they don't take long to cook, so watch them.

I like to mix some spices into my meat before forming the burgers. I love the crushed garlic from the Market, because it mixes in so thoroughly. I also added salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper to the meat. That's all I used, but you can mix the spices of your choice into the meat, just don't overmix - it can make the meat kind of tough.

At best you can expect to get about 3 burgers per pound, but it depends on how large you like your burgers. I have experimented with a couple ways of forming them. One method is to take your burger for one portion, split it in half, and form two very thin patties. Place about a tablespoon of Cashel Irish Blue Cheese in the center of one patty and cover it with the other patty. Carefully pick the patties with cheese up and seal the edges, and form the final burger. Note that when you are using buffalo, the patties are very tender and tend to fall apart, so be careful, and patient. The extra fat in hamburger tend to make the meat easier to handle from that standpoint, so it is a tradeoff. But trust me, the buffalo is worth the extra effort!!

Another way to form them is to take your burger portion and form it into a ball. Poke a hole into the center of the ball and shove in the cheese, closing over the hole. Then flatten and form your burger as you normally would. This method makes it more difficult to really load the burger with cheese (maybe that's a good thing - lol), but you're also less like to lose it, as it is sealed in the center of the burger a little better.

Sautee the burgers over medium heat until cooked through. Some of the cheese may ooze out into the pan, but that ok. If you are feeling really indulgent, toast up your bun in the pan that you fried the burgers in - some of the cheese will crisp to the bun, making it extra yummy. If you have a working grill (we don't at the moment, darn) do the cooking on the grill!

As for the condiments, I think I've given you my guacamole recipe before, but here it is again for good measure:

2 avacadoes - ripe (they should give some, but offer resistence, when you press on the sides, we try to keep a few out of the cooler so they ripen. If it will be a few days before you make your guac, buy them out of the cooler, hard, and let them sit at room temperature and a day or so until ready. Guac really should be eaten as soon as it's made, thought I'm not above eating it the next day, though it isn't usually a real pretty green anymore, as the flesh of the avacado oxidized to a brownish green - still tastes great)
juice of one lemon (if you really enjoy the lemon flavor, add the zest, too)
Salt and pepper to taste

That's it, mash it all together and enjoy. Now avacados do have fat in them, but it's the good kind of fat, and they are also a great source of dietary fiber, vitamins, and minerals, so don't turn your nose up because of the fat content. This is a much better for you spread than something like mayo. Give it a try!! By the way, if you want, you can add things to your guac - last night, I added about a tablespoon of finely chopped jalepeno, just because we like the heat, and since there was cilantro in the tomatillo salsa, I also added some to the guac (we love fresh cilantro;). My mom likes to add some of the Market prepared salsa to her guac. Experiment, and find what you like!

The Tomatillo salsa (actually, I'd call it more of a relish) recipe I used was from the Food Network is really good. I went a little heavy on the onion, and used the local candy onions from the Market. I also did NOT use a food processor, but just diced the ingredients and tossed them in a pot, but I tend to like my salsa chunky, so suit yourself.

Tomatillos, or husk tomatoes as they're also known, if you've never had them, are a little different to work with than their cousins, tomatoes. You'll want to husk them, and wash them (they have a waxy substance inside the husk, and it's sticky). The insides are much firmer, with little to no loose watery stuff like in a regular tomato.

You can add whatever other embellishments you like - a nice big slice of fresh, homegrown tomato and a slab of candy onion are two of my favorites - but forego the usual ketchup and mustard or mayo, and give these burgers a try. You won't be disappointed!!

Do you have any unusual condiments that you like on your burgers? Please, share!!