We bought some ground bison the other day from our local grocery store to cook some surprise burgers for my father-in-law. We picked bison because I distinctly remember going out to dinner with him a few years ago and seeing his excitement that bison burgers were on the menu that night. Meat choice aside, it was time to pick toppings! Since he likes spicy (but my mother-in-law doesn’t), we decided to try to walk the tightrope between “Where’s the spice?” and “Call the Fire Department!” We did this by picking pepper jack for our cheese component and roasting poblano peppers (which I would describe as a blend of green bell pepper and jalapeno), and in the end, wound up with “Pleasant heat level that let you know it was there with benevolent touch.”
We served our burgers with Grilled Asparagus and Butter Cabbage. However, if you’re looking for a more traditional side, try our Wedge Fries (change out the seasoning for maybe some chili powder), Sweet Potato Wedge Fries, or even Avocado Fries!
Time: 20 Minutes
Ingredients:
- Ground Meat of your choice. We used Bison.
- Salt
- Poblano Pepper
- Pepperjack Cheese
- Buns
- Other toppings of your choice. We kept it simple and went with just lettuce.
- Sauce of your choice. We used BBQ sauce.
Method:
- Preheat your grill.
- Rinse your peppers, and make a cut around the top deep enough to go through the skin but not the core. Then, rotate the top of the pepper to remove it from the bottom. Then, cut your pepper in half longways.
- Give your peppers a quick oil spray, and put them on the grill skin side down to roast.
- Mix your ground meat with a little salt, and then form it into patties.
- When the skin on your peppers starts to blister (after cooking for about 7-10 minutes), flip them, and put your burgers on the grill.
- Grill your burgers for about 4-5 minutes. Slice your cheese as the burgers grill on the first side.
- Flip your burgers, and place your cheese atop.
- Grill for another 3-4 minutes until they reach your desired level of doneness. We suggest 165 degrees F to ensure any harmful bacteria that may (albeit unlikely) be lurking.
- Build your burgers.
- Plate, devour, and enjoy!
I keep hearing about Pepperjack being the alternative to Cheddar, but so tar it hasn’t made it across the Atlantic…
Too bad – I can get any amount of Cheddars, English, Irish, gourmet and supermarket quality, but I would like a new twist. I guess I’ll have to wait a little while longer; the Germans discovered “real” aka American BBQ in a big way a few years ago and are bound to discover Pepperjack at some point 🙂
We’ve had a proliferation of flavour infused cheddars in the past 5 or so years. Horseradish, Buffalo Sauce, etc. I think Pepperjack does it best because it’s more subtle. All that said, we still prefer European cheeses all else equal!