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Appetites and Adventures

Strange But Good: Indian Spiced Bison Burgers

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My sister is vacationing in India.

 

She won’t let any of us forget it.  I’m not jealous.  I don’t need a vaca…

I would say I made the burgers I’m sharing today in her honor… but really I was inspired after seeing Madelyn’s recipe.  Before I start, a note: I realize this is a meat-centric post and many of you don’t eat meat… these flavors/ideas would also work well with tempeh, lentils, beans, or soy meat crumbles.

The burgers themselves aren’t so strange (other than the fact that I’m confident there are no bison in India), but I think what I did with them might qualify.  I wanted pizza.  Bison is sort of like sausage.  Bison for breakfast… why not?  Sometimes I feel like this in the morning:

bison

 

He doesn’t look so nice, but I wanted a hit of sweetness (read: fruit) with this creation.  I decided mango was a perfectly acceptable topping.  It works really well with Indian spices and provided a little cooling effect against all the extra red pepper flakes I added.

A corn tortilla made for a delicious, crispy crust.  And it’s fast – there is no way I’m making dough before noon!

 

Mango Bison Pizza

Mango Bison Breakfast Pizza

  • 1 corn tortilla
  • Tomato sauce*
  • Bison burger
  • Spinach, steamed
  • Cherry tomatoes
  • Mango
  • Basil

 

Spread the sauce across your tortilla and add toppings.  Place under broil for 5-7 mins, watching closely.

Remove and enjoy!

 

*The sauce might be the strangest part to some of you.  I mixed fire-roasted tomatoes with nutritional yeast, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, and cinnamon.  Yes cinnamon.  It’s awesome with tomatoes.

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Or how about crumbling a perfectly good, already cooked bison burger and using it to stuff a kabocha squash?  With coconut milk.  And curry leaves.

Curry leaves do not taste like curry powder.  They are actually a little bitter and have a hint of lime to them.  More on that when I post the curry recipe I promised on Instagram Tuesday. 😉

Indian bison stuffed squash

 

I roasted half a kabocha while I prepped my green stuffings.  This was an important distraction step for me because I am normally way to impatient to wait for a squash to roast.

I had to add the coconut and some Indian spices to go with the burger.  So glad I did because this won the prize for meal of the week!

 

indian bison stuffed squash

Indian Bison Stuffed Squash

  • 1/2 kabocha squash
  • 1/4 in pieces fresh ginger, chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 green onion, chopped
  • 1 C broccolini
  • 3 Brussels sprouts
  • 1/2 carrot
  • 8 curry leaves (optional)
  • 1 T coconut milk
  • 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1/4 tsp garam masala
  • Red pepper flakes and pepper, to taste
  • 1 bison burger (recipe below)

 

Place the kabocha in the oven to roast at 400 degrees for about 20 mins, or until tender.

Meanwhile, saute the veggies, adding the coconut milk, ACV, and spices at the end to preserve the moisture.

Crumble the burger and toss with the veggies.  Remove squash from over and stuff with your mixture.

Place the stuffed squash back in the over to bake for 10 mins.

Devour.

 

At the end of the day… I wonder to myself why I make burgers if I’m just going to crumble them.  It is a little strange.  Then I remember and important lesson: don’t question a good thing.

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Indian Spiced Bison Burgers

Indian Spiced Bison Burgers

  • 1/2 lb ground bison (or sub in your protein of choice)
  • 2 T cilantro, minced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 tsp curry powder
  • 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric
  • 1/4 tsp onion powder
  • 1/4 tsp dry mustard

 

Mix everything together and divide into patties.

Cook in a pan over medium heat for 3-4 mins on each side, or until desired temperature is reached.

Allow to cool slightly so the juices soak in before you dig in.

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Who else has enjoyed making co-workers, friend, or family stare with strange but good creations this week?

The link up rules can be found here or by clicking on “Strange But Good” in the menu bar above.

In short, I want to see what concoctions have earned you weird looks from co-workers, family and friends!  Post your Strange But Good creations, grab the logo below for your blog, and link up here.

 

Sprint 2 the Table


Remember to use #strangebutgood in any Tweets and Instagrams of your creations. 🙂



***

I got lazy this week and took all my pics with my iPhone. #sorryimnotsorry

Have you ever eaten bison?  Do you like it or ground beef better?

Do you prefer using a smart phone or a "real" camera?

 

Comments

  1. I’m always pretty excited when these strange but good posts go up, since I always know I’ll like them:)
    I’ve yet to try bison, but I hear great things about it! I think I should just buck up and try it. I always get nervous trying new food for some reason, odd.
    However, this looks delicious!!!

  2. I’ve never had bison before but those flavor combinations look great. I pretty much take 99% of my pictures with my iPhone because it’s always with me. PS – I’m jealous of your sister’s trip to India!

    • I’m so jealous too! It took her like 2 days to get there – not jealous of that part. 😉

  4. yep, I had another strange thing this week that got many looks… still need to find a kabocha… I love my big camera, but I just got a new phone and the camera on it kicks some serious arse, it is awesome. I’ve been using it a lot…

  5. Wow, I just had a Bison burger tonight for the first time. I had it on a bed of lettuce and don’t really think it tasted much different than beef.

    I am a huge breakfast lover, so I can’t bring myself to have a breakfast pizza. But, I’d eat that for any other meal of the day.

  6. Maybe my standards are lowering but I don’t think those bison burgers sound strange at all…just plain ‘ol GOOD (except for the cilantro bit)! I’ve never tried bison but am looking forward to sometime soon :)!

  8. I have this veggie burger recipe that I make just so I can end up crumbling it over top of salads or tortillas or whathaveyou. Not weird at all. Crumblies–in any form–are where it’s’ at. 🙂

    I’m so excited about everything in this post. Again, not strange to me, but I always look on the unconventional side of food pairings. Stuffing the kabocha was supersmart, but I have trouble not eating it all straight away…or really just wanting to have slices available for cold-from-the-fridge-consumption.

    This is clearly a SOUTHERN Indian-spired creation. Asha must have been there. I didn’t know what curry leaves were before I met her. All you need are some mustard seeds and you have the Kerala trifecta of coconut, curry (leaves), and….mustard seeds.

  10. Wow you should seriously be a chef, you come up with the best recipes!!!

    I actually have had a bison burger before, and it was damn delicious!

    I think that I would use a real camera if I had one, but I don’t, so iphone it is 🙂

  11. woman! you read my mind last night! i did this with an udis tortilla and lamb we had in the fridge. Gah.. so friggin good.
    p.s.
    let’s jet off to india with the sis. I need some good curry

  14. I don’t think this is particularly that strange but I’ve been mixing ricotta with PB2 and a little bit of stevia for a dessert. It’s actually the leftover ricotta from when I made your spaghetti squash pie. I didn’t bother to take a picture though, but kind of strange but good.

    I prefer to take pictures with a real camera but sometimes it’s a pain in the ass to lug it around, so I’ll usually just use my phone if I’m out somewhere. I sort of learned my lesson when we went to Corks & Forks two years ago and I got wine on the dial of my camera. It still sticks.

  15. I’m pretty jealous you sis is vacationing in India! How cool is that?! I bet the food is the bomb.com.

    I have never had bison, but I really want to try it! I think it would be delish!

  16. Laura,
    Where to start? I love how you shared many great-looking recipes for using bison burger followed by the starring key recipe. That’s pretty cool.
    Next, we’re all jealous of your sister’s trip. ‘Nuf said on that. Can she go to Thailand next so you can share Thai-inspired goodness? I’ve got partially opened jars of galangal, lemon grass, kaffir lime and Thai basil leaves in the fridge and I need inspiration.
    I have eaten bison, but I’ve got half a cow in my freezer so I prefer eating that because it’s in my freezer and not leaving until we eat it up.
    Camera–for the month of April I am taking a 30 days to better food photography course, which is taught in such a neat way–not jumping in to the technical aspects of photography, but I’m picking them up along the way anyway. So I am loving my little black camera with the button on the top, because I have learned that in addition to just pointing and shooting I can also adjust the fthingy and white balance. Who knew? Well, the spouse clearly did since he picked it as our pocket camera. Having said that, I did take a camera phone pic of the lunch I brought to work the other day, and I’m pretty please that it turned out well.

    I’m linking up a couple of things–first, since some people may consider eating Spam strange, my post for Food Bloggers Against Hunger: Spam Musubi Chirashi Sushi. I’ve lived in Hawaii (but never vacationed in India) so Spam is just food to me, and tasty food at that. And fighting hunger in America is just plain good.
    My second post is a pizza, there’s a surprise, and since we recently watched Finding Nemo I just like channeling my inner Ellen Degeneres and saying “Oaxaca” like her character Dory says “Escape”. That’s strange, to me. However the pizza? That’s good. Darn good.

    Thanks for letting me share my weirdness!

  19. Mmmmmmm bison! I LOVE BISON! I also love having ground meat for breakfast 😀 I had it this morning for breakfast 😀 It’s honestly so good I just can’t get enough! Definitely a nice change from alllllll the chicken breast I ate in the past. Anyways, all of these look amazing and I think I’d like them all 🙂 I love the stuffed squash! I would love the coconut milk! Yum!

    • I ran across a chart comparing meats and bison is suprisingly similar to chicken in terms of protein and fats. I’m really loving it!

  21. a couple years ago my husband didn’t have a sucessful hunting season (we don’t talk about it LOL) so we bought half a farm raised buffalo to fill the freezer. it was the best meat I had ever eaten! I don’t tell him that I secretly hope he doesn’t get a moose or a caribou each year so we “have” to buy buffalo again, it was so good! Burger or steaks or roasts, it was all amazing. There is just something about wild game being really decadant! Tender & juicy & not “meaty”. Love the idea of it with squash- and curry?! genious. I have used curry & cumin in eggs before & its awesome. I will have to try cilantro too- sounds good. I must admit I have never bought ground beef- we make our own burger & always have so I guess I prefer game meats. At my last job, the potluck joke was always “what kind of meat is this Morgan?” now they just call me Tofrutti- I think I am moving up in the world LOL.

    • I’m so jealous! i want a buffalo! 😉

      I almost always add cumin in my savory eggs. It’s so good! CUmin in anything is good, really.

  22. I’ve tried bison before and I don’t think I could really tell the difference. I just don’t like the idea of calling it “bison.” Maybe because that was my highschool mascot…but it just sounds gross to me. Perhaps because a cow is beef, and a bison…you just picture the big animal. Okay, sorry I’ll stop. I’m being a bad carnivore right now.

    I love the convenience of a camera phone, but I’d like to invest in a DSLR at some point for the quality.

    • It is really similar, but I find it’s a bit more rich. Bison never bothered me… sweet breads on the other hand… *shudder*

  24. Cinnamon in everything!! 😀 That picture of the buffalo at the beginning is awesome. I personally prefer the flavor of bison to beef. Maybe I’m just crazy and a snob and think I like it better because it’s more expensive though. Your burgers look amazing and now I’m going to have to go buy more ground bison from Whole Paycheck.

    • LOL! I suffer from the expensive taste syndrome. I don’t even need to know the price and will still pick out the most expensive thing.

  27. Can I get an amen for “don’t question a good thing??”

    I use my iPhone for everything. Lazy? Maybe. With work, school, crossfit, and life in general.. I don’t always have time to pull out and then upload from my camera. Oh well! Life goes on.

  29. i haven’t had bison in a long time but back in comp prep I loved it for a meat choice bec of how lean (and tasty) it was. Love the thought of indian spices in the burger. Sounds really good!

  30. Haha, I love the apology for the meat centric post to the non meat eaters…#sorryimnotsorry!

    I discovered this week that you can microwave kabocha. I get EXTREMELY impatient once I cut that sucker up! So, I’ve been known to pop a little in the microwave. You could do the same with the halves and then roast them up with the filling quicker…I’m always looking for quicker when I need a kabocha hit. 😉

    I hardly pull out my camera anymore. I was just telling Tony the other day that I really love instagram in that it really makes me look at the good things in my life and helps me capture them more often. I don’t carry a camera with me except my phone unless I’m taking shots for a recipe I’m developing for work.

    • Hee hee… there are just so many plant people! 😉

      Microwaving is a blessing but I usually only do it with spaghetti squash. I like the skin on other squashes SO much when it’s baked.

  32. I still haven’t tried bison. I have tons of venison in my freezer. I’m guessing it’s somewhere between cow and that?

    • I’d say it’s really similar to lean beef, but has a richer taste withouht adding fat.

  33. I’ve never eaten bison before, but so many people seem to rave about it so I feel like I’m missing out – I’m super iffy on trying new meats though, since they have some serious potential to really skeeve me out.

    I bust out the real camera if I’m at home, but if I’m out and about, there’s no way I’m lugging a huge DSLR with me. Plus, the IG filters make everything look so good…

    • Do you like beef? If you do, then you’ll love bison! If not… you might be skeeved. 😉

  34. I love everything about this meal: bison, Indian spices, squash! Looks amazing.

    We split a quarter of a bison with another couple about every year and a half . . . so our freezer is always stocked with it. It’s from a local farmer who raises bison “for fun”. He’s actually an ER doctor, and does this on the side because he wanted to know where his meat was coming from. Cool, right?!

  36. I never have had Bison but I am not really a red meat fan. I eat meat but I don’t really like red meat…. the recipes are cool though!!!

    I have no real camera…. cell phone is all I have.

    HONEST – I don’t want to go to India.. just me.. seen to much of it on Amazing Race! 😉

    • LOL! There are some really gorgeous beaches there. Not like what they feature on Amazing Race. 😉

  41. You are so creative! You need to write a cookbook already 🙂 India is on my to visit list and at the top! I love Indian grocery stores they have the best value on spices and sprouts! Have an amazing weekend. Love + shine Courtstar

  42. Omg, bison is the BEST! Sooo much better than beef! I have to say I’m pretty impressed with you for having this for breakfast! Who says you can’t have a burger first thing when you wake up? Wow, never thought I’d say that before making my Elvis burger for breakfast a few weeks ago! Lol

    Cinnamon and tomatoes DO go well together! I had to test it out once after Allie had mentioned it to me…toast with cottage cheese, tomato, and cinnamon? Oh yes…so good!

    So glad I’m not the only one who has a hard time with patience when it comes to roasting squash! That’s actually why most of the time I have it in bite sized pieces…shorter cooking time! 😀

Trackbacks

  2. […] week is was Indian Bison Burger creations, this week curry… my sister’s in India and it apparently causes me to crave […]

  3. […] also brought my own marvelous lunch to the mall:  a crumbled Indian-spiced bison burger, sweet potato cubes, broccoli slaw, and red pepper.  I held it up proudly for a pic infront of […]

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