Bison Burger & Bordeaux!

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leah elisheva

Master of the Pit
Original poster
Sep 19, 2013
3,028
214
Seacoast of New Hampshire
"Cold In The Middle" is not how everyone wants their meat. And that's just fine.

Yet I for one, have been trying to SMOKE a piece of meat or burger, and yet still have that contrast of "seared on the outside" and still "COLD in the middle." (Pittsburgh style if you will or "black & blue" albeit a bit more rare even perhaps; which I can do with the grill pretty well, but I had not yet been able to fully achieve this via my humble little smoker).

Until now!


I made two bison patties with my burger meat, and put that in the freezer for 18 minutes.


Then I rubbed them in grapeseed oil, and smoked them on my mini gas smoker, with hickory chips, at high heat (maybe 400-450) for just ten minutes.


Mixing with an arugula salad, great Dijon, sliced raw red onion, olive oil, gray sea salt, black pepper, and then some sauteed red onion too, and sliced up tomato; it all was superb! (And paired with Bordeaux).


The pairing was wonderful! And when I sliced in, perhaps due to the freezer time, it indeed was COLD in the middle, as I had wanted, and the contrast, set against the cooked outer edges was simply out of this world! Smoky flavor was actually there too!


I am not however, suggesting that people should eat raw meat. Cook YOUR burger to the temp and perfection which YOU prefer. Of course.

I simply am sharing from my own palate.

Cheers and happy Wednesday!!!!!!!

It's so spectacularly beautiful here, and now up to 26 degrees even! (A heatwave). As it was 2 below, on the other morning.

Anyway, we "bring our own sunshine," in this great world. (Or so I believe). And so here is a dose of mine, and to you! Cheers! - Leah
 
I love the buffalo! Very tasty, we get allot of it here in Montana. They make an awesome steak too!

What happened to the "Ocean Notes"? You changed you name?

Happy Wednesday to you also Leah
 
Thank you Dave and Disco too! (That was my third meal yesterday, after having had my major one already and yet I was still CRAVING something, and so it hit the spot)!

And thanks to you Redheelerdog! Your bison and meat access must be magnificent! I love the steaks too and all exotic game meats - from ostrich, kangaroo, antelope and more! Delicious!!!

As for my sign on handle, I decided that I just feel more comfortable using my full name, versus a handle etc... (And my surroundings of "Ocean Notes" may change some, as I am pondering a move to the mountains)...Stay tuned!

Meanwhile, happy Thursday to all!!! Cheers! - Leah
 
Looks awesome as usual, Leah!  I know you LOVE fresh food, but my God, girl, you're freezer looks positively lonely!!   (should be easy to clean..)   Hey, Your bison burger, do you go with straight bison, or a blend? 

Mountains, huh?  Could be a long walk to the seafood market!

Best,

Mark
 
Hey Mark! I've missed you! Nice to see you in this thread!

Indeed, my freezer, usually stocked, needs a shipment and dose! Soon enough!

I use straight bison (and love all other game meats too and sometimes have a blend of those) and love the other cuts certainly too.

As for the mountains, no worries, I have chosen very 'swanky' mountains by my terms, in that there's a fish market, raw bar, and so forth within the little town, or else I'd worry...Still planning, but it's an exciting propsect!

Cheers to today!!! - Leah
 
Looks delicious as always Leah!! My wife, like you, loves "Pittsburgh rare" burgers, but being a fussbudget I always worry about the food police bashing down the door and hauling us off to food jail for breaking the minimum temperature requirements for ground meat. After doing a little research, I discovered it's not necessarily innate pathogens in the meat, like with chicken, but the processing that has spawned the concerns with undercooked ground red meat. The folks at those industrial meat packing plants sometimes might miss cleaning a particular component of a grinder or somebody might forget to wash their hands or what have you. All of which is completely out of my control. So what I do now is buy whole muscle cuts and grind my own burger. I can control the whole process at home and am free to serve "Pittsburgh Rare" burgers, steak tartare and whatever else with little worry of problems.

I'm sure this isn't news to most folks but I thought I'd mention it in case anyone was freaking out at the prospect of eating a rare burger.
 
Hi Leah,

The name change threw me a little too, but there is no mistaking your style!

Your plated dinner looks great.....beautiful presentation, as always. I love my ground meat rare (or tartare) as well, but unless I grind it myself I feel a little squeamish about it. But the texture and juiciness of a rare burger beats a medium or well done burger any day, in my opinion. Nice work on getting a little smoke in there as well, I bet that did go well with your red wine.

Have a great day and Happy Holidays!
Clarissa
 
Thank you Clarissa! And Andrew too!

That's so fabulous that you grind your own burger! A "meat grinder" thus, has been added to my list of things to procure!!! Fantastic!

Meanwhile, I share your palate for that preparation!

And with one of my dog's being named "Steak Tartare" even, I'm all for that rare, Carpaccio kind of world, made up of raw and very ravishing things!!!

Cheers to all! Happy holidays indeed! - Leah


 
Tasty looking burger Leah! Bison is one of our favorites, unfortunately only one store here carries it and them it's hit and miss.
 
That looks good Leah. If I'm out shopping and I see it, would Bison and Buffalo be considered the same thing?

And you're totally right about how good the contrasting flavors, textures, AND temperatures can be. An old neighbor of mine used to throw frozen steaks on the grill then shave off and eat the cooked parts as they heated up. He convinced me to try it once and it was really good. The outside of the piece was hot, sizzling and crispy and the inside was still partially frozen. After that experience, I went from being a medium-well guy to a medium-rare guy....
 
Thank you Humdinger! And yes on words being the same!

That's a great story! Foamheart is the one who deserves credit here, as it was in my "Bison and Barolo" thread some weeks/months back, when he spoke of a neighbor who wanted his meat cold in the middle and thus FROZE the meat a while first.

And so, Foamheart, if you are out there and finding this, you were heard, you were listened to, and you're appreciated! AND, please go hug your neighbor from ME!

Fantastic stuff!

Cheers!!!!!!!! - Leah
 
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