Bison Burgers w/ Balsamic Onions and Roasted Garlic Mayo

Bison meat is a bit of a financial splurge, but what it lacks in budget-friendly pricing, it makes up for with outrageous flavor and countless nutritional benefits. It's leaner, sweeter, and much more decadent than it's beefy competitors. In this case, I was able to cut some costs by keeping the patties small (a little bigger than a slider) and only inviting people over that I actually like to eat them with me. Sorry if you didn’t make the cut.

Since we're emptying out the piggy bank for the protein, you might as well forgo the regular buns and iceberg lettuce as well. Pick up some freshly baked rolls and a good head of Boston Bibb to go with the onions and flavored mayo (which p.s.- is out of control). Lastly, because of it’s low fat content, you'll want to keep the bison meat cooked to medium-rare at most! It tastes so much better, and the bison would have wanted it that way. Okie dokie, let’s get started.

Bison Burgers w/ Balsamic Onions and Roasted Garlic Mayo

Ingredients:

2 lb ground bison

salt and pepper to taste

6 freshly baked rolls, toasted

fancy lettuce (I used Boston Bibb)

sliced jalapenos (optional)

mayo

1 cp mayonnaise

1 head of garlic

1 tb olive oil

pinch of salt

1-2 tb garlic powder

onions

1 onion, sliced

1/2 cp balsamic vinegar

2 tb olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Start with the mayo. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut the top of the garlic head off, exposing the cloves. Drizzle oil and a pinch of salt over the cloves. Wrap whole head in aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and squeeze cloves into a food processor. Add garlic powder and mayo. Blend until smooth.

2. Now for the onions. In a large frying pan, heat up olive oil over medium heat. Add onions, salt, and pepper. Cook about 5 minutes. Add balsamic vinegar, crank up the heat to medium-high and cook until vinegar is reduced and you are left with beautifully caramelized onions. *Keep an eye on the onions and lower the heat if necessary!

3. Onto the burgers. Form 6 even patties, season with salt and pepper. Cook the burgers to medium-rare (I used my grill for this, but you can use a frying pan as well). Cooking time will vary depending on size of burgers, but start with a few minutes per side.

4. Assemble. Slather the mayo on both sides of the toasted bun. Add the onions, lettuce, and some jalapenos if you like the heat.

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