"Spicy Island Bison Burger" Recipe | Bison Burger with Grilled Pineapple

I've had this recipe stewing in my brain for quite awhile – just waiting for the right mood, the right time and the right combination of ingredients to pop into my mind. Finally, yesterday I decided to take the plunge and try it.



I'm calling it the "Spicy Island Bison Burger" -- and it's quite a bit different from what I'm usually into making. For one, I don't generally go for pineapple. But for some reason, lately, I've really been feeling like grilled pineapple on a burger just might be a fun thing to try.

So... here it comes: a Grilled Bison Burger with Grilled Pineapple and a jalapeño cream cheese "sauce".


One of my first hangups with this burger was figuring out what I wanted to serve on the side. I thought it deserved something a little more fancy than the standard french fries. I considered sweet potato fries, but we've had those a lot this summer. I racked my brain trying to think of a vegetable that would complement this particular burger and finally settled on asparagus.

The funny thing about that is I've never cooked asparagus before. It's not something I remember ever having growing up, so it's kind of a new food for me. Which I suppose is a perfect fit for a burger that's completely new for me too.

I did a quick Google search and Rachel Ray helped me prepare this bacon wrapped asparagus. I had some leftover bacon in the fridge which I had been planning to use earlier this week and had completely forgotten about. Rather than let it go to waste, I figured this would be the perfect use for it. My only comment on the asparagus was that the recipe did not mention turning the asparagus, so I did not, however if I make it again, I definitely will. (I used the grilling version of the recipe.)

 Once I had the asparagus prepared and set off to the side, I set about making my "sauce". This one is pretty simple. I took some plain cream cheese and some pickeled jalapeños. I diced up the jalapeños (about two tablespoons worth, however this is a classic example of "more or less, to taste") and about 2 oz. of the cream cheese. I allowed the cream cheese to soften for a little while so that it was easier to mix together.

And that's it for the jalapeño cream cheese sauce. It's all ready to go!

And now for the star of the meal... the topic of this entire blog: The lean, ground bison burger! We recently got new labels and packaging. Doesn't it look great?

Click the image above to buy some of this responsibly ranch raised ground bison to make your own Spicy Island Bison Burger.

 I use the whole pound and split it into two patties. If you're not into 1/2 lb. burgers, you can make them smaller if you'd prefer. I seasoned these with the NebraskaBison.com Steak & Burger Seasoning. It's a tangy seasoning which I like to use quite a bit.

In the meantime, I've had the grill pre-heating. Here's where I'm at so far: my seasoned 1/2 lb. bison burger patties, my jalapeño cream cheese sauce, and two pineapple rings. All ready to go out to the grill (along with the asparagus, of course).

What?! How did this get in here? Seeing as my burger recipe only called for two pineapple rings... and you can't really just get two pineapple rings... I figured it would be a perfect occasion to make Pineapple Upside Down Cake -- a great dessert for my Spicy Island Burger Meal! (I just use the recipe from my trusty red Betty Crocker Cookbook.)

Okay... stop drooling! Let's get back on track! The grill is hot (a little less than 300*F), so I place my asparagus, burgers and pineapple all on to the grill. Luckily, they fit on perfectly on my tiny apartment balcony sized grill!

Look at that bacon smoking!

Here's a shot after the flip, after about 6 minutes of cooking. This is when I should have rotated the asparagus as well. (They got a little burned on the grill side.)

After about 4 more minutes of cooking, I took my cream cheese sauce and piled it onto the burgers while they were still on the grill, then topped it with the pineapple. I figured this would give the cream cheese a chance to get hot and spread a little. I left the burgers on the grill this way for just a couple extra minutes.

To finish, I placed these burgers on Kings Hawaiian Burger Buns. Nothing else too it... these babies are ready to go!

 I choose the "deluxe" buns, but might have actually been okay with the regular sized ones.

And there you go: The Spicy Island Bison Burger!

Note: If you want to make this extra spicy... consider dicing up some extra jalapeños and mixing them into the burger patties!

Spicy Island Bison Burger

Ingredients:

ground bison
seasoning
pineapple rings (one for each burger)
2 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 tbsp. diced, pickeled jalapeños
Kings Hawaiian Burger Buns

Directions:

Form your ground bison into as many burger patties as you are making. Season with your favorite seasoning. (I suggest NebraskaBison.com Steak & Burger Seasoning.)

Stir jalapeños into cream cheese. Set aside.

Place burgers and pineapple rings onto hot grill (approx. 300*F). Cook for approximately 6 minutes. Flip burgers and pineapples.

After approximately 4 more minutes, place a spoonful of cream cheese onto the top of each burger. Place pineapple ring on top. Close grill and allow to cook for 2 more minutes.

Place burgers on burger buns and serve.