I’ve got your weekend meal plans covered with these amazing Bison Smash Burgers, served up in a crisp and crunchy lettuce “bun.”
Ground bison is a super easy and versatile protein source, and smashing the burgers makes them even faster to cook. The tangy mustard and pickle spread has a nostalgic summertime taste and you can never go wrong with adding sweet and savory caramelized onions. I love adding in fresh avocado or guacamole as well as some goat cheese.
I hope you love these as much as I do!
Wishing you health and happiness, d
Mark Hyman, MD
Ingredients:
Caramelized Onions
- 2 cups white onion, finely chopped
- ¼ cup avocado oil, divided
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2-3 tablespoons filtered water
Mustard Spread
- ⅓ cup avocado mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 3 tablespoons pickles, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon pickle juice
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon paprika
Burgers
- 2 pounds ground bison (grass-fed when possible)
- 3 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- ½ tablespoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 large tomato, thinly sliced
- 2 heads iceberg lettuce, leaves separated
Optional toppings
- 1 avocado, thinly sliced
- 4 ounces crumbled goat cheese
- Pickle slices
Method:
1. Add onions and half of the avocado oil to a pan, sauté the onions over medium heat until fragrant. After 5 minutes, add the salt and continue cooking the onions until they soften and begin to brown, about 15 minutes. Stir occasionally to avoid burning.
2. While the onions are browning, prepare the spread, add all of the spread ingredients into a mixing bowl and stir until combined, set aside or in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
3. Return to the onions and add 1 tablespoon of water, simmer until all the liquid has evaporated, then repeat this process until onions are caramelized. This process should take about 25 minutes. When ready, transfer into a small bowl and set aside.
4. Preheat a cast iron over medium-high heat while preparing the bison patties. Use a large mixing bowl, combine the ground bison, mustard, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper, mix well using your hands and form into 12 patties.
5. Using a brush, brush the remaining avocado oil (from the 1st step) on top of the patties, and add extra black pepper on top of the patties as well if desired.
6. Using a metal spatula, add a couple patties to the hot pan and press or “smash” the patties to about ½-inch thickness, cook for 1 ½ minutes, then flip and cook for another 1 minute. Transfer to a plate and repeat with the remaining patties.
7. Serve patties between lettuce leaves along with a tomato slice, the spread, and caramelized onions. Avocado slices, goat cheese, and pickles are nice additions too.
Nutritional analysis per serving: Calories: 255, Total Fat: 17g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 61mg, Sodium: 619mg, Carbohydrates: 7g, Fiber: 2g, Sugars: 5g, Protein: 21g, Net Carbs: 5g