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If you have yet to try a bison burger, start with my juicy Bison Burger Recipe! It’s rich in protein, hearty, and ready in 15 minutes on the grill or in a pan. Once you try a bison burger, you’ll want to come back for more!
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Bison Burger
When you think burgers, I’m sure your first thought is ground beef piled high with toppings. It’s my first thought, too! But after trying it for the first time, trust me when I say you need to try making bison burgers.
Bison is lean and full of protein, and a great lower-calorie alternative to ground beef. But it’s not just an alternative – the flavor is totally different! It’s lighter and somewhat sweeter than beef, with a slightly earthy flavor.
You can make this bison burger recipe with all of your usual favorite burger toppings. My family loves the flavor of these burgers using the toppings from my mushroom swiss burger, BBQ hamburgers, or loaded burger!
Any way you make it, this is the recipe to use. You’ll have them ready in just about 15 minutes of cook time, and I guarantee you’ll want to make them again!
Bison Burgers Ingredients
- ground bison
- steak seasoning
- Gruyere cheese
- butter lettuce
- red onions
- brioche buns
- your preferred condiments (mayo, mustard, etc.)
Instead of steak seasoning, you can also use my amazing burger seasoning. It’s a great choice for both beef burgers and bison burgers!
Grilling Bison Burgers
- Form bison meat into 4 evenly-sized patties.
- Season each patty with steak seasoning.
- Preheat the grill to medium heat (350°F-375°F). Add the patties to the grill and cook for 4 minutes on one side.
- Flip patties. Add slices of Gruyere cheese and grill another 4 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 145°F on a meat thermometer (medium-rare) or 160°F for well done. I like to refer to this burger temperature chart.
- Remove from the grill and add to brioche buns. Top with lettuce, red onion, and condiments of choice.
How to Make Bison Burgers on the Stove
- Form bison meat into 4 patties and season each patty with steak seasoning.
- Melt 2 Tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium heat.
- Once sizzling hot, add bison burger patties to the skillet and cook for 4 minutes on one side.
- Flip, then add the Gruyere cheese. Place a lid over the skillet and cook another 4 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 145°F on a meat thermometer (medium-rare) or 160°F for well done. Always get the perfect temperature with this burger temperature chart.
- Remove from the skillet and add to brioche buns. Top with lettuce, red onion, and condiments of choice.
Tips for Making Bison Burgers
- Use your favorite hamburger buns. Rich, buttery brioche is a great pairing with bison, but you can use whatever you like best!
- Some bison burger recipes like to mix the meat with a little Worcestershire sauce. Bison is plenty flavorful on its own, but you can mix things up by adding a dash of Worcestershire to the meat mixture if you like!
- Keep the burgers cold before cooking them. If you let the meat come to room temperature, it may fall apart on the grill. Keeping the meat cold helps it stay together as it cooks.
- Use your favorite burger toppings. Any toppings you love on a burger work on bison, too. Bison meat pairs with everything from Dijon mustard and mayonnaise to BBQ sauce and bacon. I personally love it with caramelized onions and cheddar cheese on a toasted bun!
- If you aren’t seeing bison at the store, look for buffalo. Sometimes ground bison is labeled as buffalo burger meat instead, as the two names are used interchangeably in the U.S.
- If you don’t want to use steak seasoning, use simple kosher salt and black pepper. A pinch of garlic powder goes a long way for flavor, too.
- Try our Wagyu Beef Burger next!
Bison Burger Recipes FAQ
Ground bison is tender, with a slightly sweet and earthy taste. It’s similar to beef, but more delicately flavorful. And, although it’s lean meat, there is no gamey taste to bison.
All of the same spices you use for beef will work perfectly with bison. Use your favorite burger or steak seasoning with this meat for the best results.
Just like beef, a little pinkness to the meat is expected and acceptable when cooking bison burgers. The recommended internal temperature is 160°F for well done. Unlike beef, cook bison to a temperature of 145°F for medium-rare.
What goes with bison burgers?
Pair bison burgers with all your usual burger sides – no need to change anything up! Try my crispy potato wedges and fry sauce, or any of my side dishes for BBQ. Nothing beats a good blue cheese dressing on the side, too!
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Bison Burger Recipe
Equipment
- Grill or large skillet
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds ground bison meat
- 1 Tablespoon steak seasoning
- 4 slices Gruyere cheese
- 4 leafs butter lettuce
- ½ red onion sliced
- 4 brioche buns
See our Cooking Conversions Chart for help converting measurements!
Instructions
- Form bison meat into 4 evenly-sized patties.1.5 pounds ground bison meat
- Season each patty with steak seasoning.1 Tablespoon steak seasoning
- Preheat grill to medium heat (350°F-375°F). Add the patties to the grill and cook for 4 minutes on one side.
- Flip patties. Add slices of Gruyere cheese and grill another 4 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 145°F on a meat thermometer (medium-rare) or 160°F for well done.4 slices Gruyere cheese
- Remove from the grill and add to brioche buns. Top with lettuce, red onion, and condiments of choice.4 leafs butter lettuce, ½ red onion, 4 brioche buns
Notes
- To cook bison burgers on the stove, follow the same steps to form and season the patties.
- Melt 2 Tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
- When hot, add patties and cook for 4 minutes on one side. Make sure not to overcrowd the pan – cook in batches if necessary.
- Flip, add slices of cheese to each patty, and cover with a lid. Cook another 4 minutes until the proper internal temperature is reached.
- Serve on buns with your favorite toppings, and enjoy!
- Use your favorite hamburger buns. Rich, buttery brioche is a great pairing with bison, but you can use whatever you like best!
- Some bison burger recipes like to mix the meat with a little Worcestershire sauce. Bison is plenty flavorful on its own, but you can mix things up by adding a dash of Worcestershire to the meat mixture if you like!
- Keep the burgers cold before cooking them. If you let the meat come to room temperature, it may fall apart on the grill. Keeping the meat cold helps it stay together as it cooks.
- Use your favorite burger toppings. Any toppings you love on a burger work on bison, too. Bison meat pairs with everything from Dijon mustard and mayonnaise to BBQ sauce and bacon. I personally love it with caramelized onions and cheddar cheese on a toasted bun!
- If you aren’t seeing bison at the store, look for buffalo. Sometimes ground bison is labeled as buffalo burger meat instead, as the two names are used interchangeably in the U.S.
- If you don’t want to use steak seasoning, use simple kosher salt and black pepper. A pinch of garlic powder goes a long way for flavor, too.
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