BBQ Buffalo Cheddar Burgers with Maple Caramelized Onions
So last week Kat from A Good Appetite won last month’s Royal Foodie Joust with her Brie Stuffed Maple Burger with Spicy Apple Bacon Compote. That got me thinking (and drooling, slightly) about burgers…and maple, one of my favoritest ingredients on the planet. She said that she thought that maple went really well with beef, so I wanted to see if it went just as well with buffalo. I suspected it did.
I love buffalo meat, it is leaner than beef and has more CLA in it, because buffalo must eat grass to survive. To read more about CLA, and why it is important, click here. I also love burgers and it is often our meal of choice for movie night. This meal accompanied the movie Appaloosa with Viggo Mortensen.
I am also a huge fan of caramelized onions. They go good with just about anything you can cook up. Seriously, I bet putting them on ice cream would be awesome. Ever had garlic ice cream? That stuff is fan-freaking-tastic. I only have had it once, but it is a food memory that has stuck with me for probably more than 15 years. So really, I might try the caramelized onion thing, but not today.
Back to the onions. Recently I had made cinnamon spiced caramelized onions to go on a spicy carrot soup. I didn’t blog about it, but the recipe is pretty much like the one I did for Yogi Times way back when. Just added some nice cinnamon to the onions as they were doing their caramelizing thing. They turned out pretty good, so I figured that adding maple to this batch would be worth trying. Top the burgers with these maple-y onions, some Vermont sharp cheddar and some local St. Augustine, FL datil pepper BBQ sauce, and see what happens. A burger of transition, one that features the local delicacies of our current and future homes.
Well what happened is that the sky opened up and…wait no, that didn’t happen… What really happened is that it was one of the best burgers either of us had in a while. Kat, thanks for the inspiration, and I am sure before the fall and winter is over, I will be taking a stab at your winning entry!
Maple Caramelized Onions
INGREDIENTS:
olive oil
½ white onion
salt and pepper to taste
½ bottle of Sam Adams Boston Ale
2 TBS pure VT maple syrup
dash of aged balsamic
METHOD:
Heat a splash of olive oil in a medium sized pan over medium-high heat. Add onions, and stir in the oil. Cook until soft. Add salt and pepper to help sweat the onions and flavor them. Then add ½ bottle of Boston Ale. Lower heat and simmer for about 30-40 minutes, adding water (or more beer) if onions begin to dry out. In the last 10 minutes add the maple and balsamic. Stir to blend and let flavors marry.
BBQ Buffalo Burgers
INGREDIENTS:
8 oz ground buffalo meat
2 TBS of datil pepper BBQ sauce
1 TBS pure VT maple syrup
salt and pepper
METHOD:
Mix the meat with the sauce, maple syrup and spices. Create two nice thick patties. Cook according to your preference. We did ours on the george forman grill. When burgers are cooked to your specifications top with VT sharp cheddar, maple onions and a little more BBQ. Mayo adds a nice dimension as well.
Serve with some nice crispy oven fries and enjoy! 🙂
maybelles mom - October 14, 2009 at 10:04 am
this is burger contest good. great.
kat - October 14, 2009 at 10:11 am
Oh, love caramelized onions & those addition are fantastic! Will remember this for our next burgers
Simone (junglefrog) - October 14, 2009 at 10:25 am
I love a good burger… In fact I just bought a book entirely about the ultimate burger… Totally forgot about it until I saw your post! Great idea to add maple syrup which I finally found a bottle of a while ago. I might be making this soon!
HoneyB - October 14, 2009 at 10:33 am
Oh man, this looks TO DIE FOR! I need to make these as sliders!!
Lisa - October 14, 2009 at 10:50 am
I never thought to add maple syrup to my caramelized onions, sounds yummy! The weather in Michigan is making me crave my favorite French Onion Soup.
Rosa - October 14, 2009 at 10:59 am
What a great combo! Those look fantastic!
Cheers,
Rosa
Bob - October 14, 2009 at 11:21 am
That looks so fricking good.
Aggie - October 14, 2009 at 1:18 pm
I love what you did with this burger! Awesome!!
nina - October 14, 2009 at 1:25 pm
Fantastic burger, I will have to replace the buffalo with lean beef or even ostrich!!!
Jacqueline - October 14, 2009 at 1:44 pm
What an incredible way to cook onions Jenn! I have to try it. They must have tasted sensational. Mmmmm!
Jenn - October 14, 2009 at 2:12 pm
Appropriately themed dinner and movie. Aweseom burger too. I really like the maple caramelized onions on top.
Laurie Vengoechea - October 14, 2009 at 4:33 pm
I love caramelized onions and you went over the top with these maple glazed ones.. truly scrumptious!!
Tobias Cooks! - October 14, 2009 at 5:05 pm
I love what you do with the onions. Great burger!
Pam - October 14, 2009 at 5:11 pm
I so love carmelized onions. Right now I have in the dehydrator some onion bread, it comes out tasting like them. Nice photo!
Cynthia - Cupcake Provocateur - October 14, 2009 at 6:25 pm
Simply Delish!!!!!
dawn - October 14, 2009 at 6:31 pm
ah ha, so this is what it looks like. my my. you did not dissapoint on this one.
lk - October 14, 2009 at 8:34 pm
that looks fabulous! nice way to transition burgers into fall.
ValleyWriter - October 14, 2009 at 8:38 pm
Drool…. oh – looks so good!!
Maria - October 14, 2009 at 9:33 pm
Mmmm… I love caramelized onions on my burgers and with maple in the mix these must have been amazing.
Joan Nova - October 14, 2009 at 9:37 pm
I could smell the carmelized maple onions just reading this. I have to try it!
Natasha - 5 Star Foodie - October 15, 2009 at 12:17 am
Yum! I’m loving this burger! The caramelized onions sound outstanding with maple & Sam Adams! I’m definitely making this very soon (always have ground buffalo meat in the freezer)!
Peter G - October 15, 2009 at 12:28 am
I agree with Joan! I can almost “smell” the onions..and will def have to try it!
Happy Cook - October 15, 2009 at 5:50 am
I have neve rmade burgers at home and this one just looks so so yumm.
My daughter would love if i made this for her.
patsyk - October 15, 2009 at 7:56 am
oh, those burgers sound out of this world! I don’t make burgers often, but after reading about this and others over the summer I will have to get more adventurous with them!
Natashya - October 15, 2009 at 8:34 am
Mmm, this is also very Canadian in flavours. I love it! Ontario shares many flavours with New England.
Such a great way to do your onions! I am looking forward to the ice cream. 🙂
Ben - October 15, 2009 at 8:56 am
I so wanna try those onions. That sounds like a great dinner with some sweet potato fries 😀
D. @ Outside Oslo - October 15, 2009 at 11:20 am
Oh man, that sounds great right about now. I probably shouldn’t be reading food blogs before breakfast!
Anyway, what qualities about the Sam Adams Boston Ale make that particular beer a good choice? Are there any others you might recommend?
Pam - October 15, 2009 at 11:37 am
I love anything with caramelized onions. This burger is drool worthy.
The Leftover Queen - October 15, 2009 at 11:52 am
Hi D. Thanks for your comment and visiting! That is a good question about beer choice. For one, it was what was in the fridge at the time, but I think I would generally choose a darker full bodied beer, even a stout maybe. I find that these beers, when you cook with them, lend a more sweet and caramel kind of flavor to whatever you are cooking. In this case, I thought that element would go particularly well with the sweetness of the maple.
Toni - October 15, 2009 at 12:45 pm
Perfect timing — I just got back from a trip that started in Yellowstone and ended with a buffalo roundup in Custer State Park, South Dakota. A buffalo burger sounds like a GREAT idea to me – and I’m with you on the caramelized onions. I’d say they go with anything except oatmeal!
FoodJunkie - October 15, 2009 at 1:09 pm
These burgers look fantastic! I have to try home made burgers once, they are one of those things i like so much I am afraid I am going to completely mess them up! I totally agree about caramelized onions. There is something seriously addictive about them and I bet they do go well with garlic ice cream!
lisaiscooking - October 15, 2009 at 5:09 pm
There are so many good things about bison. If I go back to eating red meat, I’ll start with bison! Great looking burger!
Marillyn @ just-making-noise - October 15, 2009 at 6:25 pm
Garlic ice cream?!?!? You’ve got to be kidding me! I’ll have to try it before I make a judgement call :o) LOVE the buffalo burgers… YUM!!! Stop by my blog, I’ve got something for ya! http://just-making-noise.blogspot.com/2009/10/gratitude-foodie-fights-award.html
velva - October 15, 2009 at 9:09 pm
What a fabulous burger! Girlfriend this rocks!
D. @ Outside Oslo - October 16, 2009 at 2:34 am
Thanks for your insight on the beer. I’ll definitely have to give beer in caramelized onions a try. I made a simpler version with balsamic over the summer to go with a blue cheese-stuffed burger, and that convinced me how wonderful of an accompaniment caramelized onions truly are.
Food Fascination - October 16, 2009 at 9:19 am
Love this. I can’t wait to make these for my family!
pierre - October 16, 2009 at 9:40 am
Hi dear Queen!
me too I am a fan of caramlized onions !
If you like French creative cuisine come and see my blog you are very welcome and the last recipe is in english ! see you then !!
Cheers Pierre From Paris France
Jessica @ How Sweet It Is - October 16, 2009 at 10:33 am
Ohmigosh this burger looks SO good. My husband would love it.
Michelle - October 16, 2009 at 4:53 pm
Love this! You must be psychic because I just was thinking about a good recipe for a buffalo burger! Can’t wait to try this one.
Michael Saxon - October 16, 2009 at 8:58 pm
Dear Jenn,
May I offer you a hand on heart thank you for your very kind support of Chefs Tales. I have added your fantastic blog to my blog roll as well.
Again, a very sincere thank you.
Warm regards,
Mike.
Amy @ Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free - October 16, 2009 at 10:43 pm
I was just talking to a girlfriend of mine about how much we both love buffalo meat. I bet the maple syrup adds a great flavor dimension, too. I would have to use brown rice syrup instead and I can’t get my head around a good beer sub but I’m sure there’s a possibility. Caramelized onions are always a good choice.
Ivy - October 17, 2009 at 3:26 am
I love caramelized onions and these burgers are definitely droolworthy.
Tracy - October 17, 2009 at 8:56 am
Maple Syrup! What a great idea, that would add loads of flavor to any burger.
Bellini Valli - October 17, 2009 at 2:48 pm
It sounds delicious with the ale and the maple syrup Jenn. I remember buffalo and then beef-alo when I lived in Alberta..so juicy.
Ann (Healthy Tasty Chow) - October 21, 2009 at 10:46 am
YUM! I never liked burgers in my life (except for buffalo burgers)until I got pregnant a few years ago- then it had to have caramelized onions on it. But I never tried it with maple- what a great idea, it’ll be on my to do list now:)
Spice Rack - October 28, 2009 at 1:00 am
Wow, the burger looks good. I haven’t thought about using maple syrup on burgers.
Peter - October 28, 2009 at 8:47 am
Jenn, I love buffalo and it’s flavour but just concerned about a dry burger. Maybe some mushrooms in the ground mixture?
The Leftover Queen - October 28, 2009 at 12:56 pm
Peter, I think the key is in the cooking time. Buffalo is much leaner and therefore needs less cooking time than conventional beef – although if you are used to grassfed beef, it is about the same.
Melissa Garretson - January 16, 2011 at 9:14 pm
We just recently found this recipe when looking for a healthy alternative to the burger craving and it is AWESOME!!! We altered it a little because we don’t have the particular bbq sauce plus my husband grills it and we actually double the quantity ; ), but it is the best burger we have ever had. We buy the sweet potato fries from Trader Joe’s and make an arugula aioli and entertain with it all the time. If you have never tried buffalo you are missing out. This is our favorite recipe and we are big foodies!!