I love buffalo burgers. When prepared correctly they beat the pants off of beef burgers. If I see buffalo burgers on a menu, I close it immediately- decision made. They are simply irresistible.

Around our house we typically celebrate holidays by pulling out all the stops and prepare an over the top feast which leaves everyone in a food induced coma for days. This past Memorial Day was no exception. With three whole days to prepare for the meal I decided to make the ultimate buffalo burger.

First I found a buffalo:

Then…I hereby concede that anyone who kills their own buffalo probably makes a better burger.

Okay, so let’s start again. First I made my own hamburger buns. This recipe for Cemita buns, the foundation of a sandwich originating in Puebla, Mexico, has haunted me since I first read about it over at Homesick Texan. Lisa wrote that Cemita is similar to brioche or challah and makes a wicked hamburger bun. I’ve been searching for a bun like this since encountering beef burger heaven in San Antonio in 2007. Happily the resulting buns were very close to my memory, with a rich egg bread texture that would elevate the buffalo burgers to new heights.

Making the Cemita Hamburger Buns

Second, I made my own ketchup. Again, I turned to Homesick Texan and Lisa’s recipe for chipotle ketchup. Yes, chipotle ketchup- how could I resist that? It was easy to make while the flavor was smoky, spicy, and addictive. Next time I will probably reduce the chipotle a little, but the tongue buzz and warm tingle around the edges of my lips only added to the ketchup’s addictive nature.

Making the Chipotle Ketchup

Third, we shaped the patties and prepped the remaining toppings: lettuce, tomato, avocado, and Tilamook extra sharp cheddar cheese (my favorite cheddar).

Making the Buffalo Burgers

Fourth, I made buttermilk onion rings with red and white onions. My mother never ever fried food. It wasn’t healthy and we didn’t need all that grease. So now whenever I fry food (which is quite rare) I feel like I’m doing something rather naughty. The perfect way to go all out! The stage was set, the ingredients were prepped, and we fired up the grill.

Making the Buttermilk Onion Rings

Buffalo burgers should never be cooked more than a medium rare to medium level of doneness. The meat will dry out and the juicy flavor which makes them so great will be lost. To combat this I shape my buffalo burgers more like golf balls, with a high center.

Finally, we placed our burgers on the grill, flipped them and added cheese, and then a few minutes later they were done. Sandwiched between a Cemita bun, slathered in chipotle ketchup, oozing with sharp cheddar, and topped with crispy onion rings- it was the ultimate buffalo burger.

Ultimate Buffalo Burgers (Printable Recipe)
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 pound Ground buffalo
4 oz Extra sharp cheddar cheese, sliced into 4 pieces
Salt and Pepper
4 large leaves Bibb lettuce
4 slices of Tomato
1/2 Avocado, sliced
4 tablespoons Mayonnaise

4 Cemita Buns (Recipe Here)- Can be made 1 day to 1 month ahead (keep frozen)
Chipotle Ketchup (Recipe Here) – Can be made up to 1 week ahead
Buttermilk Onion Rings (Recipe Here) – I used a mix of red and white onions

Directions:
Pre-heat a grill to medium-high heat (400-500 degrees). Shape ground buffalo into four equal size balls. Flatten balls slightly, maintaining a thick center. Season both sides of the meat with salt and pepper. Let meat rest a few minutes while you prep the other ingredients.

Once the grill is hot, place the burgers on the grill and cook for about four minutes. Flip burgers and place cheese slices on top. Continue to cook burgers until they reach your desired level of doneness- about five minutes longer for medium rare on my grill. Check doneness by discreetly cutting into one of the burgers. Once burgers are cooked to your liking, remove from heat. Spread 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise on each cemita bun, place a burger on each bun, and then layer with remaining ingredients as desired. Enjoy!

Last week in the Bread Baker’s Apprentice Challenge our task was to make classic New York City style bagels. Yes, that’s right- homemade bagels! Yikes. After reading the recipe I thought to myself, “Well at least if they turn out to be hockey pucks, they’ll still look okay!” Relieved that unlike the Artos Greek Celebration bread these bagels had no need for wild yeast starter, I bravely got to work.

After making the first loaf in this challenge by hand, I decided that technology is a wonderful thing and that I would let my mixer have all the pleasure of kneading dough. So far my mixer has taken on this job with no complaint, but the incredibly stiff bagel dough just about broke it’s figurative back. The motor started to smell after about 6 minutes and I quickly turned off the machine while it angrily radiated heat. Fortunately the dough was at “windowpane” stage and ready to be shaped into the bagels.

Making the Bagels

Shaping the bagels was surprisingly easy. I simply rolled the dough into 4.5 oz balls, let them sit for a while, and then rolled each ball into a thick rope. I looped the rope over my hand, sealed the ends, and presto- a bagel! The bagels chilled in the fridge overnight to develop more flavor and then the next morning I took them out and boiled them briefly in water and baking soda.

After the quick boil, Mr. B pressed sesame seeds, asiago cheese, and poppy seeds onto the bagels and into the oven they went. A short fifteen minutes later we had eye-poppingly beautiful bagels. Impatiently we watched the clock for another twenty minutes to let them cool down, and then slathered on cream cheese and took the first bite.

Asiago, Black and White Sesame Garlic, Candied Meyer Lemon Peel Poppy Seed Bagels

I DID IT! They were chewy, salty, yeasty, and oh so good. Frankly I’m still sitting here in shock that I actually made real bagels. In my mind it would be worth buying the Bread Baker’s Apprentice just to have this recipe. They were terrific and I can’t wait to make them again. By the end of this year I just may figure out how to make bread after all…!

Before I share the story behind this very large loaf of bread, I want to announce the two winners of the Oikos Greek Yogurt contest. Using the online random number generator the winners are: #3 (Kristin from Going Country) and #2 (Allie from Screwed Up Texan). Congratulations! Send me an email with your address (phoo-dATphoo-d.com). I was blown away by all the kind comments. I knew that the best part about this blog is my interaction with you but reading your comments confirmed that I have wonderful readers. Thank you!

Now back to the bread. If you have been following along for a while, you may note that this is the first loaf of bread to appear on the site. My skills in the kitchen fall primarily into the cooking category with only brief forays into baked goods. Working with dough begins to make me nervous and when you elevate it to working with a live yeast starter I break into a sweat. One of my kitchen goals for 2009 was to learn how to make San Francisco style sourdough bread. Mr. B gave me a sourdough starter and ceramic canister for Christmas and I have somehow managed to keep it “alive” over the past six months. Yet my attempts at sourdough bread repeatedly created nothing more than inedible hockey pucks, which sat on my counter mocking me until I finally threw them into the garbage. I quickly came to the realization that I had no clue what I was doing and needed professional help.

Searching for help online, I found the The Bread Baker’s Apprentice by Peter Reinhart which was touted as the perfect resource for those wanting to become schooled in the art of making bread. It promised to break down the process in a technical but easy to understand manner- just what I needed. Only a week after my book arrived I saw a query from Nicole at Pinch My Salt asking if anyone wanted to join her in a bread baking challenge. She was going to bake one recipe a week from The Bread Baker’s Apprentice until she had baked her way through the entire book from start to finish. With a significant amount of trepidation I decided I would take on the challenge. Over 200 people from around the world also decided to join in and the flour started flying. The group is closed to new members to keep it from growing to an unmanageable size, but everyone is encouraged to “bake along” or read along by following this page.

Making the Artos Greek Celebration Bread

My first bread from the book was a failure. It didn’t rise enough and then deflated in the oven. (I’m still figuring out why.) At that point I seriously wondered what the heck I had gotten myself into. Luckily, the second loaf, a Greek Celebration Bread, turned out beautifully- rising until it was bigger than my head! Seasoned with grated orange peel, almond extract, cinnamon, and cloves this bread has an entrancing aroma. The texture is somewhat similar to an egg bread with a crackly outer crust and a densely rich interior crumb- delicious. It truly is a celebration of bread and is fitting for a holiday since the loaf is big enough to feed a large group of people.

I am not going to post recipes from the book, but will share any delicious successes or embarassing stories of utter failure as I march onward through the challenge. If you are interested in learning how to conquer bread baking I encourage you to pick up a copy of The Bread Baker’s Apprentice and follow along!