What to do with Buffalo?

I confess that I'm like a kid in a candy store whenever I visit a new farm or market so naturally I returned from my recent visit to the Readington River Buffalo Company with an ample supply of ground bison along with several steaks for the freezer. Knowing that bison meat is considerably leaner than beef chuck (my instinctual choice for a tasty burger) I knew that infusing flavor into the meat for a great summer burger would be important. My first thought was to add some delicious salty cheese like blue or feta. Perhaps tuck the cheese into the center so that it will ooze out and add flavor during cooking. But, wouldn't that then defeat the purpose of this healthier meat choice? That's when I remembered the brown bag of cremini mushrooms purchased on Saturday am at the West Windsor Farmers' Market from Davidson's Exotic Mushrooms. Cremini mushrooms are simply baby portobello's and have loads of great mushroom texture and flavor particularly sauteed with shallots or onions. So the idea became to create a delicious duxelle of mushrooms (much like that found in a traditional beef Wellington) to mix into the meat before cooking and I must say it worked out beautifully! The burgers are tasty and moist. I served them with a simple topping of chopped ripe garden tomatoes with diced red onion, shredded basil and a dash of balsamic vinegar.

Confused about whether it's buffalo or bison? I was too but here's the deal. Bison are the animals native to North America and the ones raised here on this farm. The American bison is sometimes referred to as American buffalo as they strike a strong resemblance to the buffalo found in Africa and Asia.

Portobello Bison Burgers
makes 5 medium burgers

1 pound ground buffalo(or bison)
12 ounces portobello or cremini mushrooms, cleaned and coarsely chopped
2 large shallots (or one medium onion), peeled and coarsely chopped
2 tbs olive oil
3/4 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 tsps balsamic vinegar
generous dash of Worcester sauce

Pile mushrooms and onions into the work bowl of a food processor and pulse on and off until finely chopped. Heat the olive oil in a saute pan, add the mushroom mixture, season with the salt and pepper and saute until water from mushrooms has been released and the mixture cooks down and begins to brown and stick to the pan.
Add the balsamic vinegar, still in, working up the bits clinging to the bottom of the pan. Set aside to cool for a least 15 minutes. Once cool combine the mushroom and onion mixture with the ground meat, season with a dash of Worcester and work together using your hands until well blended. Form into five plump burgers.
Preheat the grill and cook over a hot fire for about 4 minutes per side or until charred on the outside but still tender and juicy.