The Blackstone Bison Patty Melt

Bittersweet post – Our refrigerator/freezer decided to go tits up on this particular week (can we say that anymore? I did.). Our freezer was packed with some good stuff – Was a bit late catching the death, so lost some items between the cooler salvage and the AED-style reviving – it’s been a rough week. Not to mention I get pissy when I can’t fix it and resign to the fact we’re replacing it.

Carrying on, the pound of Bison blend was salvaged and we went for patty melts today. I always thought the patty melt was a “leftover” kind of cook, but the fact I used the ground bison, heart and liver blend – we upped it a little bit. Recipe below, but read on to watch the magic come to life.

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Recipe

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The Prep Table

I know I’ve mentioned the “Force of Nature” products before, but I couldn’t recall if I did the Bison Ancestral Blend. I enjoy these Ancestral ones – some are put off by the heart/liver blended in it, but embrace the top of the food chain already. We’re making three sammiches – get six slices of that Country White, a pile of onions, cheap ass Kraft singles and a pound of meat. We’re seasoning with a coarse ground garlic pepper rub from The Spice House.

Ain’t a whole lot to mention in the Prep section. It’ll be fast and furious for the process as we’re going item-to-item on the Blackstone. You know how I do with my two-burner… Medium-High on the left side, low on the right – so I’m cooking and saving. Let’s get to the cooking already

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The Process

Like I said, the patty melt is simple. Burger on white bread. What makes it a patty melt is that sautéed onion for sure. Since I hated onion as a kid, I’ve made up for it in adulthood. I had these sliced from my braunschweiger cook – so I threw these on the Blackstone and chopped them up as they cooked. I wanted them roughly cut, not diced – not thinly sliced… just cut enough, I guess.

Drizzle that olive oil on the surface and spread it around. I probably only used a tablespoon or so, because I decided to go unhealthy. Doctor gave me a clean^{1 2} bill of health recently, so I’m pushing the limit. Add 2 Tbsp of butter and make that your base as the onions get soft.

¹Said to eat less red meat.
² Finding a new doctor.

This was a judgement call. I knew I had that butter coating, so I threw the bread on now. Put a soft toast on each side to soak the butter and put them on the tray for later. I mentioned above about my two-tiered heating method. Time to get that bison meat on there.

We went small to get maximum surface crust on these burgers. Definitely go say hi to those Force of Nature guys – such an excellent product.

While I absolutely love my own seasonings – I also love others products. The Spice House knocked this one out of the park. After you’ve checked out Force of Nature, go see The Spice House, specifically that Back of the Yards blend.

In true smash burger style, season and smash. Get that ground meat crispy. Get a little char in that bite and you’ll be better off for it.

Once that bison burger is nice and done, throw a square of cheese on there and top with onion. Let them flavors join and let’s see the result!

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The Result

The bread had cooled off a little too much (remember that judgement call? We’re doing it over). The bread had that butter/oil soak from the previous go – might as well get them bison juices in there as well. Put the bread on the surface, spatula’d them burgers on it and topped. Pretty sure I flipped them to get a good temperature all around, but here’s what we got – The Blackstone Bison Patty Melt!

Threw some butcher paper down in the tray for the travel to the kitchen. But as any blogger will do, had to snap a picture of that too:

I like my burgers. Not only do I have a category for that (Burger) which feature these so far: Oklahoma Onion Burger, Bison Burger and JoJo Wedges Frozen “Meat District” Burger. I need a pickle on the burger. And not just any pickle will do. I love the cheap ass, thin cut pickle – especially for the patty melt. Slice it in half, and we’re left with this:

What I like about the patty melt is the emphasis is on a dirty, blue-collar meal. White bread, griddled meat and onion/pickle. What I like is the meat emphasis – especially when using a blend such as this one. Absolutely great flavor – both from the bison and the seasoning. Give this one a go, you’ll love it!

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The Recipe