Today’s post in my series on organ meats uses bison liver from US Wellness Meats. However, you can use any other type of liver if you wish.
Liver contains high levels of retinol (preformed vitamin A). This type of vitamin A is ready to be used by the body, unlike beta-carotene, which the body must convert to retinol before use. Liver is also high in all the B vitamins, folate, riboflavin, selenium, EPA, DHA, and the most easily absorbable type of iron (heme iron).
These burgers are a cross between my I ❤️ Bacon Burgers and these 50/50/50 Burgers. I’ve never liked liver, so I knew I wanted to use a smaller liver to other meats ratio than the 50/50/50 burgers and I knew I needed to add spices to get myself to eat them.
I’ve tried adding very small amounts of beef liver to burgers before, and it did not go well. While my unsuspecting family ate them without complaint, I could not get over the liver smell from preparing them and didn’t eat any. I decided to try bison liver this time after reading that it was milder in flavor. This proved to be a great idea! Not only was the flavor much milder, but the bison liver was nearly odorless.
I ordered my bison liver from US Wellness Meats. According to the packaging, it came from Wild Idea Buffalo Company. As I mentioned above, it was nearly odorless. It was also already sliced, which would be handy for those of you who enjoy liver and onions.
I soaked the liver in water with lemon juice for a few hours to reduce the liver taste. I was very pleasantly surprised that there was zero liver smell when I was grinding the liver or cooking the burgers. The finished product was very tasty. This was the first time I have ever been able to actually enjoy eating liver. The burgers tasted slightly gamier than regular beef and bacon burgers or I ❤️ Bacon Burgers, but they did not scream LIVER like my previous attempts at liver burgers. I think this bison liver would also hide very well in heavily spiced dishes such as chili or tacos.
Bacon/Beef/Liver burgers
Ingredients
- 8 oz bison liver (or other liver)
- 1 lemon (juice only)
- 1 pound bacon (sugar free and uncured for AIP)
- 1 pound ground beef (nutrition info is calculated with 90% lean)
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp bacon grease (or other fat of choice)
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Place the bison liver in a glass bowl and cover with water. Add the lemon juice and stir gently. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or up to 12 hours.
- Drain the liver and pat dry. Cut the liver and the bacon into 1 inch pieces and mix them together.
- Grind the bacon and liver using a meat grinder or a food processor. The liver will get kind of squishy as you grind it. Mixing the liver with the bacon and grinding them together will reduce the amount of liver splashing.
- Add the ground beef, oregano, basil, garlic powder, and onion powder to the ground bacon and liver. Using your hands, mix well and divide into eight equal patties. Flatten the patties down so they are about half an inch thick and sprinkle the salt over both sides of the patties.
- Heat the bacon grease in a 10 inch cast iron skillet over medium heat until it is shimmering. Add three patties and cook without moving for 6-8 minutes or until well browned on the bottom and cooked nearly through around the edges.
- Flip the patties and cook for 3-4 minutes or until well browned and cooked to your desired doneness. Remove the cooked patties to a platter and cook the remaining patties the same way.
Nutrition
Additional Reading for more information:
Wellness Mama: Are Organ Meats Healthy?
Marks Daily Apple: Dear Mark: Does the Liver Accumulate Toxins?
SCD Lifestyle: 7 Health Benefits of Organ Meats
Men’s Journal: 7 Nutrient-Packed Animal Organs
Maria Emmerich and Craig Emmerich: Keto: The Complete Guide to Success on the Ketogenic Diet
Truth About Abs: Does this “Weird” Type of Meat Have More Vitamins than Veggies?