Blue Bison Burgers — who says camp cooking has to be boring? We wanted something bold and flavorful but simple to prepare while camping. Patti suggested blue cheese as a stuffing, and its tang perfectly complements our smoked garlic sauce over the burger. The result is rich, savory, and memorable.
We love creating hearty camp meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner that people remember. This Blue Bison Burger fits that category: satisfying, straightforward, and ideal for a tailgate or hunting camp. We cook ours on a compact wood pellet tailgater grill that gives a light kiss of smoke, but these burgers work well on any quality grill.
Blue Bison Burgers — A Wood Pellet Grill Recipe
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 12 minutes total at 400°F (205°C) — about six minutes per side with a quarter turn halfway through for attractive sear marks.
Grill: compact wood pellet tailgater or any grill capable of maintaining 400°F.
Pellets: use a BBQ-friendly blend to suit your taste; mild hardwood or a Texas blend works well.
Video tutorial available on the original recipe site for step-by-step visuals.
Ingredients: Blue Bison Burgers
- 2 lb ground bison
- ½ lb blue cheese, crumbled and divided
- 1 cup blue cheese dressing (Greek yogurt style works great)
- 1 cup smoked garlic sauce
- Seasoning (we like a robust cattle-style seasoning), to taste
- Your favorite buns and condiments
Cooking Directions
Divide the ground bison into eight equal ¼ pound portions. Lightly season both sides of each portion with your preferred beef or cattle-style seasoning. Form patties by hand or with a press, keeping them slightly larger than the bun since they will shrink while cooking.
On four of the patties, place a heaping tablespoon of crumbled blue cheese in the center. Top each with a second patty and press the edges to seal the cheese inside—make sure the seams are well sealed so the cheese stays contained during cooking.
In a small bowl, combine smoked garlic sauce with one cup of blue cheese dressing and stir in about ½ cup of crumbled blue cheese (adjust to taste) to make a smoky blue garlic sauce for serving.
Preheat your grill to 400°F (205°C) and oil the grates. Place the burgers directly on the grill and cook for roughly 12 minutes total, turning once and giving a quarter turn after 6 minutes for cross-hatch grill marks. Cook until internal temperature reaches about 160°F (71°C) for medium-well; USDA recommends 165°F (74°C) for ground meats to be fully safe. Remember the meat will rise a few degrees while resting.
Once done, remove the burgers, cover loosely, and let them rest for 5–10 minutes before serving. Serve on toasted buns with the smoky blue garlic sauce and your favorite condiments.
Notes on Pellets and Smoking
When cooking on a pellet grill, remember that the choice of pellet blend affects smoke character at lower temperatures. For recipes that call for smoking under 250°F (122°C), the pellet flavor will be more pronounced. At higher grill temperatures — such as 400°F for these burgers — the cooking process dominates and smoke impact is lighter. Feel free to experiment with blends until you find one you enjoy.
Smoky Blue Garlic Sauce — Quick Directions
Mix 1 cup blue cheese dressing with 1 cup smoked garlic sauce. Stir in ½ cup (or more) crumbled blue cheese. Adjust seasoning to taste. This sauce pairs beautifully with the stuffed bison burgers and adds creamy, smoky tang.
About Our Recipes
We test recipes across a variety of grills and smokers—pellet, gas, charcoal, and wood-fired ovens—to find techniques that produce dependable, tasty results. The key elements are time and temperature; once you control those, you can adapt recipes to your preferred equipment. Don’t be afraid to tweak ingredients to suit your taste.
Cooking outdoors adds flavor and atmosphere you can’t replicate indoors, but if weather forces you inside, the fundamental recipe still works in a cast-iron skillet or oven with adjusted timing.
Live your passion and cook what you love.
Ken & Patti
Acknowledgments
We test and prepare recipes with a variety of tools and ingredients supplied by several manufacturers and small businesses. We appreciate the support of companies that provide equipment and products which help us refine techniques and share dependable recipes with readers.
