Bison Burger with Goat Cheese and Pinot Noir Carmelized Onions

As you'll recall, two weeks ago I regaled you all with the saga of my busted refrigerator and the desire to work through the meat in my freezer. I put it out to a vote, and the winning meat was the bison burger. I'm also happy to report that my new refrigerator will be arriving tomorrow, so it's fitting that I should post this today.

The bison meat that I had was in pre-made patties, so it limited my creativity a bit in what to make. Let's be honest. After a long work day, sometimes I just don't want to have to think or make the tough decisions. Like what type of cheese to put on a bison burger. So I kept this simply...delicious.

Bison Burger with Goat Cheese and Pinot Noir Carmelized Onions (serves 2)

Ingredients:

• 1 small vidalia onion, sliced
• 1 sprig thyme
• 1/2 TB. olive oil, plus additional for cooking burgers
• 1/2 cup pinot noir
• 1/2 lb. ground bison
• 1 TB chopped parsley1 clove garlic, finely minced or pressed
• salt and pepper
• 2 oz goat cheese
• 2 split hamburger buns

Directions:

In a  skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onions and the thyme. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook with a pinch of salt until the onions are soft golden brown, about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pluck out the thyme sprig  and then increase the heat to medium-high. Add the wine and cook until it’s almost completely absorbed, about 5-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, press the parsley, garlic, salt and pepper into the patties. Cook them however you like–grill, broil, pan fry, about 2 1/2 minutes per side for medium.

Broil or toast the buns with the goat cheese on them. Serve the burgers on the toasted buns with the onions.