Buffalo - It's What's for Dinner Tonight
Quick, Tasty, Sustainable - Bison is the Latest Food Fashion Trend
What's for Dinner Tonight? Try Buffalo
When you want a quick and healthy meal, and you're ready to stretch just a little, try bison.
Much lower in fat than beef, buffalo is a delicious alternative. The "other red meat"? Perhaps the original red meat.
Here's a "Wild Idea" for Dinner - Really
Wild Idea Buffalo is a company whose time has come. S/O/L/E (Sustainable, Organic, Local, Ethical) are the buzzwords in the food world today. If it doesn't delight the palate, why bother? Thankfully, the choices are better than that for the omnivore with a conscience.
Not all bison are created equal, but many buffalo farmers are raising grass-fed and free-roaming bison to bring us delicious and healthy buffalo, but they produce it in humane ways that are sustainable. With all the scary news about beef, you either have to contemplate eating less of it, eating none of it or finding some happy alternative. Look no further.
Free roaming, antibiotic- and hormone-free, humanely harvested buffalo is the new red meat. If it's not, it should be. Nutritionally, buffalo is lean with far less of the "bad" fats and more of the "good" fat (Omega-3s). It is also higher in selenium, which may reduce the risk for cancer.
Buffalo or Bison?
Though largely known as buffalo, the true name of the species here is bison. Bison bison or American bison, what we know as "buffalo," is the largest north American land mammal. Millions of them were reduced to a mere couple hundred through the introduction of Europeans in North America. Changing both the way they were hunted and the numbers that were taken, the European settlers nearly decimated the entire population. Today, the buffalo population is making a comeback due in part to conservationists, responsible farmers, and in part, to consumers.
Good for the Land, Good for Us
Turn on the news most any evening and learn about food contaminated by industrial farm runoff or unknown pollutants. The carelessness with which our patchwork of policies and practices have been implemented in industrial farming is evident across the nation. In fact, the flooding of the agricultural region in Iowa will have devastating consequences for the nation 's food supply. Careful attention to the news reveals that long before the swelling rivers polluted people's drinking water, environmental disasters were in the making from these "big - AG" practices.
A Return and a Great Meal
The story of buffalo's near extinction is full of important lessons if only we will learn them. Responsible stewardship of the land is just one. The way that these buffalo are raised today, protects rather than depletes, the land.
It's moving to read about the humane way the Wild Idea Buffalo are raised and harvested. Even the daily news from the farm is so eloquently described. Check out the Cheyenne River Writings. And the comeback of this majestic animal is a perfect example of the "eat-it-to-save-it" philosophy. One can hope that heritage breeds and buffalo will be saved by consumers' rediscovery of the tasty alternatives to industrial agricultural products we've grown accustomed to.
To learn more about the Sustainable Harvest Alliance, see the WIB site.
But, a nice philosophy does not a meal make. It will win few hearts, minds or palates to the cause if the taste is not there. Buffalo delivers on all scores: surprisingly tender, not at all gamey, lean and delicious, even slightly sweet.
A simple preparation for Buffalo Steaks:
- Thaw steaks, rinse, pat dry.
- Season as below.
- 2-3 garlic cloves pressed/mashed with kosher salt.
- Olive oil.
- Fresh chopped thyme, rosemary, parsley
- Capers (salted capers are best, rinse well).
- A few dashes of Maggi (this savory condiment adds umami), Worcestershire sauce.
- Fresh ground pepper.
A quick sear in a cast iron skillet on the stove top, followed by finishing in the oven, produces tender steaks. Cooking times must be reduced to account for the leanness of the meat. After steaks are done, remove from pan, rest (them not you), and add a splash of wine or Madeira to deglaze the pan. Finish with pat of cold butter. Now you have a delicious pan sauce.
Sides
- Salad of bitter greens, goat cheese, dried blueberries and farro makes good accompaniment. A light Balsamic dressing.
- Beets: steamed in orange juice in microwave (or roasted in foil, skin on). Quarter the beets drizzle with bergamot olive oil.
Buffalo
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Bison rib eye and salad
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