Scoop
Q: Why bison meat?
A: Several years ago, I watched Rick Bayless challenge Bobby Flay on the popular show, Iron Chef America, in what was called “Battle Bison.” Although I had eaten bison meat before, this show got me more interested in incorporating this healthy and lean meat into my family’s diet. Around this same time, a good friend of mine had a health awakening and had researched various ways of increasing protein and reducing fats and carbs in his diet. He sang the praises of bison meat and I listened. One of the great things about bison is that most bison producers take more care in the process of raising animals. Most commercial supermarket beef couldn’t be more opposite with the animals mostly being raised in feedlots. Those animals are usually fed animal by-products and a high concentration of grain and are kept in stressful conditions during the slaughter process. These conditions decrease the quality of the meat.
Q: Does bison taste “gamey”?
A: No, it does not taste strange in any way. In fact, the first time I cooked bison NY Strip steaks, our twin daughters said nothing other than, “great,” and my wife thought it was better than beef. My wife said buying b**f steaks at the meat market was a “rip off” compared to the great bison steaks we were eating at the time. I should advise that older grass fed animals may have a slightly gamey taste. However, supermarket b**f may be the gamiest thing around! People just don’t know it.
Q: Is Bison meat safe and inspected like other meats?
A: In general, bison is subject to the regulations that other most other meats are. Always confirm that any type of meat you are purchasing is USDA inspected. You can see the USDA fact sheet about bison here.
Q: Is bison meat graded like b**f?
A: No, it is not. If you want to see something a little shady, check out the b**f grading list – the top three grades are essentially synonyms (Prime, Select and Choice). This tends to confuse consumers into thinking it’s all great! Imagine if you asked what type of meat you could buy and the butcher said, “Awesome, Excellent, or Fantastic,” but these all were different quality levels. See here for Wikipedia’s entry on b**f grading. There are 8 different grades of b**f.
Q: Why did you start this site?
A: I started Fresh American Bison to showcase my interest in food and cooking. Bison meat is gaining in popularity but many buyers have no idea what to do with it once they’ve purchased it. I hope my site helps people understand that bison meat is versatile and you can have fun with it.
Q: Why is bison meat so healthy in comparison to b**f?
A: In most cases, bison is raised in a gentle way and fed natural grasses or grains free from animal byproducts. The slaughtering process is much better as well. The protein content of bison is very high and the fat content is very low. See here for some good nutrition facts: Bison Nutritional Comparison Chart. Also, bison is just a good product. Do some research and compare it with b**f. Look at the chemicals given to most animals on feedlots. Also, click here for the Wikipedia entry on American Bison.
Q: Where are you located?
A: I’m in the Oklahoma City area. Oklahoma City is a great place. We have a lot of culture here: a huge Mexican population, an NBA basketball team, a big Asian district, a revitalized downtown area, the prestigious Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics, the Academy of Contemporary Music, a well known jazz club and jazz education center, a wonderful art museum, and of course great restaurants and cooking. COOP Aleworks is alive and well too. Regarding bison, we have a number of producers and many restaurants serving it here. We have some famous people from here too. My favorite restaurants here are: Cafe Do Brasil, 1492, Chalo’s Tacos, Zorba’s, Grateful Bean, Cuppies and Joe, Little Mike’s, El Salvador, Brown Suga Cafe, and I guess I could go on…I don’t frequent chain restaurants. One of the more interesting rock bands of the past 50 years is also based in Oklahoma City.
Contact David: freshamericanbison@gmail.com
Comments on this entry are closed.