Nearly extinct at the turn of the twentieth century, buffalo currently number about 400,000 in the U.S. and Canada. Europeans were to blame: trophy hunting, sport hunting, plain slaughter. For Native Americans though, bison were the perfect compliment on the prey side of a predator/prey relationship as they provided not only nutritious meat and organs, but, as most people know, no part of the animal was wasted. Shelter, sewing material, weapons were all made from what wasn't eaten.
As to what was eaten and why you ought to consider buffalo now: it is lower in cholesterol than other meats, not to mention calories. Buffalo meat is also higher in protein than very lean beef, and pork, and nearly equal to skinless chicken breast; it is lowest in fat of all the common meats. Buffalo burgers, steaks, even prepared fajitas are now easy to find in most supermarkets. You can order from any number of sites online. I have eaten many a buff burger and even tried a buffalo pate. One thing I could never stomach was Rocky Mountain Oysters, but I've known folks with progressive palettes that savor these delicacies...
Buffalo meat is quite lean, so be aware to baste often and cook at low heat when roasting or BBQing a large cut. I recommend thin tenderloin steaks with garlic, onion, dill, and olive oil. You can even find organically raised buffalo to boot.
9-01-2006 @7:48PM Dr. Electro said... My first ever taste of buffalo was in 1964. We were living in Muleshoe, Texas and it was founders day, July 4. The Odessa Chuck Wagon Gang came to town to feed us all barbecue. My brother and I went to where they were set up and loaded up on pounds of goodies including two pounds of shredded barbecue buffalo and two pounds of cubed barbecue buffalo. I had nevere realized what I was missing to that point in time. The taste still lives on in my memory all these years later.
Now, there is a place not too far from my home that sells buff burgers. They are really tasty but can't compare to that first taste of buffalo.
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9-02-2006 @7:29AM Mark said... I had buffalo meat as part of the sampler at the excellent Mitsitam Native Foods Cafe in the Smithsonian operated National Museum of the American Indian in the capital mall in Washington, D.C. It tasted great -- but it was so tough I eventually had to give up and spit it out into a napkin. In it end it was like a delicious, savory chewing gum.
The big winner at the Mitsitam is the wild rice concoction in the sampler.
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