"bison" news and stories

The program director of Animal Welfare Approved (the most well-known non-governmental organization for the certification of humanely raised livestock), Andrew Gunther, recently penned a piece about bison's rising move to feedlots. Becoming increasingly prized for its natural wild flavor, the undomesticated bison has been farmed before, Gunther notes, but always on pastures where the animals could roam and maintain their natural living and eating habits.

Once moved to feedlots, these self-sufficient animals are not only slated for an unhealthy, traumatizing life (Gunther notes the "powerful...graceful creatures" that "move with speed and purpose" become "confused and defeated"), but the lean gamey meat we so seek will become just as corn-laden and fatty as the similarly raised beef we already have.

Game meats such as venison (deer), wild boar, elk and ostrich are things gutsy foodies like Anthony Bourdain would love to find in a hot dog. They're things people hunted on open ranges for centuries but have become "exotic" ever since we were beef-or-chick-ified.

A Colorado company has recalled 66,000 pounds of "ground and tenderized steak bison products that may be contaminated with E. Coli 0157:H7," Examiner.com reported.

Rocky Mountain Natural Meats issued the voluntary nationwide recall after an investigation conducted by the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service, along with the CDC, FDA and public health departments in Colorado and New York revealed that "there is an association between the ground bison products" and illnesses in Colorado and New York, Examiner.com reported.

The E. coli 0157:H7 bacteria can cause dehydration, bloody diarrhea and kidney failure.

Bison. Photo: digitalART2/Flickr

• Bison meat is lean and non-gamey -- and also delicious.
  
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If I hadn't found myself contemplating how to eat a burger a myriad of times while out and about, I would've thought it was just me. But it isn't.

As a burger-loving community, we seem to have this obsession with huge, towering burgers -- even if they're ridiculously hard to eat, and usually result in each bite not having every delicious and hefty ingredient. I usually try to reign in my burger making for that precise reason. But the thing is, I usually don't think of it until I see the towering inferno of meat in front of me. Can our brains not process the heights of burgers, cheeses, veggies, and condiments?

Heck, I'm trying to watch my diet right now, and it didn't even occur to me to make the above burger thinner until I saw it all done up. It's like the meat gods have implanted a wall in which no rational anti-meat thought can get over until its too late. But at least it's a tasty weakness. A delicious and juicy tasty weakness.

The above burger is delectable ground bison, with a mixture of cheeses, a lightly sauteed tomato, and a ringed slice of caramelized onion.

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.

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