Bison? Bizon?... Buffalo

Bison meat is becoming quite popular-- trendy, even. The reason for this is its very low fat content. And bison is actually quite tasty. Mark and I picked up a giant sirloin steak from the Wisconsin ranch where we will likely buy our next side of grass-fed beef and threw it on the grill today.  When I say giant, I mean Fred Flintstone big.  One sirloin steak was enough for a family.  It looked more like a roast.  And though I was expecting a gamier taste, the flavor was very close to beef.


Bison, as many of you probably know, is the Native American name for what we used to call buffalo (and some still do).  But Mary, the rancher's wife...maybe the rancher (not a hundred percent sure), explained to me that in Canada, they say "Bizon." I must have some Canadian blood in me somewhere, because what slips off my tongue every time is Bizon, not Bison. But bison, by any other name is buffalo meat, and sells for a hair less than double what you'll pay for plain ole grass-fed beef.


So what are you getting for this extra money?

At about $15 a pound for roasts and steaks and $9 to $10 a pound for ground meat, buffalo meat has roughly 32% few calories than beef or pork and about 24% fewer calories than skinless chicken breast, primarily because it is very low in fat-- about 88% less than beef.  It also has less fat than pork, salmon or even venison.  Now, granted, dietary fat is not our dietary problem as Americans.  But many people still insist that they must reduce their fat intake in order to be healthy.  For those people, buffalo may well be the meat for them.  If you're not drastically cutting back your consumption of sugar and processed foods, eating a little buffalo now and then because it's low-fat is not going to help too much.

The best thing about buffalo, by far, is not the low-fat factor, but the fact that they are typically ranged on natural grassland, eating a natural diet, and producing natural wholesome meat.  You can't go wrong with that.


Though I like buffalo well enough to eat it when it's served to me, I don't like it well enough to pay that much more money for it. I'll stick with the grass-fed beef. Last year about this time, we bought a side of grass-fed beef from a local farmer.  Word to the wise--sample before your buy in bulk. The meat we bought on faith was tough, dry and, to my disappointment, not very flavorful.  I even used the tactics laid out in Tender Grass-Fed Beef.  But my particular grass-fed meat was not about to cooperate. However, when you end up with a freezer full of very expensive meat, tough or otherwise, you eat it and hope for the best next time.  Well, it's about to be "next time" and this time we tried some sample meat from another farm.  All I can say is WOW!  Even the hamburger is amazing.  


So, what's so great about grass-fed beef, you ask?  Besides its environmental sustainability, it is known for its balanced omega fat distribution-- 1:1 compared to 1:15 or more (omega 3 to omega 6) and its high levels of cancer-fighting CLAs (conjugated linoleic acids).  Feed lot beef, on the other hand, are pumped full of growth hormones to make them fat and antibiotics to kill the diseases they're plagued with from being crammed into tight quarters, walking around in manure, and eating corn and other nasties that wreak havoc on their digestive system.  Grass-fed cattle are happier and healthier, getting sunshine, exercise, and the food their bodies were designed to eat.

Buying grass-fed beef in the supermarket "organic" section or at your local health food store will have you spending premium dollars for meat.  It tends to run about twice the cost of factory meat.  Hamburger will run about $6 a pound, and steaks and roasts will be around $10 to $12. If you can afford to buy bulk--a quarter or half (called a "side")-- the costs begin to fall to about $5 a pound on average, processed. Average out your supermarket factory meat at $2 to $3 a pound for hamburger and $6 to $8 a pound for steaks and roasts (I may be off a bit - it's been awhile since I bought that stuff), and the grass-fed bulk meat approaches the cost of factory meat.  Buy a freezer.

Shopping this way is an investment for sure, but think of it as an investment in your health.  Investing in your health pays the very special dividend of avoiding doctors and hospitals-- an idea I find especially pleasant.  I don't know about you, but I'm not feeling too confident about the evolution of our health care system...but that's a topic for another day.