Roast Buffalo (Bison), several recipes

American Bison

By Cat, Oct 2018 (Image, right, from Wikimedia Commons)

The following recipes are adapted from a flyer on Cooking Bison at my local grocery store. Bison is a very healthful meat, and tasty too. It is not as fatty, and has more protein per ounce, than beef. Generally, bison insist on pasture grass and will not eat corn/soy (GMO) feed. They may eat alfalfa which could be GMO, so buy from a rancher you trust.

• Includes: 1. Buffalo Chuck Roast; 2. Buffalo Red Wine Roast; 3. Buffalo Roast with Orange; 4. Bison Pot Roast; 5. Slow-Cooker Bison Roast;
• See also: 1. Beef, Venison, Buffalo, Yak Menu; 2. Thickening Sauces using Flour or Starch; 3. Non-Flour Starches & Other Thickeners;

Buffalo Chuck Roast

This recipe uses a couple convenience foods; I’d prefer to use fresh ingredients but have not yet experimented with replacements.

It also roasts the meat wrapped in aluminum foil. Aluminum is a toxic heavy metal so should never come in contact with edible food. Options:

• Line the foil with parchment paper before wrapping around the roast; this is the option I would use.
• Use a roasting pan with a lid, but that might require adjusting oven temp or roasting time.

Serves 4 – 6.

Ingredients & Equipment:

• 2 1/2 – 3 1/2 lb buffalo roast
• Dry onion soup mix
• 1 can of cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
• Equipment:
• Aluminum foil and parchment paper

Method

1. Preheat oven to 300°F.
2. Tear off a length of foil that will completely wrap around and cover the roast. Repeat with a length of parchment paper, then place it on top of the foil.
3. Sprinkle the dry onion soup mix on top, and cover with 1 can cream of mushroom soup (not diluted).
4. Wrap the parchment paper around the roast first, overlapping on end over the other. Then wrap the foil around the wrapped roast and crimp edges of the foil well so meat juices do not run out (they are used to make gravy.
5. Place wrapped roast in oven and roast for 3 hours.
6. When roast is done, carefully pour off the meat juices into a saucepan to make gravy.(Instructions to make the gravy were not included in the original recipe.
   • In my experience, you heat the juices to a simmer;
   • Then add thickener, either as a flour-and-water mixture, or a flour-and-butter mixture (buerre manie), stirring well to keep it from clumping, until it reaches desired thickness. See Thickening Sauces using Flour or Starch.
   • Adjust seasoning with unrefined sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, as needed.

Buffalo Red Wine Roast

My fav red wine for cooking is an inexpensive Merlot, but any red wine will work.

Ingredients & Equipment:

• 3 ½ lb buffalo roast
• 2 – 4 Tbsp lard or coconut oil
• 1 cup diced onion
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1½ cup diced celery
• 1 large tomato (peel and remove seeds)
• 2 ½ cups beef or bison broth
• 2 cups red wine (Bordeaux is recommended)
• 2 – 3 Tbsp flour
• ½ cup table cream or half-and-half
• Unrefined sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste.
• Equipment:
• cast iron or enameled cast iron Dutch or French Oven (safe for stove-top)
• blender or immersion blender

Method

1. Preheat oven to 275°F.
2. Prep veggies (onion, carrots, celery, tomato).
3. Season roast with salt and pepper. Add lard/oil to Dutch/French oven. Add roast and sear on all sides. Remove from pot.
4. Add prepped veggies and brown lightly; add more fat if needed.
5. Add beef broth and red wine.
6. Return roast to pot; cover and place on middle rack of oven to slow-roast 3 – 3½ hours, or until meat is tender.
7. Turn meat every hour, and remove cover for last half-hour of cooking. Remove roast from pot.
8. Puree vegetables in the broth; I prefer using an immersion blender for this, but you can also pour the mix into a regular blender, the pour back to the pot after pureed.
9. Mix floor with cream, ensuring it is not clumpy. another option is to make a buerre mani with flour with butter (see Thickening Sauces using Flour or Starch), then mix it with the cream – this is better at avoiding clumps.
10. Stir the flour mix slowly into the vegetable/broth mix until well-mixed. Bring to boil, and cook until thickened,stirring frequently.
11. Adjust seasoning with salt, pepper and red wine to taste.

Buffalo Roast with Orange

The original recipe does not indicate how long to marinate the roast, but I would recommend 12 hours or overnight.

It also uses a plastic roasting bag. I DO NOT recommend this, as toxins in the plastic will leach into the roast’s juices. Instead, I would use a roasting pan or Dutch oven with lid, and have adjusted the recipe accordingly.

Ingredients & Equipment:

• Buffalo round roast, about 3 – 4 lbs
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tsp Unrefined sea salt
• 2 cups red wine
• 1 cup orange juice, preferably freshly squeezed
• 1 tsp black pepper
• Equipment:
• Pan or bowl for marinating the roast.
• Roasting pan or Dutch/French oven, with lid.

Method

1. Prep marinade: chop onion and place in marinating bowl/pan. Add salt and pepper and stir to mix. Add wine and stir again.
2. Add roast to the marinade,  and place in fridge to marinate; turn meat occasionally so that all sides are exposed to the marinade.
3. Preheat oven to 275°F.
4. Remove meat to roasting pan; add marinade and orange juice; cover with lid. Cook in preheated oven 2 – 3 hours.

Bison Pot Roast

This recipe does not indicate whether the onions are to be left whole, or chopped. I’ve not yet tested the recipe so cannot make a recommendation, but I’m hoping they will work best whole or quartered, so they can be served with the roast and potatoes.

Ingredients & Equipment:

• 3 lb bison roast
• 2 Tbsp lard or coconut oil
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp Unrefined sea salt
• 6 peppercorns
• 4 carrots, sliced
• 6 Spanish or other yellow onions
• 6 potatoes, quartered (I would use yellow-fin potatoes)
• 1 stalk celery, chopped coarsely
• 1 cup apple juice
• 1 cup filtered water
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 1 Tbsp Organic cornstarch or 2 Tbsp tapioca starch
• Equipment:
• Dutch oven, with lid.

Method

1. Prep veggies: wash potatoes, carrots, onions and celery.
2. Quarter potatoes and set aside in a blow of water with a bit of lemon juice added (to keep potatoes from browning).
3. Remove dry peal from onions and wash them. Leave whole, quarter, or chop coarsely (your preference).
4. Wash and coarsely chop celery, and slice carrots.
5. Preheat oven to 300°F.
6. Roast: heat fat in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add bison roast and sear on all sides.
7. Add onion, celery and carrots, bay leaf, salt, pepper, apple juice, and water to roast.
8. Cover and place in preheated oven to roast for one hour.
9. Remove from oven and add potatoes (do not add their soaking water).
10. Cover again and return to oven for one more hour, or until potatoes are fork-tender.
11. Remove roast and potatoes to platter. You can removed sliced/chopped veggies or leave then in the roasting liquid.
12. Thicken gravy with cornstarch or tapioca starch.

Slow-Cooker Bison Roast

If you don’t have a slow-cooker, you can use a Dutch oven and slow-cook in oven.

Ingredients & Equipment:

• 3 – 5 lb bison roast
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and quartered
• 2 small onions
• black pepper, to taste
• garlic powder to taste
• 2 – 3 Tbsp lard or coconut oil (for searing roast)
• ½ cup cooking wine (I use _)
• one 12-oz container of beer
• 2 Tbsp Worcestershire  sauce
• 1 tsp dry mustard (ground)
• Equipment:
• Cast iron frying pan (or a BBQ), for searing the roast
• Slow-cooker or Dutch Oven

Method

1. Prep veggies: peel and quarter garlic, remove dry peal from onions and either leave them whole, or cut in half. 
2. Roast: Sprinkle pepper and garlic powder over all surfaces of the roast.
3. Heat fat in cast iron pan, then sear roast on all sides over HIGH heat (alternately, sear in BBQ).
4. If roasting in oven, preheat to 250°F.
5. Place roast in slow cooker or Dutch oven; add prepped veggies and all other ingredients. Add water to level of top of roast.
6. Cover and cook slowly for 6 – 8 hours in slow cooker or in preheated oven.