food and cooking blog

American bison are an important part of the prairie ecosystem and after a decline almost to extinction around the end of the 19th century, today there are many ranchers working hard to bring them back. I enjoy cooking and eating bison (sometimes referred to as buffalo). The brands I've tried thus far have all been grass fed, lean, raised in a more sustainable manner and well, delicious. You may be able to find ground bison at your supermarket and it's pretty easy to use in recipes that call for ground beef. Bison steaks however are another story.

Because most bison is grass fed, it's leaner, like grass fed beef. Considered a highly nutrient dense food, it's lower in calories, fat and cholesterol than even chicken, it has 40% more protein than beef and is high in iron, omega 3 fatty acids and vitamin E. Without rich marbling, it needs more tender loving care. Wild Idea Buffalo recently sent me some samples of their products. Their ranch is located in South Dakota between the Black Hills and the Badlands National Park and their herd is raised without the use of antibiotics or hormones. I knew immediately what I wanted to try with the New York strip loin steak. An extremely lean piece of meat, I knew I would cook it quickly, searing to get some nice color and flavor, and serving it very rare. Because it is so lean, it's particularly good paired with something rich, like avocado.

I got my inspiration from a Martha Stewart recipe, Beef Tacos with Avocado and Radish Salsa. My adaptation is very close to the original. Here's what I did differently. I used bison instead of beef and I used a lot less of it! I rubbed the steak with oil and just sprinkled it with both cumin and chile powder. I used fresh jalapenos instead of picked ones and I added scallions. Most importantly I made my own tortillas. Please, do yourself a favor. Buy a tortilla press
and a big bag of masa harina (Maseca is a good and easy to work with brand) and never settle for store bought tortillas ever again.



Bison Tacos with Avocado and Radish (adapted from Everyday Food, Martha Stewart)

Makes 6 tacos

Ingredients

10 ounces bison strip loin steak
vegetable oil
chile powder
ground cumin
1 avocado, pitted, peeled and diced
4 radishes, diced
2 green onions, sliced
2-3 tablespoons cilantro
1 jalapeno pepper, diced, more or less as desired
2 limes
pinch salt
6 small corn tortillas, preferably homemade

Instructions

Allow the steak to come to room temperature. Pat it dry with paper towels then rub it with a just enough vegetable oil so it is glossy, but not slick. Sprinkle all sides with chile powder and ground cumin. Heat a cast iron skillet. Sear the meat 3 minutes on the top and bottom and then another 2-3 minutes on the other two sides (loin is almost square shaped). Allow to cool 10 minutes then slice thinly.

Make salsa by combining the diced avocado, radishes, green onions, cilantro and jalapeno. Slice the limes in half and squeeze them over the salsa, sprinkle with a pinch of salt, gently mix then taste. Adjust seasoning as you see fit. Heat the tortillas, top with slices of steak and salsa.

Enjoy!

If you are interested in trying bison, you can receive a 20% discount by using the code Amy-Buffalo20 at Wild Idea Buffalo Store  through July 1st, 2012.


My thanks to Wild Idea Buffalo for sending me samples of their products to try.

Ok here's a crazy idea, one basic salad that can be either sweet or savory. I was trying to think of what to do with some mangoes coming my way from the National Mango Board this week and then I saw a tweet from @SimpleGourmetLA with the idea for a "mojito cucumber, mango and strawberry salad." It occurred to me that both cucumber and mango could go either way--sweet or savory.

I'm always looking for ways to use common ingredients in slightly unexpected ways. Here the twist is using cucumber in a sweet fruit salad and using sweet mango in a savory salad. English cucumber is available year round and does not need to be peeled. It has a very mild flavor and a fine texture without big slippery seeds. Best of all, it has a terrific crunch! I used the most commonly available mango, the Tommy Atkins variety in both salads. It's not a very tropical, luscious or creamy mango, but more of a workhorse, with citrus-like flavor, able and willing to stand up to whatever you demand of it. It's a bit on the firm side so it's particularly good in salads.

For the sweet salad I combined cucumber, mango and strawberries and for the savory version, cucumber, mango and radishes. You might recognize the ingredients from the savory salad as being similar to what you find Mexican street vendors selling. Each salad is flavored with lime, but the sweet salad gets a touch of honey and mint, the savory salad, a pinch of salt and green onion. Both are bursting with juiciness, crunch and Summery flavors and would be great at a picnic. I'd serve the savory salad with grilled fish or chicken. I'd serve the sweet salad with a scoop of sorbet or just a couple of cookies.


Mango, Cucumber, Strawberry SaladServes 4

Ingredients

1 Tommy Atkins mango, peeled, pitted and cut into chunks
1/2 large English cucumber, cut into chunks
1 pint strawberries, trimmed and cut in chunks
Juice of a fresh lime, squeezed
2 teaspoons honey
2 sprigs chopped fresh mint leaves, about 12 leves

Instructions

In a mixing bowl combine the lime and honey and stir until smooth. Add the mango, cucumber, strawberries and mix. Sprinkle with mint and taste for seasoning before serving.


Mango, Cucumber, Radish Salad
Serves 4

Ingredients

1 Tommy Atkins mango, peeled, pitted and cut into chunks
1/2 large English cucumber, cut into chunks
1 bunch radishes, trimmed and cut into chunks
1 green onion, thinly sliced
Juice of a fresh lime, squeezed
Pinch kosher salt

Instructions

In a mixing bowl combine the lime and salt and stir until dissolved. Add the mango, cucumber, radishes and mix. Sprinkle with green onions and taste for seasoning before serving.

Enjoy!