I went grocery shopping hungry today. In retrospect, this was a terrible idea; I spent most of my time fighting various urges and inclinations. Everything in the store looked absolutely delicious. Fortunately, I managed to put it all back, except for one small thing:
I got a fillet of bison sirloin.
Now, I’ve had bison before. I used to rock the Jack Link’s bison jerky before Woodman’s stopped carrying it, and I’ve had it cooked a couple of times. Once was in a stew, and once was in seared chunks. Both of those times, however, I wasn’t the one who cooked it. In fact, I’ve never cooked bison.
I want to eat it for dinner, hopefully tonight. I’m thinking of cooking it in a pan like I would a beef steak, though I’d take it out at just barely at rare, or even a skosh before, just so that I can not worry about overcooking it on the carryover. I’m also figuring that I’ll season it with just black pepper and salt. I’m just sort of afraid that this isn’t the right treatment, given how lean the meat is.
So I turn to Cafe Society, where the denizens of the dope talk about food matters that, for the most part, go right the hell over my head. How do I cook this bison so that it ends up delicious? I tried looking for a Good Eats on the subject, but it doesn’t seem like Alton got around to buffalo. . .
For a 1" steak, 6 to 8 minutes on medium heat will get you to rare. Bison has less fat than beef, so it will cook more rapidly. Personally, I’d rub the steak with a little garlic, hit it with salt and pepper and let it go at that.
Made the bison in the pan. I rewatched both of the steak Good Eats, since steak is something I usually go out for. Brought it to room temperature, sprinkled salt on it, let it sit, and seared it in the pan. The piece wasn’t very thick at all, so I don’t even know that it was on for a full four minutes; it turned out perfectly rare, and seared nicely.
I didn’t go with the garlic, mostly because I wanted to taste only the meat as much as possible. Just salt and pepper, and a rub with a couple of drops of oil. Had it with some fresh asparagus. Damn, but that’s good; I just wish it weren’t nearly $30/pound. Er, the bison. Not the asparagus.
First of all since bison are so big, the best way to hunt them is join a wolf pack. Then it’s important to KILL the bison. Don’t try cooking it till it’s dead. Cooking them alive not only makes them tough, but it really irritates the bison