- From Anne in Missouri

Answer:

Bison Tongue
by Carrie Sayers, SayersBrook Bison Ranch

Ingredients:

1 Bison tongue
2 T. apple cider vinegar water
1 med. onion
1 T. pickling spices salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation:
Place Bison tongue in cooking pot, cover with water. Add pickling spices, salt and pepper, apple cider vinegar, and onion. Bring to boil; reduce heat and simmer until tender. May be served hot with crackers, or sliced cold for finger sandwiches. Serves 4-6.

Enjoy!

Edg-Clif Farms and Vineyard and SayersBrook Bison Ranch are teaming up to offer extraordinary dining experiences right here in Washington County. After the successes of the Field Dinners showcased as part of the Home Grown Farm Tour, these neighbors thought it would be fun to create more opportunities for people to enjoy what our fair county has to offer. Highlighting our bison and wines, Chef Gregory, of Gregory’s Creative Cuisine, has developed a menu of gourmet delights for a very special occasion, Valentines Day! This romantic candlelit event will take place at 6:30pm on Feb 14, 2012, at SayersBrook Bison Ranch, 11820 SayersBrook Road, Potosi, MO 63664 and will feature Edg-Clif Wines including the introduction of specialty wine cocktails. Dinner and drinks is $65 all-inclusive. Please contact 573-438-4449 for more information and to make your reservation by Feb 7th.

This glamorous event is designed to be the first in a series of Wine Dinners produced by these agricultural based entities, who want to feature local fare and culinary delights at a magnificent country destination. The next exciting evening will be a St. Patrick’s Day Celebration like none other. Edg-Clif’s Fresh Spring Wine introductions will be paired with Irish Corned Bison on Saturday March 17th, 6:30pm till the Leprechauns go home! Then find your Sombreos for a Cinco de Mayo Bison Fiesta, complete with Edg-Clif Sangria, Saturday May 5th, 6:30pm, beach attire! As a tribute to the great men in our lives, join us for a Father’s Day Big Bison BBQ where you can treat Dad to a man’s size meal accompanied by the heartiest of wines from Edg-Clif, Sunday June 17th, in the afternoon, instead of mowing the lawn….

So put the Edg-Clif and SayersBrook Specialty Wine Dinners on your calendars!!

- From Jack in Arkansas

Answer:  You could spice up your Bison Meatloaf with jalapenos — dice up and stuff throughout the loaf. Or go Italian with the below recipe:

Italian Bison Meatloaf with Fresh Basil and Cheese

• 1 lb. ground Bison
• 1 c. boiling water
• 1/2 c. sun-dried tomatoes, packed without oil
• 1/2 c. ketchup
• 1/3 c. ketchup (keep in a separate dish for spreading over top of loaf)
• 1 c. seasoned bread crumbs
• 3/4 c. fresh basil, chopped
• 1/2 c. shredded fat-free cheddar cheese
• nonstick cooking spray
• 2 lg. egg whites
• 2 cloves garlic, minced

Combine boiling water and tomatoes in a bowl; let stand for 30 minutes or until soft. Drain tomatoes and finely chop. Preheat oven to 350°. Coat a broiler pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except for 1/3 cup ketchup. Shape mixture into a 9 x 5 inch loaf on broiler pan. Spread remaining ketchup over top.

Bake for 1 hour or until thermometer inserted in the center registers 160°. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing. Cut into 12 slices. Serves 6.

- From Nancy in Pennsylvania

Answer:  For a medium roast, use a meat thermometer to 135 degrees in a 350 degree oven, ovens vary as to the time, which is the reason for the thermometer.

For a rare roast, rub the roast with olive oil and fresh minced garlic then sprinkle it liberally with lemon pepper.  I put the roast in a shallow baking pan on a rack and into a 500 degree oven for 10 minutes.  I turn the oven down to 250 and cook the roast to 120 degrees on your meat thermometer.  Take it out and let it rest for 10 to 15 minutes then slice.  If you wait longer to serve it, I would take the roast out at 10 degrees below rare for beef.  It should take about an hour.  Make sure you have a good meat thermometer and start checking the roast after 1/2 hour.

Merry Christmas from SayersBrook!

Stew in a Pumpkin

Ingredients

• 1 medium sized pumpkin, scooped out and cleaned
• 1 lb. Bison Breakfast Sausage, browned
• 1 lb. Bison Italian Sausage, browned and cut in small pieces

• 1 (11oz) can of Mexican corn, drained
• 1 (28oz) can of crushed tomatoes
• 1½ tbsp Worcestershire
• 2 tsp hot sauce
• 1 tsp basil
• 2 tsp lemon pepper
• 1 tsp Canadian Steak pepper
• 2 cups cooked rice

• 1 small zucchini, chopped
• 1 yellow squash, chopped
• 1 medium red onion, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1½ cup mushrooms,
• chopped
• 2 tsp garlic, chopped

Cooking Instructions

Sauté zucchini, squash, onion, celery, mushrooms and garlic in olive oil.
Rub olive oil on the outside of the pumpkin.
Mix all ingredients together and place in the pumpkin. Put the top on the pumpkin.
Put the pumpkin in a baking dish with ½ inch water.
Bake at 350 for 2 hours until the pumpkin is fork tender.

Serves 8 to 10

Side Dish Suggestions

• Spinach salad
• Your favorite bread

Also…
The pumpkin “bowl” can be eaten after its done baking, making a great garnish for the bison stew. Don’t throw away those pumpkin seeds! Roast them in butter and salt for a delicious dessert.

-    From Judy in Cleveland, Ohio.

Answer:

Hi Judy,

Great question! Even though you can really use bison to replace beef in almost any recipe, there is a difference in how you prepare it. Remember that since bison is leaner (and healthier!) it cooks quicker and you are able to cook at a lower temperature.

Buffalo/Bison steaks and burgers are at their very best when done rare or medium (with a pink center). Your meat thermometer should reach 135°F (57ºC) for rare, 145°F (62ºC) for medium rare, or 155° F for medium.

If you oven broil your buffalo/bison, try moving the oven rack a notch lower than you normally would and check on their progress a few minutes sooner than you normally would. You’ll be rewarded with a juicier piece of meat.

If you grill your buffalo/bison, we suggest doing so over medium hot coals at a distance of from four to six inches. Again, a little extra care will reward you with a much juicer meal.

When roasting buffalo/bison, we suggest that you follow the creed “lower and slower.” Lower your oven temperature to cook the meat more slowly. It will shrink less, thereby retaining more natural juice. To be sure that it is done to your liking, we suggest using a meat thermometer – it’s an inexpensive reusable insurance policy.

The rich red color of the buffalo/bison meat is indicative of the higher levels of iron and the lack of marbling (fat). Both of these are GOOD things and are probably among the reasons that you purchased buffalo/bison meat in the first place.

We recommend using more tender cuts of bison meat such as rib-eyes, sirloins and New Your strips when grilling or broiling. Roasts, steaks and chops are better for oven broils and roasting.

Check out a few of our other cooking tips!

• Pink is Good
• Slow and Low

Laurie’s Dirty Rice with Bison     

Ingredients:
1 pound of buffalo ground beef
1 can of low sodium beef broth
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can of lima beans
1 package of Zartaran’s low sodium dirty rice

Directions – Straight from Laurie:
I put a lb of ground buffalo in the crock pot add a can of low sodium beef broth, a can of diced tomatoes, and a can of lima beans. Letting it cook all day on low. An hour before dinner I add a can of sweet corn and a package of Zartaran’s low sodium Dirty Rice. Except for breaking up the buffalo meat a few times it will pretty much cooks itself. And is even better tasting when reheated.

Please share your recipes with us and our customers! Contact us or find us on Facebook!

One of our favorite bison appetizers is bison bacon wrapped shrimp. This gives the traditional bacon wrapped shrimp an extra kick of deliciousness. Also try the marinade below, but we all know that the bison bacon is the star of this dish. Fun bison appetizers are a really great way to start talking about and sharing bison recipes.

Bison Bacon Wrapped Shrimp & Marinade

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. 21-24 Shrimp-uncooked-peeled and Tooth picks or Kebab skewers (don’t forget to soak in water if using bamboo)
• 1/4 lb. Bison Bacon cut into 1/2″ wide strips x 2″ long.

Marinade and Finish Sauce Marinade

• 1/4 cup Olive Oil 2 T. Soy Sauce
• 1 T. Sherry Vinegar 1/4 cup Thai Sweet Chili Sauce (I use
• Juice of 1 Orange & Zest Mae Ploy brand)
• 1 T. Minced Garlic 1/4 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes

Preparation:
Combine the first eight ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Spread a thin layer of the cream cheese mixture over a flour tortilla. Then, place a thin layer of the pastrami over the top of the cream cheese mixture. Roll up tightly and secure with toothpicks if necessary. Then repeat with the remaining cream cheese mixture and tortillas. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Remove toothpicks and cut into 3/4 inch slices. Makes 4-5 dozen.

What are some of your favorite bison appetizers to serve in the summer?

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. Bison bratwurst
• 2 med. apples, cut into wedges
• 1 T. defatted chicken broth
• 4 med. potatoes, cut in half
• 1 med. onion, cut into wedges
• 1 c. apple juice
• 1 2-lb. bag sauerkraut, drained

Preparation:

Brown sausage with broth in a large nonstick skillet. Arrange onion, sauerkraut, apples and potatoes around sausage. Top with apple juice; salt and pepper to taste. Cover and simmer over low heat stirring once, for 30-40 minutes or until potatoes test done with fork. Serves 4.

How did you like this recipe? Or how do you prepare your Bison Bratwurst?

AND Reuben sandwiches are a must have for using up your St. Patrick’s Day Corned Bison leftovers. Use it the same way that you would use corned beef. The possibilities are endless. Of course, you have the added benefits of bison – the healthy alternative to beef.

Everyone have a fun and safe St. Patrick’s Day and remember that you can make a Corned Bison feast anytime of the year.