There is no reason to be buffaloed when cooking with bison. As many chefs will attest, bison is a delicious and healthy substitute in any recipe that calls for beef. Individual cuts of bison are identical to beef. Bison can appear to be a deeper red due to the fact that bison has lower fat content, thus less marbling than beef. Because bison is lean, it will cook more quickly so it is important not to overcook bison.Overcooked bison is tough bison. Cooking bison correctly is delicious and tender bison. Use these general guidelines when cooking bison. Ground bison meat should be cooked to an internal temperature of at least 160°F and the juices should be clear, not red. Roasts and steaks should be cooked to an internal temperature of 145° F (medium rare) or 160°F (medium). The oven should be set at around 275°F. Oven broiling, move your broiler rack away from the heat about a notch lower than where you normally broil beef steaks. Expect a buffalo steak to cook one-third faster than a...

Doing Math on Plains Indian Diets, by Gene Gade“The men’s labor was again such that each private ate as much as 9 or 10 pounds of meat per day.”  So historian Stephen Ambrose described the food requirements and diets of the members of the Lewis and Clark expedition in April of 1805 in his prize-winning book, “Undaunted Courage.” The men were working hard, paddling or sometimes dragging heavily-laden canoes for 20 miles or more per day up the Missouri River, against the current and prevailing wind. When not with the boats, they were walking even greater distances over the prairie. The 30 or so members of the expedition ate a few roots and other edible plant parts (usually provided by Sacagawea), but the vast majority of their diet was meat. The famished group consumed about 300 pounds of meat every day! It’s useful to consider this example when one thinks about the nutritional requirements and diets of the Plains Indians and their use of the Vore Buffalo Jump. Buffalo “jumps” were...

Rapid City Journal Shalom Baer Gee , May 20, 2022 Updated Jun 25, 2022About 100 people gathered on Friday for the grand opening of Custer State Park’s Bison Center, located near the bison corral complex off Wildlife Loop Road. The barn-style building tells the story of the park’s bison herd through a mixture of interactive and educational exhibits, including samples of an American Bison’s summer coat beside a winter coat. A timeline of the history of bison, specifically the herd of nearly 1,400 that now live in the park, spans the three walls. The herd started at a mere 36.  A computer screen features footage of the annual Buffalo Roundup and Auction where the bison are given health checks, vaccinations and some of the herd is auctioned off to maintain a sustainable population at the park. Several full-body bison mounts also adorn the building. The center was made possible by a $4 million grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, $500,000 allocated from the...

One day a group of Mexican dignitaries from Juarez, visiting in Pierre, SD, came up the Missouri River on a tourist boat to have a look at Scotty Philip’s famous buffalo herd. With great interest and disdain, they eyed the shaggy beasts grazing up the draws and steep bluffs on the west side of the river.  As the tour boat came to a stop along the river’s west bank, they pointed out to each other the big buffalo bulls and mocked their apparent lethargic demeanor.  Contrasting these with their own flashy fighting bulls, they boasted to the tour guide and other passengers, with a trifle too much exuberance, that their feisty Mexican bulls would make short work of these lazy, slow-moving buffalo bulls.  In the frontier town of Fort Pierre, miffed locals took offense. Scotty Philip’s sporting friends made their own boasts and persuaded him to challenge the visitors to a contest.  One thing led to another and the two factions agreed to meet that winter in the Juarez bull-fighting ring. A...