Dear Wild Idea Buffalo Customers, About five years ago we received a call from Patagonia stating that they were interested in starting an environmentally sustainable food line for their future sister company, Patagonia Provisions. They were specifically interested in us making Buffalo Jerky for them. Because of our mutual, greater missions of sustainable foods and the environment as a whole, it looked like we might be a good fit. We were thrilled to gain their attention, but before we could get started there would be many visits from their team inspecting the way we treated the land, the animals, and our employee’s. We welcomed their visits, and gave tours of our ranching operations, explaining our grassland conservation efforts and prairie restoration practices. We discussed our goals of having an intact, healthy prairie eco-system that was rich in bio-diversity. We talked about how much carbon the grasses sequester and store safely in the ground. That grazing the grasslands regenerates the soil and produces healthy grassland pastures. Since we had a captive audience that was interested, we prattled on about species diversity, the microbes, the plants, and the variety of ground nesting birds that use the prairie to raise their young. They watched the buffalo roam and graze across the prairie, much like their ancestor’s did years ago. We explained our sourcing set up with other ranchers that raise their bison to our criteria, including neighboring Native American bison producers. They viewed our humane, stress free, field harvests, paying close attention to our care and respect for the animals. During other visits, they toured our processing plant and interviewed our employees. They reviewed our safety regulations and inspection documentation. And, they tasted our Wild Idea Buffalo products, raised on water, grass, and sunshine. We passed all of the requirements to move forward and started perfecting our Buffalo Jerky recipe. Patagonia Provisions provided scientific food experts, to consult with us along the way, insuring that the product would be as safe as it is healthy and delicious. The end result is a great tasting jerky! The sustainable food movement continues to grow because of people like you. People who care about the foods they eat, how it is raised, and the impact it has on our environment. But as the sustainable awareness grows, so will industrial agricultures powerful, hearty appetite. It will take all of us to keep them at bay and it will take all of us to introduce people to a new (old) way of thinking about food, and one that doesn’t come with an IOU. That’s why we are exhilarated and inspired to be associated with the good folks at Patagonia Provisions. If you get the chance, check out their site at patagoniaprovisions.com. Better yet, order some of their meaty, lightly seasoned, Buffalo Jerky! We want to thank you all for being grassland ambassadors, and for your past and continued support. Together, we can make a difference, one bite at a time. Very best from the prairie. Dan & Jill O’Brien
Bison Sausage stuffed Pomme de Terre
It makes great sense to put 100% grass-fed bison meat inside the apple of the earth. Golden roast potatoes, with our Wild Idea Buffalo Breakfast Sausage and blue cheese make for a wonderful combination. Insure you purchase organic potatoes to avoid the harsh chemicals that are used in growing regular potatoes. These savory and scrumptious, sausage stuffed potatoes are terrific for brunch or as hors d oeuvres. Makes 24 to 35, depending on the size of your potatoes. Ingredients: 1 – pound Wild Idea Buffalo Breakfast Sausage 6 – ounces blue cheese, crumbled 1 – teaspoon salt 1 – teaspoon black pepper 1 – pound organic baby golden or red potatoes 2 – tablespoons olive oil ½ – teaspoon garlic salt ½ – teaspoon black pepper Preparation: 1) In a sauté pan, over medium high heat, crumble in the sausage. Stir occasionally to evenly brown sausage. When sausage is browned remove from the heat and allow too come to room temperature. 2) Boil potatoes until tender, but still slightly firm. Drain and cool to room temperature. 3) Place cooked buffalo sausage into a food processor and pulse process for 15 seconds. Add crumbled blue cheese, salt and pepper, and process again to incorporate. 4) Cut potatoes in half while still slightly warm, and spoon the inside of the potato out. Reserve for other use. 5) Rub the outside and lip of the potato shells with the olive oil and season with garlic salt and pepper. Place hollow side down on a baking sheet and toast in a 400° oven for 10 minutes, or until golden brown. 6) Remove from oven, turn hollow side up, and allow to come to room temperature. Fill the hollow toasted potato shells with the buffalo sausage cheese mixture. *At this point you could cover and refrigerate, and bake at a later time. 7) Place stuffed potatoes in a 400° pre-heated oven and bake for 7 minutes, or until sausage is heated through. 8) Remove from oven and transfer to a serving platter. Top with sundried tomato relish. Sun-dried Tomato Relish Ingredients: 4 – ounces sundried tomatoes in oil, drained and diced 3 – green onions, diced ¼ – cup cilantro, chopped 1 – fresh lemon, juiced 1 – tablespoon real maple syrup pinch cayenne salt and pepper to taste Toss all ingredients in a bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste.
GMO, OMG!
At a recent bison conference, the topic of GMO’s came up. The biggest concern was the potential, future requirement for GMO transparency on product labels. This includes meat labels from animals fed GMO grains. The reason this was such a big deal to this particular audience, is that 90% of the bison raised for food are raised in the cattle feedlot model, consuming an unnatural diet in confinement for the last 90+ days of their lives. Most of these feeds are GMO. The conversation continued with people shouting out sarcastic remarks, such as, “What’s a GMO going to do to me anyway? Is it going to turn me into something bad if I eat it?” This was not the time or place to be controversial, for the most part we were amongst good, hard working folks, who were just thinking in the short term. As I listened to the GMO conversation, I thought it funny that the acronym reversed was OMG! I also thought about the hazmat suits worn, or full cover recommended when using chemicals. If we are advised to not get any of the toxic poisons on us, why would we want to ingest them? I wondered if the man talking would like to try it, so we could see what would happen to him? Seriously, the ramifications of pesticide, herbicide, and draught resistant genetically modified organisms are devastating. Studies continue to prove that the use of herbicides and pesticides on crops are directly related to specie diversity loss, compromised water quality, and risks to human health. Add draught resistance to this mix, and we accelerate the plow up of more prairie and dessert ecosystems. In short, GMO’s are bad for the environment and we CAN grow food without them. At Wild Idea Buffalo Company we are always looking at the long-term effects, and do our best to operate sustainably, working with nature, instead of against it. We promise to continue to produce a healthy, delicious, non-GMO meat alternative, for you and your families. If you are interested in more information on GMO’s, there are several studies and stories available on line. Here’s a few links that I found interesting, http://naturalsociety.com/gmo-farmer-wont-eat-crops/ , http://www.nongmoproject.org/learn-more/, and http://www.responsibletechnology.org/10-Reasons-to-Avoid-GMOs . Avoiding GMO foods takes a little more effort, but most groceries now offer organic, or non-GMO certified products. Another way is to know your farmer. This month’s recipe is GMO free, and is a terrific dish to make for the upcoming Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations. In addition to the recipe, I offer you this slightly modified, non-GMO, Irish toast. I wish you health, I wish you well, and happiness galore. I wish you luck for you and friends, what could I wish you more? May your joys be as vast as the prairie, and your troubles as light as this poem. And may you find, sweet peace of mind, knowing that the buffalo roam. Cheers! jill Buffalo Irish Coddle (serves 8) This traditional Irish dish was often made from leftovers, using whatever vegetables were available. Feel free to change to you liking or availability. The light broth allows the flavors of each ingredient to come through, and although hearty, is also light. And, it’s so good! Enjoy. Ingredients: 1 – 8 ounce package Wild Idea Buffalo Bacon 1 – 1 pound package Wild Idea Buffalo Brats 2 – tablespoons olive oil 3 – organic onions, sliced ¼” thick and quartered 2 – quarts organic chicken broth 1½ – pound organic baby golden potatoes, sliced 4 – cups organic carrots, peeled and sliced 1 – organic turnip, peeled and cubed 1 – cup …
Red, White & Blue Buffalo Bison Burgers
The quintessential Buffalo Burger, complete with Buffalo Bacon, Blue Cheese and a touch of fruit preserves! This – soon to be new favorite, will have you making it again, and again and again. Enjoy! Ingredients: 2 – 1 lb. Ground Buffalo 3 – tablespoons olive oil, plus a little more 1/2 – teaspoon mustard 2 – teaspoon ketchup 1/2 – teaspoon thyme 2 – teaspoon salt & pepper 1 – 10 oz. package Buffalo Bacon 6 – ounces blue cheese ½ – cup chokecherry or plum preserves, warmed 6 – hamburger buns Preparation: 1.) Mix 2 tablespoons olive oil, mustard, ketchup, thyme, salt and pepper together. 2.) Mix above with Ground Buffalo until well incorporated. 3.) Divide into 6 portions and at pat out into bun size patties. 4.) In large skillet over medium high heat, add the other tablespoon of olive oil. Place buffalo bacon in pan and cook until crispy or desired doneness, turning once during cooking time. 5.) Preheat grill to high heat, 500 degrees. Insure grill grates are clean. 6.) Brush burgers with a little oil and place on grill. Close grill lid during grilling time. Grill for 2.5 minutes. Turn burgers and top with blue cheese. Close lid and grill for an additional 3 minutes. 7.) Remove burgers from heat, and allow too rest for a few minutes. 8.) Place Buffalo Blue Burgers on bun, drizzle with a little of the warmed preserves and top with Buffalo Bacon. Delicious!
Italian Style Buffalo Meatballs
Italian Buffalo Meatballs (Makes 20 to 24 meatballs) Ingredients: 1 lb. Wild Idea Buffalo Italian Sausage ¼ cup basil, chopped ¼ cup sundried tomatoes, chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 4 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded 2 teaspoons butter 1 medium onion, diced 1 tablespoon sugar 1 teaspoon fennel Preparation: 1) Mix basil, sundried tomatoes, garlic and cheese together. 2) In sauce pan over medium high heat, heat oil. Add onions, sugar and fennel and sauté until slightly caramelized. Transfer to plate and allow to cool before adding to other ingredients. 3) Crumble ground buffalo meat into other ingredients. Mix thoroughly with hands. 4) Place mixture in food processor and flash pulse process, until slightly sticky. Allow meat mixture to rest 2 to 24 hours before cooking. This can be done before or after making meatballs. 5) Form into 1 oz. or desired size meatballs and place on lightly oiled baking sheet. 6) Broil meatballs in oven on middle rack, until browned, about 5 minutes. Serve warm. Great by themselves or serve with marinara on a bed of creamy risotto.
Asian Style Meatballs with Cilantro Yogurt Sauce
Asian Style Meatballs with Cilantro Yogurt Sauce (Makes 16 to 20 meatballs) Ingredients: 1 lb. Ground Buffalo 1½ tablespoons fish sauce 1 tablespoon sesame oil 1 teaspoon lemon zest 1 tablespoon lemon juice ½ cup shallots, finely diced 3 cloves garlic, minced ½ cup cilantro, finely chopped 1 tablespoons mint, finely chopped ¼ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon black pepper Preparation: 1) Mix all ingredients together, except buffalo. 2) Crumble ground buffalo meat into spice mixture. Mix thoroughly with hands. 3) Place mixture in food processor and flash pulse process, until slightly sticky. Allow meat mixture to rest 2 to 24 hours before cooking. This can be done before or after forming meatballs. 4) Form into 1 oz. or desired size meatballs and place on lightly oiled baking sheet. 5) Broil meatballs in oven on middle rack, until browned, about 5 minutes. Serve with cucumbers and radishes with Cilantro Yogurt Sauce. *Optional: Serve on a bed of brown basmati rice. Cilantro Yogurt Sauce (Makes 1 ½ cups) Ingredients: 2 cups fresh cilantro, chopped ¼ cup fresh mint leaves 1 jalapeno, seeded 2 tablespoons garlic, chopped 1 teaspoon cumin 1 tablespoon lemon juice ½ teaspoon salt 1 cup whole milk or low-fat yogurt, room temperature Instructions: Place all ingredients but yogurt into blender and puree. Pour yogurt into bowl and whisk in cilantro mixture. This sauce is great on so many things and will keep well in refrigerator for later use.
Buffalo Chuck Roast Stewed with Garden Tomatoes and Green Beans
Buffalo Chuck Roast Stewed with Garden Tomatoes and Green Beans (serves 6 to 8) A great family dinner that says goodbye to summer and hello to fall! Recipe by Jill, but prepared by Dan with easy Crockpot cooking instructions! 1 – 3 pound chuck roast 1 – tablespoon olive oil 2 – teaspoons salt 1 – tablespoon pepper 2 – teaspoon thyme 2 – teaspoon basil 2 – teaspoon oregano 1 – onion, cut into wedges 2 – pounds tomatoes, 2/3 diced, 1/3 quartered 4 – cloves garlic, coarse chopped 4 – cups vegetable stock 1 – pound fresh green beans, washed and clipped 1.) Preheat crockpot to high setting. 2.) Rinse and pat dry Buffalo Chuck Roast, leaving netting on. 3.) Rub with, 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt, pepper and seasonings. 4.) Place onions in the bottom of crockpot, place buffalo roast on top of onions and cover with diced tomatoes and garlic. 5.) Add 4 cups vegetable stock. 6.) Seal crock pot and cover with foil and a heavy towel. *I think this helps keep the heat in. Allow to cook on high for 1 hour. 7.) After 1 hour reduce heat to medium to medium low (depending on your crock pot) and set for 6 hours. 8.) Turn crock pot to medium high again, and turn buffalo chuck roast. Add quartered tomatoes and fresh green beans. Pushing beans into juices. Cover and allow too cook for 15 to 30 minutes, based on how you like your green beans. 9.) Remove buffalo roast and place on platter. Using a knife, cut netting away. Slice or pull apart into desired portions. Remove Green beans and place around roast, pouring stewed tomatoes over all. Season with finishing salt. Garnish with fresh herbs and pass with baked potatoes, wild rice or couscous.
Real Food
Each day I awake to the sounds of the ranch; birds, dogs, an occasional horse whinny and the morning news. I drift in and out of consciousness between tweets, barks and the sound of David Greenes voice on NPR. My attention hones in to the radio voices, reporting on the horrific wars. I am relieved when the stories change to children heading back to school. Now fully alert, I’m shocked by the statistics coming from the small black box: “The average child spends 4 minutes a day outside and ten hours in front of a screen”. “This is creating disconnect with the natural world”, the voices say. They go on talking about the ramifications this will have. If intimate relationships are not cultivated with mother earth, who will we pass the baton to too care for her? Where will children think their food comes from? Water? And so on. Last Sunday we were featured on the Food Networks, “Great Food Truck Race,” a reality competitive food show. Although we were thrilled to be featured, we learned that there is not a lot of reality in reality TV. My favorite “stand out line” from one of the producers during the week that they spent on the ranch was, “This is a food show, it’s not that critical if we don’t get a good shot of the buffalo”. What’s that you say??????? I guess it’s not only our children that have a disconnect. The night of the airing of the “Great Food Truck Race”, a group of Wild Idea Buffalo employees and friends gathered to watch the show, including my friend Mason. Mason is 12 and has just started junior high. He is quiet, a bit shy and very thoughtful. Before we sat down to view the show, we went out to visit the buffalo and to offer them thanks for helping us get on national TV. We took a rawhide buffalo drum, as we have learned from our Native American friends, that if you beat the drum and have an open heart, the buffalo will come to you. I explained this to Mason as he started our heartfelt concert. Within minutes, we were circled by 300 buffalo. They stood around us as if they were thoroughly enjoying themselves, offering their soft grunts for applause. As we headed back for our buffalo feast before the show, we stopped along the way for grass tutorials from Jilian and Colton. We watched prairie dogs and burrowing owls. We rolled in the soft sand of a Buffalo wallow and talked about what happens when the wallows fill with rain. Tight on time and Mason now behind the wheel, we drove a little fast, back to the ranch. Smells of braising buffalo meat greeted us from the kitchen. We filled our plates with cucumber, melon salad, and buffalo stewed in garden tomatoes and green beans, from Jilian’s garden. We ate on the deck and watched the golden light fall on the hillside. At last it was show time. We headed inside and turned on the TV, putting our faces in front of a screen to watch an unreal, reality food show. This month’s recipe is Buffalo Chuck Roast Stewed in Tomatoes with Green Beans. Dan loves this cut and also this recipe, as when necessary he can get dinner on the table! A real treat in more ways then one! Enjoy! Jill Buffalo Chuck Roast Stewed with Garden Tomatoes and Green Beans (serves 6 to 8) A great family dinner that says goodbye to summer and hello to fall! Recipe by Jill, but prepared by Dan with …
Moving Buffalo
This past June we moved the Buffalo from one pasture to the next. Buffalo are roamers and have come to understand what an open gate means – new digs to roam and fresh grass. We believe in a gentle approach of simply opening a gate, offering a little incentive with cake (a small cube of pressed alfalfa with some minerals), and having a subtle presence on the back end. When babies are little we are very careful to guide in a very slow manner. The lead herd cow is usually the first to approach and once she has moved through the herd will start to follow. The babies stay close to their mothers and instinctively shoot to the outside. The wind was blowing on the day we moved them, which added extra excitement for the babies who frolicked, leaping through the air, bucking and kicking. A few stragglers held up the back end with the largest herd bull completing the move. They quickly joined up with the herd, and found their way to their new pasture. They other day we moved the buffalo again. What struck me, was not only their calmness with the babies now two months older, but the beautiful healthy pastures, still green and plentiful with grass, thanks to continued summer rains. The baby buffalo are now kids, in a varying stages of golden to black, with sprouting new horns. They are gaining independence, but will stay close to their mothers and remain in the family group until they are two years of age. They vocalized their happiness with their soft grunts and grazing noises. Listening to 300 buffalo eating grass is pretty amazing! We wrapped up our task under a pink sky of a setting South Dakota sun.
Updates from the Office
A year ago due to staffing changes, I found myself back in the trenches of Wild Idea Buffalo Company. And what a year it has been! We have: increased our production to keep up with demand, established and launched delicious smoked products that are ALL nitrite free, and have started to create a heat and eat entrée line from the Wild Idea Buffalo Kitchen to make eating healthily easier for folks that already have too much on their plate. All the above validates that more consumers care about where their food comes from, and that sustainable food is moving forward, one bite at a time! It also means that we were able to put a few more people to work! Our new additions to the Wild Idea Buffalo team bring new talents to the table assisting us in continuing to offer you the best red meat on the planet. I would like to take the opportunity to introduce the whole plant crew to you. Back left: Kevin Marshall, Cliff Allen, Cyril White Eagle, Roberto Rodriquez, Chris White Eagle, Shane Brown. Front left: Valerie Flanagan, Mia Fast Horse, Nancy Kungel and Zech Brown. With such a talented crew, I have started to transition back to some of the projects that I had put on hold, with the main one being “the cookbook”. I’m looking forward to being back in the kitchen testing new recipes and refining old ones, and then making the cut of what stays and what goes. I will be relying on many of you to assist with that process, by being recipe testers. This month’s recipe will definitely make the cookbook. It takes a little more effort then a quick burger on the grill, but I think you will find the results worth it! Wishing you all a delicious summer. Jill Southwest Burger *The winner and favorite in our buffalo burger cook off! (makes 3 to 4 burgers or 8 to 10 sliders) Ingredients: 1 1 lb. Wild Idea Ground Buffalo 1 Tb. olive oil + 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. black pepper 1 tsp. cumin 1 tsp. garlic powder 1 cup pepper jack cheese, small cubes ½ cup (2) green chili’s, roasted, peeled coarse chopped Pico de Gallo Jalapeno Hollandaise Buns of choice Preparation: 1.) Mix meat, olive oil, spices, cheese and chili’s together in bowl with hands and portion into desired patty size. 2.) Refrigerate for ½ hour to assist with binding. 3.) Preheat clean grill to 500*+. 4.) Brush burgers with a little extra olive oil and place burgers on hot grill, grilling 2 minutes each side. Keep grill lid closed. 5.) Brush with olive oil and grill ½ minute each side to give burger a bit of a crust. Serve on buns and top with Pico de Gallo and Jalapeno Hollandaise! Accompany with *Tequila, Lime Buffalo Chips. *Recipe included with purchase. Pico de Gallo (makes 2 cups) Ingredients: 1¼ cup finely diced cherry tomatoes ½ cup finely diced onion, white, red or green ¼ cup finely chopped cilantro 1 Tb. sugar ¼ tsp. cardamom ½ tsp. each: coriander, cumin, salt & pepper Juice of 1 – Lime *optional: pinch of cayenne Toss all ingredients together. Season to taste. Jalapeno infused Hollandaise Ingredients: 2 organic eggs, yolks only ½ teaspoon coarse mustard ½ teaspoon garlic, chopped 2 tablespoons lemon juice ½ teaspoon black pepper 1 Jalapeno, roasted, peeled and seeded 1 stick salted organic butter, melted 1.) Place all ingredients in blender and puree. 2.) With blender going, slowly add melted butter. Blend until mixture becomes thick. Place leftover hollandaise in container and store …
Grilled Buffalo Meatball Salad with Mint Vinaigrette
June’s Recipe of the Month: Grilled Buffalo Meatball Salad with Mint Vinaigrette (Inspired by Food & Wine recipe). Serves 4 Grills across the country will be fired up for this Fathers Day, covered with burgers, steaks and Ribs (check out our Rib specials this month– recipes included). All delicious, but if you are in the mood for something on the lighter side, this recipe is for you. Enjoy. Meatball Ingredients: 1 – 1 lb. Ground Buffalo 2 – cloves garlic, minced 2 – green onions, minced 1 – tablespoon soy sauce 2 – tablespoons hoisin sauce 1 – teaspoon salt 2 – teaspoons black pepper 2 – tablespoons olive oil 24 -cherries, pitted 8 – mushrooms, halved 8 wooden skewers, soaked in water foil Vinaigrette Ingredients: ½ – cup rice vinegar ¼ – cup honey ¼ – cup sesame oil 1 – tablespoon pickled ginger ¼ cup fresh mint leaves ½ – teaspoon salt 1 – teaspoon black pepper Salad Ingredients: 4 – handfuls mixed greens 1 – cup prepared quinoa ½ – cucumber, diced *optional garnish: cherries, sesame seeds or Marcona Almond Instructions: 1.) In mixing bowl combine: ground buffalo, minced garlic, minced onion, soy, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly with hands. 2.) Shape into 16 oval meatballs, and roll in olive oil. Refrigerate for ½ hour. 3.) Mix all Vinaigrette ingredients in blender a pulse until mixed. 4.) Thread skewer: cherry, mushroom, meatball, cherry, meatball, mushroom, cherry. Repeat with remaining skewers. 5.) Wrap exposed wooden tips with foil. 6.) Place skewers over medium high grill, about 400* and grill for 3 minutes each side. 7.) Remove skewers from grill and cover with foil, allowing to rest for 5 minutes. 8.) Toss salad greens with ¼ cup of the vinaigrette, arrange on 4 separate plates. 9.) Mix cucmber and jalapeno together in bowl and toss with ¼ cup viniagerette. 10.) Divide prepared quinoaand sprinkle on top of greens. Repeat with diced cucumbers. Top Salad with two skewers and drizzle with additional vinaigrette. Garnish as desired. Serve with grilled flat bread.
"FIFTY" (This got a little long, but you only turn 50 once.)
It’s been said that life is about the journey and not the destination. I’ve always been kind of a destination girl myself and am often accused of burning the candle at both ends. As a friend of mine once said, “You are always trying to pack ten pounds of shit into a five pound bag”. I do not dispute either charge, they often remind me of a Jack London poem that I am fond of. “I would rather be ashes then dust! I would rather that my spark burn out in a brilliant blaze than it should be stifled by dryrot. I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet. The proper function of a man (woman) is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time”. My natural talents are in creating, in making people happy and in entertaining. Since I was a kid, I have been a participator. I knew that I would be a part of something, and hoped it would make a difference. After a brief unfulfilling modeling career, I turned my attention to what I knew best, food (now you know why my modeling career was so short); and started learning the in’s and outs of the hospitality business. For research and pleasure, I dined at some of the fanciest of restaurants where the food was marginal and ate in some of the dirtiest beer joints, where the food was exceptional, and vise versa. My entrepreneurial spirit caught fire and I soon took off trying to create/make my own life. Although it was often at my expense, it was a great ride. I have had the opportunity to cater all kinds of events, from Baby Showers to Weddings to Film Sets, for Senators, Actors and Cardinal’s. I have owned/operated 3 (at the time), cutting edge restaurants, each with their own successes and failures. All of this seemed to fit with my plan. What I did not ever think, was that at the age of 50 I would wear a hairnet, a hardhat and butchers frock. But don’t let the outfit fool you – this is important stuff. Being a dairy farmers daughter, big landscapes and hard work were part of my genetic make-up, so it was easy to join Dan in his quest to restore/preserve our ranch back to health, and hopefully impact others to do the same. Although this too has often been at our expense, it has been worth every penny and has also been quite a ride! I’ve had the opportunity to: move buffalo on horseback, assist in creating a moveable harvester that would provide humane harvest of animals, develop cooking techniques for grass-fed meat, open a processing plant, get to know some of the coolest conscious carnivores on the planet, and watch the transformation of what care of environment and of animals can do for a landscape. It’s good work – if you can get it! In addition to all the above, I have a great family, a handful of good friends, two kids and a son in-law that I’m crazy about and who are crazy about me too. And, I’ve had the great adventure of running around with Dan O’Brien. Dan has also loved my children and has been a true father in every sense of the word. Thank you Dan. This Father’s Day, on the 16th I will turn 50! Woop, Woop! And before I blow out the brilliant blaze of 50 birthday candles, I will …
Father's Day Reflection
I imagine most first time fathers remember the exact moment when they learned that their significant other was expecting. My experience was certainly not a Hollywood moment, but it was memorable nonetheless. I had just finished coaching an evening youth program when I received “the phone call” from my wife. She was saying something about something turning blue – my mind was elsewhere and it took an embarrassingly long time to register what was going on. “Oh my god, are you sure?” –stupid question it turns out. I don’t recall the rest of the conversation, but I do remember what happened next. From seemingly nowhere one of my oldest friends appeared. He had been grilling with a few other athletes, and handed me a hotdog. It was your standard, cheap mystery meat covered in ketchup and mustard hotdog. Now I am not one to turn down food, and since stress-eating is a habit of mine I immediately accepted. But, as I scarfed back that hotdog, I thought about how the food we eat, and the eating habits we pass on to our children, are some of the most important lessons we teach. So there it was – the moment I learned I would be a father, and I chased that beautiful and special moment with a cheap factory farm hot dog. A couple years later when I told my friend the story and asked him to be a godfather, he sincerely apologized for not handing me something more fitting. As the dust settled from the initial impact of impending fatherhood, I decided that it was important to reassess the food that my family and I were eating. This is not to say that we used to eat badly, but I believe we owe it to ourselves, and our future children, to take it a bit further. It is all too easy in our fast paced lives to let food slide to the bottom of the ever-lengthening list of priorities. Fast-forward two years or so and we now have an incredible 18-month-old son. When it comes to food for our family the questions of sourcing, use of hormones or antibiotics, and how the animal was raised continue to play a central role in the decisions we make about our diet. While I am still relatively new at the whole parenting game and no doubt have an immense amount to learn, I am confident that consuming ethically and responsibly raised, and sustainable foods will continue to remain a family value. This summer as “dad” gets predictably overly excited and fires up the grill again, we will be dining with a clear conscience on Wild Idea Buffalo hot dogs, burgers, and steaks that help not only promote the health and well being of our family, but also of this great and fragile world we inhabit.
What is Grass-fed
The term “grass-fed” is being used more and more often now days when discussing how certain animals are raised. Unfortunately, there is a lot of ambiguity with the use of this term and what it actually means for consumers. In addition to loose official standards around the use of the term, many ranchers also have different opinions as well on how it should be used as well. Grass-fed: Traditionally – grass-fed means: an animal that has been raised their entire life feeding strictly on a diet of natural grass and forage. However, this is not currently the standard use of the term grass-fed and as a result has created a fair bit of confusion for consumers. Many producers use the term grass-fed, but then go on to “finish” them on grain in order to increase the animals overall weight. Finishing: the concept of “finishing” an animal is when a producer raises their animals on a particular diet until a certain date at which point the animals are finished on grain for the last few months to help fatten them for slaughter. This has led to the use of terms such as grass-finished vs. grain-finished. An animal that is grass-finished feeds on a diet grass and forage right up until slaughter and is not fed grain during that time. 100% Grass-fed: A few producers, including Wild Idea Buffalo, choose to use the phrase 100% Grass-fed. This phrase is used to help distinguish animals that are 100% Grass-fed, because they feed exclusively on, natural grasses and forage. While 100% Grass-fed is not a universally adopted term, it is meant to help clarify exactly what the animal has consumed during its life up until the date of slaughter. Animals that are raised strictly on a natural all grass and forage diet not only live a healthier and more humane life, but also pass on significant health benefits to the consumer. For more information about the benefits of a grass-fed diet please refer to the following article discussing the impacts in our buffalo: Wild Idea Grass-fed Buffalo vs Feedlot Buffalo.
Grilled Jerk Buffalo Ribs
(serves 2 to 4) This recipe will work for both short ribs and back ribs with a little adjustment, which is noted below. You may want to double this recipe as seconds are often requested. Ingredients: 1 – pkg. Buffalo Back Ribs or Short Ribs 2/3 – cup ketchup Jerk Marinade Ingredients: 1- cup pineapple juice ¼ – cup soy 3 – cloves garlic ¼ – cup brown sugar 2 – tablespoons jerk seasoning (recipe for homemade jerk seasoning included with purchase, or packaged jerk seasoning is available at most groceries) Preparation: Rinse ribs and pat dry with paper towel. Mix all marinade ingredients together in blender and pulse to incorporate. Divide marinade in half. For BACK RIBS: Place ribs and half of marinade in plastic bag and massage marinade into ribs. Marinate ribs for 4 to 24 hours hours. For SHORT RIBS: Place ribs in slow cooker with half of marinade and 1 cup of water. Cover and braise for 6 hours on medium. Increase heat to shorten braising time or decrease heat to lengthen braising time. Meat will become very tender and bones may fall away. If your preference is for chewier ribs decrease braising time. Mix the other half of marinade with ketchup and set aside. Remove ribs from marinade, shaking off excess, (do carefully for braised ribs, as meat will be fall apart tender). Place ribs on foil, curling edges of foil to hold ribs in place, but leaving top open. Brush both sides of ribs with Jerk BBQ sauce. Pre-heat gas grill to medium high heat of about 400°. Place foil pan of ribs on grill over heat and make a few slits in the foil with a knife. Close grill lid and grill for 6 minutes each side. Remove SHORT RIBS, but repeat process for BACK RIBS adding more sauce if desired. Serve Jerk Buffalo Ribs with Fruited Coleslaw, and Coconut Rice with Black Beans. These accompaniments are very complimentary to this dish. Recipe for both side dishes are included with purchase.
Caldo de Bisonte (Bison Soup)
Caldo de Bisonte (Bison Soup) Crock Pot Notes: The first rule is, know your Crock Pots heat cycle temperatures. After my first failed recipe attempt, due to my Crock Pot low setting being too hot, I replaced it with a newer model that has more options. Low should be a simmer with small bubbles breaking the surface, no more then 200*. Recipe Notes: Vegetables for this dish are often left in larger pieces and corn still on the cob. For eating convenience I have made them spoon size edible. Ingredients: 1 Tb. olive oil 1 3 lb. pkg. Wild Idea Buffalo Short Ribs 2 tsp. salt 2 tsp. black pepper 2 tsp. cumin 2 tsp. coriander 1 tsp. cardamom 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 quart water 1 10oz. can diced tomatoes 2 cups buffalo stock or organic chicken broth ¼ cup fresh lime juice ½ cabbage, chopped ½ onion, chopped 4 carrots, peeled and sliced 6 to 8 new potatoes, par-boiled and quartered 2 small zucchini, quartered and sliced 1 16oz. bag frozen corn Preparation: 1.) Pre-heat Crock Pot to highest temperature. 2.) Rinse ribs, pat dry and cut into 3 to 4 pieces, with bone in each piece. 3.) Mix all of the dry spices together and divide into two dishes. 4.) Add ribs, half of the spice mixture, water and diced tomatoes to Crock Pot, cover and bring to a boil. 5.) Reduce heat to low and set Crock Pot for 8 hours. 6.) Skim off any visible fat or foam form the top. (At this point you can refrigerate, allowing fat or foam to settle on top, making it easy to remove. I would allow ribs & broth to set over night or until ready to use. Bring to full heat and continue.) 7.) Turn heat to high. Add additional stock and remaining spices and allow it to come to boil, this step for ½ hour. Pour yourself a glass of wine and go sit on the deck. 8.) Add vegetables to Crock Pot and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for ½ hour. Freshen your wine, return to deck or garden. 9.) Season to taste. Serve in bowls and garnish with cilantro or *Pico de Gallo. *Recipe included with purchase.Accompany with grilled quesadilla’s or warm tortillas. Wine Pairing: Clos du Bois Fume Blanc
My Favorite Spices
May 2013, Story and Recipe: By Jill O’Brien As spices go, my quintessential favorite trio, are the three C’s, cardamom, coriander and cumin. These spices compliment the sweet grassiness of 100% grass-fed bison beautifully. With the upcoming Cinco de Mayo celebrations and other springtime fiestas, it’s the perfect time to incorporate them into your recipes. Using this trio of C’s I have down, but there is another C word that frightens me; it is not a spice, but a cooking device, called the “Crock Pot”. It frightens me because I know nothing about cooking with them, except for warming something up that has already been cooked. A couple of weeks ago, I was helping a customer who was ordering for the first time and he was selecting items that he could prepare for his family using a “Crock Pot”. Ribs were a favorite of his boys, and asked that I enclose recipes for Crock Pot cooking. After hanging up, I quickly called my sister Teresa for some tips and modified other recipes that I thought would work well. Then I made a resolution to master the Crock Pot, or at least provide you with a handful of solid recipes. The warmer temperatures this time of year move us outside for most all cooking as we are an air condition free household. And although I enjoy the grilling season, there are many nights when I arrive home that I wish there was a hot meal waiting. The below recipe is the first in a series of Crock Pot recipes to come. It is easy to prepare and like many other recipes included with our May Special, it incorporates the quintessential trio of C’s, light citrusy flavors – perfect for spring! Salud! Jill Caldo de Bisonte (Bison Soup) Crock Pot Notes: The first rule is, know your Crock Pot heat cycle temperatures. After my first failed recipe attempt, due to my Crock Pot low setting being too hot, I replaced it with a newer model that has more options. Low should be a simmer with small bubbles breaking the surface, no more then 200*. Recipe Notes: Vegetables are often left in larger pieces and corn still on the cob, I think mostly for presentation. For eating convenience I have made them spoon size edible. Ingredients: 1 Tb. olive oil 1 3 lb. pkg. Wild Idea Buffalo Short Ribs 2 tsp. salt 2 tsp. black pepper 2 tsp. cumin 2 tsp. coriander 1 tsp. cardamom 2 tsp. oregano 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 quart water 1 10 oz. can diced tomatoes 2 cups buffalo stock or organic chicken broth ¼ cup fresh lime juice ½ cabbage, chopped ½ onion, chopped 4 carrots, peeled and sliced 6 to 8 new potatoes, par-boiled and quartered 2 small zucchini, quartered and sliced 1 16oz. bag frozen corn Preparation: Pre-heat Crock Pot to highest temperature. Rinse ribs, pat dry and cut into 3 to 4 pieces, with bone in each piece. Mix all of the dry spices together and divide into two dishes. Add ribs, half of the spice mixture, water and diced tomatoes to Crock Pot, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and set Crock Pot for 8 hours. Skim off any visible fat or foam from the top. (At this point you can refrigerate, allowing fat or foam to settle on top, making it easy to remove. I would allow ribs & broth to set over night or until ready to use. Bring to full heat and continue. Turn heat to high. Add additional stock and remaining spices and allow it …
Frog Symphony
I have heard Chorus Frogs every spring for my entire life, but I never saw one until the May of 2008. I was following Mike Forsberg around southeastern Montana in search of stories and photographs for Mike’s book, GREAT PLAINS, America’s lingering wild. I can’t remember what our objective was but we were in the middle of an enormous pasture and we were walking. It takes a long time to walk anywhere with Forsberg because he stops and looks at everything. When you walk with any good photographer what you are really doing is wandering. So I was wandering around southeastern Montana with Mike Forsberg on a beautiful spring afternoon taking pictures of flowers, clouds, rusty barbed wire fences, and windmills when the faint sound of Chorus Frogs drifted over a hill. The vocalization of a Chorus Frog is a little like a variety of small frogs known collectively as “tree frogs and their allies.” The Chorus Frog must be an “ally” because they are often found where there are no trees for miles. That was the case that day in Montana – no trees, just grass and a little wind. The sound of the frogs blended in with the rustle of the wind and the songs of prairie, ground nesting birds that were newly back from their winter migration. Male Meadow Larks, Bobolinks, and Buntings were setting up territories and serenading the females with all their hearts. Probably the singing of the Chorus Frog had been blending with the ambient sounds for a while before we even noticed it, but as the afternoon wore on, the sound intensified until Mike couldn’t stand it. “Have you ever seen one of those little devils?” I shrugged. “No. I’ve never even looked for one.” In fact, Chorus Frogs are such a commonfeature of the Great Plains that I had never even thought much about them. Since I could remember, they were a constant in the soundtrack of my spring existence. When we walked over the hill and found a small stock-pond created by adikebuilt across a little draw. Spring runoff had filled the pond and the Chorus Frogs were doing the amphibious version of what the birds were doing. Their shrill voices seemed to rise from the water’s edge of the entire pond. My Peterson Field Guide to Western Reptiles and Amphibians describes the sound of the Chorus Frog as prreep, prreep, but that description does not do it justice. It is an insistent sound when you concentrate on it but has the ability to recede in your consciousness until it is barely noticeable. The pond was alive with singers and we crept, shoulder to shoulder, up to the water where one particularly boisterous frog was sounding off. We moved like a pair of blue herons, very slowly, raising high and planting gently one foot at a time. When we got to the edge of the pond the sound was gone and I looked carefully, expecting the frog to leap into the water and disappear. There was no leap and splash so we bent over and squinted along the grassy edge. Still nothing. He must have heard us and took off, so we split up and started off in search of the next frog. But we had only gone a few feet when the first frog started up again – exactly where we had been looking. We went back but still saw nothing. Other frogs were singing just a little way along the water’s edge so we moved off again in opposite directions. I was intent on sneaking up on one before …
Spring Time Chorus
Last Saturday evening my parents, Colton and I took the time to drive through the buffalo herd. Words cannot describe how incredible that hour and half was. Little buffalo calves were scattered throughout the pasture. It is always a joy to see those little orange balls of fluff running and bucking at their mother’s side. We sat in silence to take it all in. The setting sky, soft buffalo grunts, and the actions of the little calves could easily hypnotize someone for hours. One thing that was out of the ordinary was an amplified chorus of frogs from the nearby dam. It caught me by complete surprise as spring has just finally settled in at the Ranch. Much needed moisture has filled the dam and has in turn, brought life back to it. This dam sat silent all of last year due to lack of moisture which left it dry. The noise coming from the community of frogs was a symphony of spring arrival. In talking with Dan we believe that the Western Chorus Frog (no bigger than a thumb nail) made up the spring symphony. Below is a short video – meant more for audio and a picture of this incredibly tiny but vocal frog.
Face to Face with America’s Food Chain
By my nature and professional training, I tend to be a skeptical person when claims are made. This comes to about everything except food. If I read something on a menu or see it on a label, I’m likely to take it at face value. I think part of this relates to the fact I have no connection to the food chain. The farm-to-table movement is the big thing right now but I wouldn’t even be able to find my way to a farm to start the journey. My eyes have been opened. I recently visited the Wild Idea Buffalo ranch as guests of Dan and Jill O’Brien. I love wildlife but have never been as up close-and-personal as I was with the herd of bison on their ranch including the very intimidating male buffalo (I don’t recommend such a personal encounter unless you have a great guide like Dan). The trip helped me understand that there is a difference between “grass-fed buffalo” and “100% grass-fed buffalo.” The former is what any producer can say even if the buffalo has had just a few weeks of grass before going off to the feedlot. The latter means literally the animal has spent all its life living and eating off of the Great Plains. What about taste? Jill was kind enough to share her incredible cooking with me and I can vouch for the fact their buffalo does taste better and healthier. This was my first trip to South Dakota and to the Great Plains. Back home in Washington, D.C., it’s easy to think one has a handle on America and what makes it tick. But this country is more than just big cities, suburbs and highways. It’s also the places a bit off the beaten path that play an incredibly important role in our history and in the sustainability of our fragile planet. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to visit the ranch because it taught me a lot about our country and has made me more questioning of what’s in my diet. -Adam Shapiro
Baby Buffalo & Blizzards
Last week we were lucky enough to get a blizzard. It’s very dry here and at this point we aren’t too particular in how moisture comes. We were also expecting to see our first calf at anytime and although we received 20″ of snow we weren’t too concerned. Bison evolved in this country and are well adapted to weather extremes. There is a theory that bison can hold off giving birth until after a storm has passed. We’re unsure if this is fact, but the morning after last week’s blizzard, we got our first glimpse of this year’s first baby. Mother and baby are doing well. Dan brings hay to supplement the lack of grass. I tag along to get photos of the herd and a glimpse of the new babies. The new mom’s remove themselves from the main herd and set up what we call “the maternity ward”, complete with new and expecting mothers. Within a few days we had 5 baby calves, and another blizzard on the way. The snow came heavy last night without wind, frosting the landscape all the way to the horizon. I grabbed my camera gear this morning and headed out with Dan for the morning hay feeding. The weight of the snow quiets the ranch to where all you can hear is your heart beat and the soft grunts of the buffalo. They seem undisturbed in their warm down, wooly coats. While Dan rolls out 2 tons of hay, I go off in search of the maternity ward to insure that all is ok. I find them content in a shallow wooded draw. Babies close to their mothers, until the little ones take off, leaping occasionally on their new wobbly legs! The mothers stay close behind, nudging them further into the draw and out of my view. A great morning!
Free Roaming Buffalo
Two weekends ago, I took these pictures while a group of us were guiding a respectably sized herd of buffalo back to pastures that lie between the Cheyenne River Ranch and the Cheyenne River itself. For the last five and a half months these animal’s temporary home has been an ever changing landscape, comprised of windy creeks, badland buttes and open prairies surround by walls of steep hills that are peppered with cedar trees. As we moved the herd, we watched them float across the landscape. They knew where every creek crossing and green patch of grass was. Although some of the older cows didn’t seem to be in a hurry to head back to the other side of the river, they still moved at a pace that showed purpose. These cows will soon begin to gather in maternity wards in preparation for spring calving. The new calves will spend the early months of their life in pastures that lack the buttes, creeks, and steep draw banks. Instead, they will take their first shaky steps on land that seems to extend to the horizon. As spring turns to summer, the new calves will venture around the wide open country as they follow the rest of the herd. Just as they start to become familiar with the terrain, the time will come for them to head out with the rest of the herd for life on the other side of the river.
A Visit With Dan O'Brien: by Lindsay Wilson
This Months visiting writer: Lindsay Wilson, journalist for Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage In its commitment to offer customers the highest-quality products available, Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage® continually strives to partner with family-operated, small-scale, sustainable producers. The following article is about a sustainable buffalo ranch that meet, or exceed, our standards for naturally-raised meat. Natural Grocers is proud to support these ranches, their owners, and their products. In this article, we are happy to introduce Wild Idea Buffalo Company. There is a saying among the Native Americans of the Great Plains that buffalo will offer themselves to those who have a pure heart. If that’s the case, then Dan O’Brien must have a heart of gold. A wildlife biologist, falconer, writer, and buffalo rancher, O’Brien’s deep respect for the grasslands of the Great Plains and the wildlife that thrives there led him to buffalo, or depending on how you look at it, led the buffalo to him. It all started with a little herd of thirteen orphaned runts that O’Brien bought from a neighboring ranch after helping with the annual roundup. You could say that it was an impulse buy, as O’Brien had been a cattle rancher for twenty years and hadn’t thought much about raising buffalo, although he had struggled to make ends meet as a cattle rancher and his intuition told him that cattle just weren’t suited to the grasslands of South Dakota. But in this little derelict herd, O’Brien saw salvation. “I was desperate to rediscover purpose in my life…and those thirteen imperiled packages of fur and sinew seemed kindred souls. I wanted us all to move on to a better life, I wanted my ranch to be as balanced and healthy as it could be,” O’Brien recalls in his memoir Buffalo for the Broken Heart: Restoring Life to a Black Hills Ranch. And so it began with those thirteen pint-sized buffalo, dubbed the “Gashouse Gang.” That was twelve years ago, and now O’Brien’s herd has grown to more than 600 and his business, Wild Idea Buffalo Company, is thriving. As much a conservationist as he is rancher, O’Brien’s philosophy is to “take care of everything out there, not just the product, because it’s all connected. The reason we’re doing this is for the grass. When the grass is healthy, the whole ecosystem is healthy.” To O’Brien, the buffalo are more than a commodity; they are the key to bringing the grasslands he loves back to their native state. Where the Wild Things Are When I arrived on his South Dakota ranch in early summer, it was clear that O’Brien’s mission was not that of a venture capitalist, but one of a preservationist. Nestled between the Black Hills and Badlands National Park and bordered by Buffalo Gap National Grassland, O’Brien’s Cheyenne River Ranch is more than just a buffalo ranch; it has become a nature preserve. During my tour of the ranch, I saw the prairie through a wildlife biologist’s eyes. As we passed through the sea of rippling grass, O’Brien pointed out a flock of baby grouse; a red tail hawk; a pair of white pelicans (which, to my surprise, are native to the Plains); two golden eagles; and a prairie dog town where we saw four burrowing owls emerge from the tunnels, which O’Brien explained don’t eat the little burrowing rodents, but cohabitate with them. The prairie was teeming with life. And then there were the buffalo. In a small open-air, all-terrain vehicle, O’Brien drove us into the midst of the herd, so close I could smell their sweet musky smell. There’s something quite …
Buffalo Pastrami & Zucchini Linguini (Seves 2)
Ingredients: 1/4 lb. Wild Idea Buffalo Pastrami, julienned 4 oz, linguini, cooked al dente (reserve 1 cup pasta water) 1 medium sized zucchini 4 Tb. basil pesto 1/2 cup cherry or pear tomatoes grated parmesan Cooking Directions: Prepare Buffalo Pastrami and linguini as suggested. Using vegetable peeler, peel zucchini in flat ribbons and then slice ribbons in half, lengthways. In heavy bottomed pot, bring 1/2 cup of pasta water to gentle boil. Add zucchini and cook for two minutes. Remove zucchini from water and set aside. Add prepared pasta to pot, adding more pasta water if necessary. Cover and let heat through, about 2 minutes. Add basil pesto and toss lightly. Add zucchini back to pot and julienned pastrami. Gently toss together. Cover and let heat for an addition minute or two. Using large fork, twist pasta into desired serving and transfer to pasta dish. Garnish with tomatoes, and sprinkle with parmesan. Season with a pinch of salt and a twist of fresh cracked pepper. Simply Delicious! You might also like my recipe for a Zucchini Salad, found in the “Various Recipe” section.
Bison Chuck Roast for Pulled Buffalo B.B.Q.
Ingredients: 1 3 pound Wild Idea Bison Chuck Roast, twine removed, rinsed & patted dry 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons black pepper 2 cup organic Apple Cider, warmed 1.) Pre-heat oven to 500*. 2.) Mix 1 tablespoon olive oil with salt and pepper, in dutch oven or heavy pan. Place roast in pan and roll around in seasoning, rubbing into meat. 3.) Place roast in hot oven uncovered and roast for 15 minutes. 4.) Add warmed Apple Cider, cover pot tightly and lower temperature to 350*. 5.) Braise Buffalo Roast for 2 ½ hours turning once during braising time. 6.) Roast is finished cooking when meat is tender. You should be able to pull the meat apart using 2 forks, (continue braising for another ½ hour if this is not achieved). 7.) Remove form heat and let roast rest at room temperature, covered for 1 hour, or until you are able to handle. 8.) Remove roast from pot and place on cutting board. Reserve pan juices. Using two forks or hands pull meat apart into manageable pieces and then pull apart into smaller pieces or shred. 9.) Return meat to 1 cup of pan juices. 10.) Add 1 cup B.B.Q. sauce, or desired amount, and stir to incorporate. Bring to full heat, adding in more pan juices or B.B.Q. sauce as desired. Reduce heat to simmer. Serve as entrée or on buns for sandwiches. Accompany with Firecracker Coleslaw. Jill’s B.B. Q. Sauce Ingredients: 1 Tb. Olive Oil 1 cup onion, finely diced 2 T. Garlic, chopped 1 T. Black Pepper 1 tsp. Cayenne 1 tsp. Chili Powder 1 tsp. Cumin 1 tsp. Coriander 1 tsp. Cinnamon ½ cup Bourbon 2.4 lbs. Ketchup 1 T. Dijon Mustard 1 T. Worcestershire Dash of Liquid Smoke ½ cup organic Apple cider or water 1.) In heavy saucepan, over medium high heat, heat oil. 2.) Add onion and seasonings and sauté for 7 minutes. 3.) Deglaze with: 1/2 cup Bourbon or Brandy 4.) Add remaining ingredients, and stir until well to incorporate. 5.) Add 1/2 cup juice or water to thin as needed. Bring to a boil. Pour sauce in sealed container and refrigerate.
A New Year’s Resolution that is Healthy and Tasty
Minutes after the ball drops in Times Square, the ads on TV start. You have seen them – touting every diet and weight loss product under the sun. They are as much a part of the New Year’s ritual, as Dick Clark is a part of the New Year’s Eve one. The most common New Year’s resolutions are to lose weight and eat healthier, but only 12% of Americans keep their resolutions. And no wonder – different web sites tout everything from the cabbage soup diet to the tapeworm diet as miracle ways to lose weight. I don’t know about you, but any diet where I have to eat a tape worm, or even a “delicious shake” twice a day does not sound appealing. I am much more a believer in moderation and eating simple healthy foods. And this can begin with some simple changes in our staples. The average American eats about 65 pounds of beef per year (most of which is grain-finished). By switching from beef to 100% prairie grass-fed Wild Idea Buffalo, he or she would annually save: 3,000 grams of fat 25,000 calories 4,000 grams of cholesterol But grass-fed buffalo is not just about the absence of negatives – it is about the presence of positives. With grass-fed buffalo, you also get a lot more Omega-3s because the buffalo’s diet is rich in native prairie grasses. As a kid I learned that “you are what you eat,” as I get older I am learning that you also “are what you eat eats!” Grass-fed meat has 2-4x the Omega-3s of their grain-finished counterparts. I have often heard grass-fed buffalo called the “salmon of the prairie.” There are tons of nutritionists and doctors out there with all kinds of theories about the secrets to healthier eating. Working in the food industry for 15 years, I have seen a lot that make a ton of sense and others that seemed like a bunch of garbage. But one of the best I have seen is Dr. Kevin Weiland, and his no nonsense, no gimmick approach. With our January Special we are offering a free copy of his popular book, “The Dakota Diet.” I wish all of you a happy and healthy new year. And if you are looking to begin or maintain healthier eating habits in 2012, Wild Idea Buffalo would like to be there to help – and I promise it will be more delicious and sustainable than cabbage soup! Best, Josh
Bison Carpetbag Steaks
Carpetbag Steaks (serves 4) Bison steaks stuffed with oysters, in a light Cajun cream Sauce, are sinfully delicious. Tenderloin or New York steaks work well for this dish. For Steaks: 4 Buffalo Steaks, rinsed and patted dry 1 tablespoon olive oil ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon pepper 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 8 fresh oysters, shucked and coarsely chopped 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon 2 tablespoons shallots, minced ½ teaspoon Tabasco sauce ½ cup parmesan, grated ½ cup dry bread crumbs 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped For Cajun Cream Sauce 1 tablespoon butter 2 teaspoons Cajun seasonings + to taste 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice ½ cup cream Cajun Seasoning: 4 teaspoons paprika 1 teaspoon each: cayenne, black pepper, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and thyme Mix together and set aside. Keep remaining in sealed container. Prep steaks as above. Make a slit in center of the steak creating a pocket. Rub steaks with olive oil, salt and pepper. Allow to rest at room temperature for 2 hours. Place oysters and lemon juice in bowl and let set for ½ hour. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in sauté pan over medium high heat. Add shallots, drained prepped oysters and hot sauce. Sauté for 4 minutes. Add parmesan cheese and fold in to incorporate, allowing to slightly melt. Remove from heat, add bread crumbs and parsley. Stir to incorporate and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stuff pocket of steaks with warm oyster stuffing. In heavy skillet over medium high heat, melt 1 tablespoon unsalted butter. Sear each side of steaks 2 minutes for 5 oz. or 3 minutes for 8 to 10 oz. steaks. Remove and cover with foil. In same pan add 1 tablespoon butter, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and 1 tablespoon Cajun seasonings. Stir to incorporate. Quickly whisk in cream and bring to full heat. Serve steaks atop dirty rice and drizzle all with Cajun cream sauce. Recipe for dirty rice included with purchase. Wine Pairing: A Bordeaux or Pinot would complement nicely.
Mushroom & Onion Stuffed Buffalo Blue Burgers
Currently I am going through a Blue Cheese phase. Its rich creaminess with its full flavor calls my name on a daily bases. With this month’s recipe being our annual “Buffalo Burger” recipe, I thought it only appropriate to have it include Blue Cheese. There is nothing new about adding blue cheese to your burger, I needed more originality. So a few weeks ago I was discussing this with Cyd (By the way, Cyd’s back. Yeah!), and she started telling me how she loved onions & mushrooms on her burger but they were always falling off and so she started sautéing them first and stuffing the burger with them. Hmmm – I think she’s on to something. The last inspirational component came while eating a burger in NYC, where they served their burgers on a potato roll, a very nice compliment to the meat. Below are the results of my concoction. I served it to a group from Clemson last night and it was a huge hit!” Cheers – Jill
Chili Spiced Un-Short Ribs or Back Ribs with Tangy Mop
Dan & I just returned from a nephew’s wedding in Ohio. It was a wonderful celebration. We stayed with Dan’s brother Mike and his wife Linda, (father and mother of the groom), along with Dan’s brother Scott and his wife Roxy. In the morning I would find the three brothers hunched over their coffee cups in deep discussion. I couldn’t help but imagine them at ages ten, nine and eight hunched over in a like manner making their next plan. They are loving Father’s, Uncle’s and Grandpa’s, and have all played an integral part in their children’s, nephews, nieces and grandchildren’s life. They will deservingly be celebrated this month. And if the old adage is true, that a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, the below recipe should help do the trick. Enjoy!
Today, we know that the bison is considered
A highly nutrient dense food (the proportion of protein, fat, minerals and fatty acids are high when compared to its caloric value.) When compared to other animals from a feed lot, the bison have a greater concentration of iron as well as other essential nutrients. The meat from grass-fed bison can contain up to four times as much vitamin E as feedlot cattle. This potent antioxidant has been shown to lower the risk of heart disease, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease. The fat content in bison meat is usually a third of that found in cattle fattened in the feedlot. Because the meat is lower in fat also means that it is lower in calories. A 6 oz buffalo steak can have as much as 100 fewer calories than a steak from a grain fed steer. You could loose up to 10 pounds a year just by switching your main source of meat to grass fed buffalo. Bison is also high in omega-3 fat. Up to sixty percent of the fatty acid content in the grasses on the plains contain omega-3 and are found in abundance in buffalo allowed to graze on the natural grasses. The benefits from a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids can not be overstated. These benefits include cancer prevention to lowering cholesterol as well as reducing inflammation. Dr. Kevin Weiland
Giving Thanks & Mincemeat Pie
Occasionally I get out and try to squeeze what we are surrounded by into the lens frame of my Nikon camera. Usually I am helping with a job that needs doing, and snap half hazard-less, or I am paying too much attention to taking pictures, and Dan teases me about missing the bigger picture. But the best pictures, are the pictures captured, when I don’t have my camera with me.
Restoring the Serengeti of the American Plains
The order arrived on time and still completely frozen! We love knowing that the little meat we do eat, does not come with moral guilt and in some small way we are helping to restore the “Serengetti of the American plain.” Thank you so much for what you are building there! Sandi and Amaya
Buffalo Roulade Florentine
The recipe below takes a little more effort in preparing, but it can all be done ahead. The results are not only delicious, but the colorful pinwheel design makes for a beautiful plate individually or on a buffet table. Wishing you a delicious holiday! Jill
Buffalo Chorizo Sausage Stuffing
I just finished reading the book “Mayflower”. I must admit that I had to take a break from it, as I became aggravated in the Pilgrims dying, as they did not know how to hunt for their food, and the food was plentiful. This of course improved with time and with the help of the Native peoples. Their first Thanksgiving was sometime in late September or October, and consisted of foods form their successful harvest, migrating ducks and geese, the Natives provided the deer, and in addition there was fish and wild turkey. It said nothing about stuffing! Our Thanksgiving table will be a variety of buffalo, wild turkey and I’m betting on pheasant. But none of it would be complete without the stuffing! Below is my mother’s recipe, modified with Buffalo Chorizo Sausage. Cheers!
Understanding Buzz Words
As a healthy red meat company, we answer a lot of questions regarding how our buffalo are raised, what they are fed, and how they are harvested. Our customers are looking for more then what’s on a label, they want real answers. Many producers, including ourselves, use words to explain there products such as; sustainable, grass-fed, free-range, organic, natural, and humanely treated. Many of these labels have guidelines behind them. But to a consumer, what do they all really mean? Are these labels just marketing tools or do they have truthful value? To help shed some light on these labels, and to help answer questions you might have on Wild Idea Buffalo Co. products, as well as to satisfy our own curiosities, I sat down and did some investigating. As a producer we do our best to be completely transparent with our customers. It can not however be summed up into a word or two, it requires an explanation. The explanation goes something like this: Wild Idea Buffalo meat is; 100% antibiotic & hormone free, 100% pastured/free roaming, 100% grass-fed only, 100% non-confined, 100% humanely treated, and 100% humanely harvested. (And we are 100% telling the truth.) This explanation is followed by many detailed footnotes. Does that make us sustainable buffalo ranchers and meat producers? Yes. If you consider the condensed explanation of sustainability related to ranching and agricultural practices, your definition would be; From Wikipedia: Sustainability is the ability of an ecosystem to maintain ecological processes, functions, biodiversity and productivity into the future. From the Commission on Environment & Development: In short, sustainability is “to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. We participate in sustainability by; putting abused lands back to native grass, returning the native buffalo back to its homeland, which in turn rejuvenates the ecosystem, as well as other native species, and we use limited fossil fuels in our ranch operation. It is our attempt at leaving our small piece of this world a little better then what we found it. Are we grass-fed? Yes, 100% grass-fed, in a free roaming non-confined environment. From grass-fed 101: There is currently no USDA-standardized definition of grass fed. This makes the term grass-fed misleading, as many producers use the term grass-fed but forget to tell you that their animals have been “finished”. Finishing is a process of fattening the animal for the last 90 to 160 days on an un-natural diet of corn, grains and other. What is other you ask? My father’s last job was for a small feed-lot operator in North Dakota. During a visit, he gave Dan and me a tour. It was my first time on a feed-lot, and even though it was small by factory feed-lots, it was still awful. I could see that my father felt similarly by the look in his eyes. Our last stop on the property was the feed storage area. At our feet were piles of silage. Not a silage of chopped up corn and hay, but an other type of silage consisting of French fries, potato ole’s, hamburger buns, chewing gum still in the foil wrapper, (I guess no one was willing to peel the wrappers off for the cows), and other discarded fast food items. Our disgusted silence was soon interrupted by a tractor. The driver lowered the bucket on his front end loader, scooped up a big shovel full and then moved off to feed the cows. So even if you are trying to avoid fast food, you could very well be eating …
Buffalo Gumbo Prairie Style
Buffalo Gumbo (serves 12) My prairie-ized, healthier version of this southern favorite dish, without missing the flavor! Enjoy! Ingredients: 1 2 pound package Buffalo Stew Meat ½ cup olive oil 1 tablespoon black pepper 1 tablespoon salt 1 tablespoon garlic powder 1 tablespoon onion powder 1 tablespoon paprika 1 teaspoon cayenne 1 teaspoon oregano 1 teaspoon thyme 1 onion, diced 1 14 ounce package Buffalo Andouille Sausage, sliced 1 red pepper, diced 4 celery stalks, diced 1 clove garlic, chopped ½ cup flour 2 quarts chicken stock 24 Shrimp, peeled and de-viened ¾ lb. frozen okra, or fresh if available 1.) Remove stew meat from package, place in colander, rinse and drain completely. Pat dry with a paper towel. 2.) In heavy stock pot over medium high flame, heat 2 tablespoons oil. 3.) Add stew meat and dry seasonings, and sauté until lightly browned. 4.) Remove stew meat from stock pot and set aside. 5.) Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and sliced Wild Idea Buffalo Andouille Sausage. 6.) Add onion, red pepper, celery and garlic and sauté until tender. 7.) Remove Andouille and vegetables from stock pot and set aside. 8.) Add the remaining ¼ cup olive oil to the stock pot and heat. 9.) Whisk flour into the oil and continue to whisk for 20 minutes or until roux is dark brown. 10.) Add stew meat, vegetables and their juices back to the pan, stirring to incorporate. 11.) Add 2 quarts chicken stock and bring to boil. 12.) Cover stock pot, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 1 hour. 13.) Remove from heat, cool and refrigerate. 14.) Before reheating, remove the oil that has formed on the top. 15.) Over medium high heat, reheat gumbo, stirring occasionally. 16.) Let gumbo simmer on medium heat for 1/2 hour. 17.) Increase heat to medium high. Add shrimp and frozen okra and cook for 10 minutes. 18.) Serve gumbo around a scoop of rice in a shallow bowl., and accompany with warm crusty bread. Wine Pairing: O Seduction – 2005, Red Wine, from O’Brien Estate Winery – Napa Valley It’s not just the name that makes it a favorite at our house! This is a cabernet based Bordeaux style wine that offers the deep richness for true cab lovers, but a smooth silky roundness for the softer palate. It has been described as a luscious French kiss – that will leave you wanting more.
Bison and Bulgur Wheat Cakes with Citrus Butter-Nut Squash and Black Bean Gravy
Resolution 2009! Each year at this time I renew my commitment to take care of myself. My vow renewal includes, eating right, exercise religiously, and drinking more water. How dreadfully boring is that? I clearly needed more motivation …soooo, to spice things up a bit, I’ve taken up snow skiing and my Pilates machine should be here in about a week. (I hope I get it out of the box before June.) In addition to spicing up my exercise regime, I’m spicing up my recipes too, by infusing them with ethnic flavors from around the world. This months recipe is inspired by my Sierran heritage, a modification of my families Kibbeh recipe and is also included in our “January Resolution 2009 Special”. Cheers to a Healthy, Happy New Year! Enjoy – Jill