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 …
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.
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.
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 …