Fresh or Butcher Shop Buffalo Review

Overall 5.00 of 5 (by 1 user)

kid-kansas
Clearwater, KS

Bison/Buffalo is the other Red Meat and it's good for you too!!

health conscious, a grill master, a healthy cook, the family chef, impressed with this product

Pros

Leaner than beef, no gamy taste, sweeter than beef, better for you than beef

Cons

a little pricy

SEP

2008

Back in the early days of our country we were introduced to Buffalo or Bison meat by the Indians. Buffalo's provided then with not only food but clothing, weapons and shelter as well. The entrails (nice word for the guts...lol) was used to fertilize their crops. They would use every part of the Buffalo and we should thank them for introducing us to a not only a delicious meat but a healthier one as well!

My first taste of Buffalo was at the Cabela's in Sydney, Nebraska over 15 years ago. I walked into their store and was hungry so I grabbed a sub from their little restaurant. I saw the Buffalo Steak Sub and had to try it and boy was it ever good. Thinly sliced Buffalo with green peppers, onions and Swiss cheese and mayo on a sub roll. It was like roast beef but much better and I walked out with 2 Buffalo subs to eat later. After that I was hooked and I made sure I stopped every time I was on I-80 in Nebraska!

Buffalo Meat

Buffalo or Bison is a much darker red meat than beef and contains less of the bad things we need to avoid. For an equal cut of meat that is trimmed of excess fat Buffalo meat contains less Fat, Calories and Cholesterol and more Iron and Vitamin B-12 than Beef! Buffalo is also sweeter than beef and cooks at a lower temperature than Beef. Here are a few examples of the Buffalo vs. Beef story.

This is for a cooked equal sized serving with excess fat trimmed weighing about 3 1/2 ounces of each

Beef contains 10.12 Fat grams, while Buffalo contains 2.42 Fat grams
Beef Contains 219 Calories, while Buffalo contains 143 Calories
Beef contains 86mg of Cholesterol, while Buffalo contains 82mg of Cholesterol

Believe it or not Buffalo contains less fat, calories or cholesterol than Skinless Chicken, Pork or even Sockeye Salmon!

Another advantage is that Buffalo cooks at a lower temperature because it contains less fat than beef and you cook it to the same doneness that you would beef. There is hardly any gamy flavor in Buffalo and I have fixed it for years and nobody was ever the wiser! My favorite is Buffalo Roast with potatoes and onions and a gravy made from the juices.

While you cook Beef at an average temperature of 325-350 in your oven, Buffalo cooks best at 275 degrees and less time to obtain the same level of doneness as Beef would.

Ground Buffalo makes a great burger and for those of you that love the taste of Black Angus Beef, well try Buffalo and you will never go back! Many grocers now carry ground Buffalo but few carry steaks or roasts. For steaks and roasts your local butcher may be your best bet. Here in Wichita we have YB Meats and they carry a good selection of the "Exotic Meats" such as Buffalo, Venison, Elk, Rabbit and Squirrel.

My Favorite Buffalo recipe is of course Chili (you really should have known...lol). In my chili I use ground Buffalo as it is easy to get at most stores around here. I cook it the same as I do for Beef or Venison, which is to simmer the chili for about 2 hours. That ensures the heat of the chili's get dispersed evenly throughout and makes for a hearty meal!

Put the same cut of Buffalo and Beef side by side raw and you will see that one is darker red than the other. The Buffalo cut will look like a fresh cut, while the Beef will look like it was cut days ago and pale in comparison! Beef needs that marbling of fat to give it good flavor, Buffalo doesn't need the fat as it is a richer taste by itself!

Bottom Line

Although Buffalo is slightly more costly the health benefits are greater and the taste is richer in every way. Want a dynamite meatloaf, then use Buffalo in place of beef and your family will love it and never suspect it is made with Buffalo and not Beef!

My heart goes out to those Native American Indians for giving us such a healthy and tasty meat that we still enjoy today! To me a good Buffalo Steak is like the equivalent to eating a Porterhouse Steak or even Prime Rib but it is better for you!

Fresh or Butcher Shop Buffalo is recommended by kid-kansas

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Comments about kid-kansas’s Review

In response to PattyTherre's comment from Sep 13, 2008 at 12:28AM:

See....;)

In response to kid-kansas's comment from Sep 12, 2008 at 12:10AM:

That is the best way to try something. Eat it not knowing what it is. I was on a cruise and ate something really good and later found out it was crab which I never would eat before. Now I like crab legs once in a while and love crab cakes. I never would have touched the stuff had I known what it was.

In response to PattyTherre's comment from Sep 9, 2008 at 12:05AM:

I ate a buffalo burger once not knowing it was buffalo....The sign simply said "Gourmet Burgers" Had I not already known what it tasted like I would not have known, my daughter couldn't tell when she ate it....;)

Interesting. I don't know why but I won't eat any meat but the stuff I am used to (beef, chicken, turkey, pork). My mother made many lamb dishes and I couldn't eat any. Just because it was a lamb. Crazy...

In response to Jo's comment from Sep 8, 2008 at 11:52AM:

Not everyone likes the taste of Bison/Buffalo but I prefer it too Beef....;)

I think we were in Salt Lake City Utah and my husband tried bison..no comment!

In response to LaurieM's comment from Sep 6, 2008 at 12:13PM:

Yep and it is gaining popularity fast along with many other exotic meats. Many farmers/ranchers in the midwest are raising buffalo, elk and ostrich strictly for their meat. ;)

I had NO idea people ate Buffalo meat. For real. lol Interesting.

In response to williampinn's comment from Sep 4, 2008 at 3:12PM:

I imagine he does...;)

Mmmm...sounds gud, pardner! I reckon ol' Buffalo Bill might have a few uh them varmints he kin spare.

In response to richelmore's comment from Sep 3, 2008 at 7:18PM:

Elk burgers are fantastic.......my first was at a fair in Indiana about 6 years ago and I loved it!....;)

In response to epsgambler's comment from Sep 3, 2008 at 12:18PM:

Yep it is a special treat for me as well, tonight I made Buffalo Chili....yummmmmmmm ;)

Thanks for the review...and hunger pangs. Don't you realize how expensive buffalo is for a poor college student?

But when I do get my hands on it...it's gone, gone, gone. That stuff is so tasty. I'm not sure where they are but Ted's Montana Grill is an awesome chain with a really cool atmosphere. Most importantly, they offer two choices for their burgers: bison or beef. The bison burgers there are just amazing. I could eat them forever.

Have you ever had an elk burger? I've heard they are AMAZING and at only 2g of fat a pop, why not indulge? If you haven't, please do when you get a chance and write one of your excellent reviews! :)

My first Bison burger was at the Wall Drug Store on a trip to South Dakota. I try to find Bison regularly now as a taste trreat. They usually have it at World Markets.

In response to Katrena's comment from Sep 2, 2008 at 11:10PM:

They are beautiful animals, taste good too....;)

Learn something new every day. We actually saw a few buffalo the other day when we went to the Lazy 5 Ranch.

In response to AmyA's comment from Sep 2, 2008 at 7:14PM:

There is something they call beefalo it is a hybrid between beef and buffalo but no where even close and many places are passing it off as buffalo. Now not to pick on any place specific but....... in the upper midwest a lot of places are trying to fool the public as well as California........When you do get real Buffalo I believe you will love it....;)

I have yet to try buffalo...thought I did, but it was beef...I was lied to...they were busted for their BS burger lol...someday

In response to AnnaBanana's comment from Sep 2, 2008 at 6:49PM:

It is finger lickin' good...lol better than chicken even...;)

Another great review! You know, the Bank where I used to work had an employee cafeteria and for a few years they would have "Western" Day and serve a big haunch of roast Buffalo. The first time I ate it, I didn't even know what it was -- I just loved it!