I have found Bison to be very enjoyable if it is cooked to no more than a medium temperature, sliced very thin simular to sashimi and finished with a sauce that compliments the theme of the dish. It is a great alternative to beef and much of the Bison available is local.

I enjoy bison steaks and burgers. The key is to have them no more than medium rare. Otherwise, the meat gets tough and flavorless. Sort of like well done beef--better off with shoe leather.

Where do these local bison graze?

I've only had positive experiences with bison...bison tacos, bison ribs, bison brisket. I owe those positive experiences to my friend who is a local bison farm owner. His dishes have always been flavorful and tender. I've noticed his often slow cooks the meat and marinades it for hours prior to cooking.

I asked my dad what he wanted for his birthday dinner last July and he said bison! I guess he thought I wouldn't go through with it, but I bought some local bison in Monkton - not too far from my parents in Phoenix (@ http://www.gunpowderbison.com/) and grilled it up. I kept it on the rare / medium rare side and it was delicious. Now if only I could convince more than just myself and my father to try new things....

Maisy's has a great bison burger, they use Gunpowder bison meat and its comes with a deliciuos spicy mustard...best bison burger i've ever had !

Since bison is so much less fatty than beef it is fairly easy to overcook - you have to be very careful not to dry it out. I'd recommend taking a trip out to Gunpowder Bison in Monkton and letting them show you the right way to do it.

EL- The bison steak which you had at the Reserve came from Gunpowder Bison. I work at the farm and we deliver to many restaurants downtown. It is great to see places like The Reserve and Maiseys take the extra time and care to source locally and get the best ingredients possible. Improper preparation (ie. overcooking) and lesser quality meat (often from Canada) have given bison a bad rep in many cases. I worked for a local beef farm for 5 years and I can promise you that our bison meat can compete with any beef in taste and texture if cooked properly. We'd love to have you up to the farm sometime soon.

Thanks for the invite. Unfortunately, I don't get to go anywhere because I try to stay anonymous. EL

Eve, I was going to tell you in the Monkton area, but I see Joanna beat me to the punch. But, your question reminds me of when my father was Vice Principal at a school that was near Mondawmin and there was a beef slaughter house right down the road!

One day, a cow made the big escape and was running full speed through Druid Hill Park with all the kids who were leaving school chasing it, and the teachers and the administrators chasing the kids.

Dad said that he thinks that the cow was set free after that because it'd earned it's freedom. I hope that true. Urban cows? who knew?

You can't just sub bison for beef, or it will suck. You have to treat it like game.

Beefalo was common where my family summered. Unfortunately, I don't remember having it, and I really was more interested in the local fresh cherries at that age.

Lissa, I think I'd still be more interested in the local fresh cherries!

I'm sure you would be, Stacy.

I've never had luck cooking bison steaks, but ground buffalo makes excellent burgers. Mix in a little ketchup or worcestershire (or both) and chopped onion when forming the patties to keep it moist. Do not overcook! Ground bison is also good in chili, and Gunpowder offers some bison chili at the Sunday farmers market under the JFX (sadly, must wait until March for the return). In addition to Gunpowder, there is a bison farm in Lineboro with some good stuff.

Thanks, Joyce....I had a picture of bison - well, no, really, I was seeing Plains Buffalo - in Lake Clifton Park on the Golf Course. As I prod the memory banks I do remember 5(ish) years ago, when those 3 or 6 (the memory is the 2nd thing to go) buffalo were on that tennis court somewhere on your side of town. Seems to me, would-be captors were using lounge chairs for shields. Or, maybe that was a Mel Brooks movie.....

Bellhops do - absolutely!

I had a bison ribeye steak at a restaurant in West Texas that was juicy and amazing. Best meal I've had all year. Unfortunately, it's a 4 hour plane ride + a 3 hour drive away.

Bison meat is fantastic and is the fastest growing meat market in the U.S.A. But there are also a lot of variables that go into producing top quality red meat, either it be bison or beef.
Bison can be finished and processed in many different ways which impact the flavor, juiciness and tenderness. Bison can be finished with grain or grass that is kept in its vegetative state. I believe that the local bison farmers in Baltimore County do this. When you finish bison in this manner you achieve marbling development within the meat, in which it would be impossible to have a dry taste.
Also I have talked with these local bison farmers and they go one extra step further. They dry age their bison meat. This enhances flavor and tenderness dramatically. The bison meat from these producers are superior of that of corporate beef.
I understand that it is a review, but I really enjoy driving around to the local bison farms with my family, and hope these producers stick around.

grass that is kept in its vegetative stat

I have no idea what this means, but I'm picturing blades of grass in little beds hooked up to a lot of machinery that beeps slowly and has ziggy line monitors.

Keeping grass in its vegetative state, means that the grass never matures to a seed head. When grass matures out to a seed head it loses productivity (amount of food per acre) and loses the majority of its nutrients and proteins, vital in finishing animals.

After you allow grazing, you want to mow your fields immediately following. This keeps the grass from seeding and losing valuable nutrients. It also fools the grass to continue to grow at a highly productive rate. This keeps the grass in a very tender state and keeps the animals from grazing any one sport. (Also known as uniform grazing)

Morris' Choice Bison Ranch in Freeland Maryland (Baltimore County) utilizes these practices. The farm comprises a little more then 500 acres of land, which 275 is a fully operational bison ranch. They have a 100 acre cow calf operation, that supplies there 125 acre grass finishing operation. A truly amazing site.

I think Lissa should be in the running for comment of the week- hilarious!

grass that is kept in its vegetative state

I have no idea what this means, but I'm picturing blades of grass in little beds hooked up to a lot of machinery that beeps slowly and has ziggy line monitors.
-Lissa

I think bison should be cooked and marinated in bacon fat, then and only then would it be edible. last time I had a bison burger it was so dry I had to eat it in the rain.

spam at 8:30

Spam at 8:30 AM.

And 8:31. A double posted spam!

Love love love bison ground meat.

Jilly's and The Still make a great bison burgers and I often make bison tacos at home.

One of the previous posters mentioned chili - I can imagine ground bison would be good in that too.

Maisy's on Charles (313) has a great bison steak entree. I hear their bison burger is just as good.

tennisgal1206, I'd forgotten about Jilly's bison burger - um um um um um!