Cooking and Preparing Buffalo Steak
Since the meat itself is flavorful enough, there is no special process to cooking buffalo steaks. Like beef, they can be served best at medium to rare. And as it is similar to beef cattle, buffalo meat has the same cuts as their beef counterparts: rib eyes, sirloin, t-bone, filet, porterhouse, brisket, and so on.
How to cook bison steak?
Cooking buffalo meat is done the same way, as you would normally cook beef. You can roast, fry or grill buffalo meat. Recipes you use for cooking beef may now be replaced with buffalo meat. Just remember that buffalo meat tend to cook a lot faster since it has less fat content. And it has a tendency to cook itself even if you have removed it from the fire. To get best results, cook buffalo meat low and slow.
PanFrying, Pan Broil (ribeye steaks)
High heat is not for Bison! Turn the heat down. Remember: Bison cooks faster than beef, don't overcook that steak! Turn your heat down a notch and watch your cooking time.
Braising (sirloin steak)
After searing, keep it low and slow and use plenty of moisture. Since Bison is so lean, you'll need to keep it moist. It's a good idea to marinate these cuts of meat first, and make sure that the meat is basted frequently.
Tips
Broiling or grilling: Use more tender cuts of bison for broiling or grilling i.e. Rib Eyes, Sirloin and New York Strips. Etc. Move the broiler rack about 2 inches farther away from the heat source than you would use for a beefsteak. Bison steaks taste best when grilled to rare or medium. It is important to check frequently to avoid overcooking.
Roasts, steaks, and chops should be loosely covered with foil and braised for 1 hour; internal temperatures should read 145 °F (medium rare), 160 °F (medium), or 170 °F (well done).
Storage Times
Purchase bison products before any "Sell-By" dates expire. Because such purchase dates are a guide to the retailer, follow these tips for safe storage and use at home.
- Follow handling recommendations on product.
- Keep bison meat in its package until using.
- It is safe to freeze bison meat in its original packaging. If freezing longer than 2 months, overwrap these packages with airtight heavy-duty foil, plastic wrap or freezer paper, or place the package inside a plastic bag.
- For best quality, cook or freeze ground bison or cut-up meat within 2 days of purchase; larger cuts such as roasts and steaks, within 3 to 5 days.
- Ground or cut-up bison meat will keep its best quality in the freezer for 4 months. Larger cuts, such as chops, steaks, legs, or loins will keep their best quality 6 to 9 months.
- After cooking, eat or freeze bison within 3 to 4 days.