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MAKE GRASS-FED BISON YOUR FIRST CHOICE WHEN CHOOSING BISON MEAT

When properly raised and processed, 100% grass-fed bison meat has a distinctly natural flavor.

It's almost sweet, just the way nature intended.

There is no bland fatty after taste which is often associated with grain-fed bison, a product that actually tastes a lot like most store bought beef.

The Omega Connection

Grass-fed bison has a healthy Omega 6 to Omega 3 fatty acid ratio of 4:1 or less. For grain-fed bison that ratio can climb to a very unhealthy 20:1, or sometimes even higher. High Omega 6 to Omega 3 ratios have been linked to heart disease, inflammatory diseases, obesity, diabetes, cancer, and behavioral disorders.

In hunter-gather times, a little over 10,000 years ago, there was no grain consumption to speak of. The Omega 6 to Omega 3 ratio in those times was closer to 2:1 or 1:1. Our bodies haven't changed all that much in the last 10,000 years. But unfortunately our eating habits as a society, especially in the last 40 years or so, have changed dramatically, and for the worse. High Omega 6 to Omega 3 ratios can be directly linked to excessive consumption of grains and an ever expanding range of derivative products.

When compared to grain-fed bison, grass-fed bison is:

  • lower in total fat, especially saturated fat

  • lower in cholesterol and calories

  • considerably higher in beta-carotene and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), both being practically non-existent in grain fed animals.

    Beta-carotene is used in the body to make Vitamin A, a powerful anti-oxidant linked to preventing cancer and cardio-vascular disease. It is also what gives grass-fed bison fat its slightly yellow color; something that the grain-driven part of the bison industry will sometimes erroneously play up as a negative factor. Grain-fed bison has white fat, much like you see in most if not all supermarket beef--a fat which has little or no health benefit.

    In preliminary studies CLA, a fatty acid, has been linked to reducing the risk of cancer, diabetes and obesity.


Other Things You Need To Know Before Purchasing Bison
The best and most tender tasting bison comes from animals that are approximately 2 to 3 ½ years in age. Animals much older are usually only suitable for ground meat recipes such as burgers, meatballs, and meatloaf.

Besides age, meat tenderness depends upon feeding practices, intramuscular fat, location of cut, stress factors, and post-slaughter processing.

Feeding Practices That Will Yield The Best Meat

Grass-fed bison are raised in pastures and are never exposed to management practices which include feedlots or feedlot finishing.

The ideal grass-fed bison diet is approximately 93% grass, 5% forbs (wildflowers, weeds, etc.), and 2% browse (leaves from woody plants). Mineral supplements can be part of their diet, especially over the winter months. But under no circumstances are bison fed any grains (corn, wheat, barley, and/or oats). In addition, best practices protocol does not allow for the use of antibiotics, growth hormones, or chemical parasite control.

Health benefits from grass-fed bison are best achieved when bison graze on green leafy grasses, or where available, dormant pasture during the winter. The same health benefits are not realized when their diet consists of hay or silage. That's why it is always best to purchase bison meat coming from an animal that has been harvested coming off pasture, meaning from June to November for most of North America.

Intramuscular Fat

Unlike marbling, which refers to the lines of fat between muscle fibers, intramuscular fat refers to the fat deposited in separate muscle fibers. Under a microscope a fattened muscle fiber is discernibly thicker looking than muscle fiber from an animal slaughtered during drought, or one that has been slaughtered during a hard winter. Marbling can add juiciness to a steak, but it is intramuscular fat that makes a steak tender.

The Tenderest Cuts

The muscles that run along the backside of the bison are the ones that provide the tenderest cuts. In the roast category this includes prime rib, loin, sirloin, and to a lesser extent sirloin tip. The tenderest steaks include rib steak bone-in, rib-eye, loin (New York strip), sirloin, T-bone, and tenderloin. These tender cuts, both roasts and steaks, require minimal preparation. Their flavor is best enjoyed without any marinating; only a modicum of seasoning is sometimes used. For many people, salt and pepper is all it takes.

Stress Affects Tenderness & Flavor

When it comes to meat tenderness, perhaps animal stress is the one area of concern that is rarely explained. An otherwise perfectly good tender steak can be ruined if the animal is experiencing stress. Stress can be caused by such things as improper diet, climate or environment, disease, and/or social factors.

But the area of stress we should be most concerned about is pre-slaughter stress. Usually bison have to travel to a slaughter facility to be processed. Ideally this facility should be no further than 3 hours from the farm. Much longer travel duration is best avoided, otherwise the animal will have to be de-stressed and settled over several days, if not weeks, before it can be slaughtered.

Loading and trucking the animals(s) to the slaughterhouse must be as stress-free as possible. Quiet, peaceful loading and non-slip trailer floors are a must. Crowding must be avoided. Poor driving practices and/or rough roads can also ruin the quality of the meat.

Pre-slaughter procedures at the slaughterhouse must be gentle and quiet. Slaughterhouse employees who yell or use cattle prods will increase animal stress and possible ruin the quality of the meat. Ideally, the bison should be settled with access to fresh water and good hay for an hour or so following the trip to the slaughter facility. That way heart rate and adrenalin levels will return to normal. Altered blood chemistry caused by high levels of adrenalin at the time of slaughter will definitely affect meat quality. Slaughtering should take place within a day of being transported to the facility. Waits of longer than 24 hours are unadvisable. Otherwise, again the bison may have to be de-stressed and settled due to herd separation, different feed, and totally unfamiliar surroundings.

Quality Meat Requires Butchering Expertise

Post slaughter handling is also very important for quality meat. The bison should be hung, or dry aged for 10 to 14 days before being cut and wrapped. Gradual cooling to a temperature just above the freezing point is what's required. Rapid cooling, accidental carcass freezing, and/or poor air circulation around the carcass while hanging will result in an unsatisfactory product. Proper dry aging will add flavor, reduce excess water content, and help tenderize the meat.

Finally, the meat you ultimately purchase will usually be a better product if it is aged and cut by an experienced butcher. These experienced trades people know how to cut an animal down from nose to tail. Unfortunately, for the sake of profit, major corporations have 'dumbed down' the trade. They don't need or want butchers, just cheaply paid line workers who can cut down an animal in a hurry. This sort of dumbing down has been going on in the meat industry since the early '60s. Regrettably it is the kind of service many independent farmers are stuck with.

Want to be assured the best quality meat for your dollar? Then buy from a reputable retailer who employs in-house butchers. That way you know a quality animal has been butchered properly.

When buying directly from the farm, or farmers' market, it's best to start out with an inexpensive purchase of ground bison to make sure the product meets your expectations. Large or bulk purchases should only be made if consistent quality can be assured. Exercise caution if farm visitation is discouraged (which is very rare), if the farmer has recently changed processors, and in cases where the bison being offered has been imported from another farm for the purposes of quick sale.

Sources & Additional Information
Eat Wild
The Paleo Diet
What Range Herbivores Eat - And Why
Grass Or Grain?
The BisonBasics Library