My First Bison Burger

[1dave]

Over the years I've eaten Deer (Venison) beef, Pork, mutton, snake, Armadillo, but not Bison.









I saw this at the store today:


And learned a little bit about them:


greatrangebison.com/great-range-story/

greatrangebison.com/our-ranchers/

[gemfeller]

Years ago I did a lot of research on the Rocky Mountain fur trade of the early 1800s. The subject interested me and I lived in an area where much of the activity took place. I remember that one of the favorite meals of the Mountain Men was what they called "Buffler Hump." To this day I'm not sure what kind of meat is in a buffalo's hump but it was considered a delicacy by the trappers. They'd attach chunks of it to sticks and roast it over a fire, then eat until they were gorged. They left the rest of the animal's carcass to the coyotes and other creatures. They praised that meal so highly I've always wanted to try it. But so far no buffalo has volunteered for the sacrifice.

[realrockhound]

It’s pretty good stuff. I used to buy a ton of it.

[opalpyrexia]

Years ago I ate a bison burger (or was it beeffalo?) in Oklahoma. It was OK, but a little on the dry side (not very juicy).

[rockbrain]

Fat is flavor!

[whalecottagedesigns]

I read about the trappers up in Canada doing something similar with beaver tails. They would go out into the wilds for many months and pretty much all of the meat they would hunt and eat would be lean with no fat, so they would rejoice to get ahold of the beaver tails purely for the fat content! I assume the same holds true with the buffalo hump (as opposed to the rest of the buffalo). And for interest, just yesterday I read that on the list of the top 100 most nutritious foods, pig fat (lard) is the 7th or 8th most nutritious thing you can eat.

I knew it!!! I have been a fat lover my whole life, and in the world we live in now, I have to shout at the butcher sometimes when he wants to trim off the fat from a roast for me! :-)

[RWA3006]

Nov 26, 2024 15:02:33 GMT -5 gemfeller said:

Years ago I did a lot of research on the Rocky Mountain fur trade of the early 1800s. The subject interested me and I lived in an area where much of the activity took place. I remember that one of the favorite meals of the Mountain Men was what they called "Buffler Hump." To this day I'm not sure what kind of meat is in a buffalo's hump but it was considered a delicacy by the trappers. They'd attach chunks of it to sticks and roast it over a fire, then eat until they were gorged. They left the rest of the animal's carcass to the coyotes and other creatures. They praised that meal so highly I've always wanted to try it. But so far no buffalo has volunteered for the sacrifice.

I've had buffler hump. It's high in fat and is tender and juicy kind of like marbled beef. I've also had beaver tail and it's like a fatty gristle which I didn't find especially delicious. When I was young and tough I lived off grid for four years and did a tremendous amount of trapping and hunting.

[gemfeller]

Nov 26, 2024 21:49:03 GMT -5 RWA3006 said:

Nov 26, 2024 15:02:33 GMT -5 gemfeller said:

Years ago I did a lot of research on the Rocky Mountain fur trade of the early 1800s. The subject interested me and I lived in an area where much of the activity took place. I remember that one of the favorite meals of the Mountain Men was what they called "Buffler Hump." To this day I'm not sure what kind of meat is in a buffalo's hump but it was considered a delicacy by the trappers. They'd attach chunks of it to sticks and roast it over a fire, then eat until they were gorged. They left the rest of the animal's carcass to the coyotes and other creatures. They praised that meal so highly I've always wanted to try it. But so far no buffalo has volunteered for the sacrifice.

I've had buffler hump. It's high in fat and is tender and juicy kind of like marbled beef. I've also had beaver tail and it's like a fatty gristle which I didn't find especially delicious. When I was young and tough I lived off grid for four years and did a tremendous amount of trapping and hunting.

Thanks for that info Randy. My Dad was an authorized beaver trapper for the State of Idaho, among other things. We sampled both beaver meat and tail. Didn't like either! Your description of the hump meat makes me want to try it more. The Mountain Men were intensely physical and I can understand their need for fat. Reading the old journals they kept I was continually amazed at their strength and energy. They were a different breed.

[titaniumkid]

How does bison compare to beef? Does it have a stronger flavour?

I'm not very adventurous with animal parts. Kangaroo and emu are ok. I tried sea urchin and silk worms out of politeness in China, and accidentally ate fish swim bladder when some aunty kept piling "fish ball float" soup into my bowl in Malaysia without explaining that it was not balls of fish meat but the part of the fish that makes it float. That was bad. Beaver tail... nope. Sounds awful 

[1dave]

Fat Restrictions by medical people is why there is so much diabetes!

We need Fat!

[RWA3006]

Nov 27, 2024 2:19:09 GMT -5 titaniumkid said:

How does bison compare to beef? Does it have a stronger flavour?

It's a lot like beef that has been finished on grass instead of grain. Somewhat lean and mild. Usually I'm not sure I can even tell the difference.

[Rockoonz]

Nov 27, 2024 5:14:03 GMT -5 1dave said:

Fat Restrictions by medical people is why there is so much diabetes!

We need Fat!

Yep, also brain food in the form of cholesterol.
Processed sugars are what combines with cholesterol and causes problems, from inflammation mostly.

A restaurant called Peters in Kelso Washington kept Bison on a piece of property by the Fairgrounds, and processed them for the customers.
Their burgers were yummy.