Well, there are many sides to this argument. Health benefits, cost, sustainability, and taste are among the different sides that will be weighed. So what is this alternative source you may ask? Well, it is Bison. The question is, does Bison make a better option than beef. If not better is it an alternative that is just as good. We are going to look at various sides of the argument and I'm going to cook with some Bison to see how well it cooks up at home.
First a little history. Bison are bovine same as cattle. We will be looking at the American Bison which is found only in America. They are known for living in the Great Plains but historically covered much more area including the Eastern US and parts of Mexico. It was hunted close to extinction during the 19th and 20th centuries but has since become more stable. It is no longer considered endangered, but this does not mean it is secure. Genetically pure Bison number only about 20,000 and require active conservation efforts. At one point bison were numbered in the millions. So, my main concern would be after decades of being hunted to near extinction and making a comeback. Is bison a sustainable product for human consumption? An article in the NYT indicated that bison shows no sign of overtaking beef due to sheer numbers. There are about 90 million cattle in the US compared to 500,000 bison, according to the Dept of Agriculture. Of those 500,000, about 60,000 are processed per year. Cattle are processed at a rate of 125,000 a day. Their argument is that bison will never replace beef, however, it is an alternative for those who want a healthier beef option. Currently, American's only eat about a tenth of a pound of bison per year on average compared to 65lbs of beef.
That brings us to health. What are the differences between beef cattle and bison? Bison is leaner than cattle. It has nearly 25% fewer calories and has less total and saturated fat. Due to its lower fat content it has finer fat marbling, so it is a softer and more tender meat. Because bison is a game meat it has slightly less cholesterol. Since bison are more active this leads to lower saturated fats. Also producers of bison meat do not give antibiotics or hormones to bison because it is not needed since bison are a heartier animal that has adapted to this environment. Bison also has more protein than beef as well as more zinc, iron, vitamin B12, omega 3-fats, and selenium. Bison is equal to salmon in the amount of omega 3-fats. Bison is a rich source of beta-carotene (an antioxidant) and grass fed bison has 4x's the amount of Vitamin E than grain fed beef. Bison also has the highest known levels of conjugated linoleic acid and is thought to be an anti-carcinogen and fat blocker than can reduce risk of diseases like diabetes, cancer, obesity, and other immune disorders.
So, how does eating bison affect the environment compared to cattle? Bison are allowed to roam freely for most of their lives. Some cattle are raised this way as well but there are others that are not. Bison and cattle both emit methane but bison have other benefits that offput the small amount of methane it emits. Since they are nomadic, they do not devastate areas by overgrazing. As a wild native species they are important for our ecosystem. Their urine and manure fertilize the grasslands, their hooves help stir the seeds into the ground as they roam, and they keep native vegetation in check. Also the animals themselves have qualities that makes bison more sustainable. It takes longer for a bison to be ready to process 24-30 months compared to 14-20 for beef. Bison live longer and females may produce calves for their entire lifespan up to 35 years, cattle only produce calves for around 15 years.
I know what you're thinking...what's the cost? In today's market, cost is a major factor I know. It is more expensive than beef due to a couple factors. First, the number of bison is much less so there is a limited supply. This will drive the market up. There are much fewer bison ranchers so less product reaches the market. Second, they are raised in smaller herds on less land, so they are more expensive to raise. However, you have heard the old adage you get what you pay for? For cost comparison, a lb. of 85% lean ground beef at Harvest Market will cost $6.39/lb. whereas, 14oz. of ground bison costs $16.49. Another thing to consider is the ground bison sold at Harvest Market is regeneratively sourced (better than organic) so you may be able to find ground bison for less elsewhere. You may not be able to completely switch to ground bison but if you wanted to try a healthier red meat alternative you could swap it for your ground beef on occasion.
Lastly, the big question is how is the taste? Is it easy to cook? How does it cook compared to beef? Tonight, I made a bison burger seasoned with salt, ground shallot, a little garlic, and rosemary. It tasted good, but I could have cooked it a bit better. Bison is easy to overcook, the inside was cooked well but the edges were a bit overdone. I will definitely be trying it again though. I will say I have had bison at restaurants and have loved them. I have not had Bison steaks or stew meat though but I look forward to trying them in the future.
The four tips to cooking bison are: less time, less heat- cut out the guesswork (buy a good meat thermometer if you don't have one)- keep it simple (don't over season the meat)- patience (let your bison rest for 5-10 min to seal in the juices).
Bison is best when cooked to medium rare (between 135-145 degrees), this is where I went wrong. It was still good but slightly overdone. The other thing to remember is bison will look different when cooked it has a redder color to it when done and does not brown like ground beef does, this is due to the higher amount of iron.
Overall, I think I will be incorporating more bison into my recipes. I like the healthier option and even though it is more costly I don't mind splurging every so often for a better alternative.
In the future, I will be digging into the idea of regenerative sourced meat. There is a company called Force of Nature, which is the brand of bison I bought at Harvest Market. It is considered to be better than organic and is a very interesting concept since they use regenerative agriculture. They have a whole new approach to raising meat for consumption. They are sustainable and treat their animals with the utmost of respect and care and in their opinion that means that they have a better product.
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