I have a local meat shop that is advertising buffalo (sorry, bison) brisket and chuck roast. I'm curious if anybody has ever done one of these, and if so, how did it compare to beef brisket or chuck?
I've had buffalo a time or two in my life, but it's been a long time, and I don't have a good recollection of how it was.
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Thank you for jogging my mind Jetski ! My butcher carries bison and I have always wanted to try a chuckie. I will have to look for one the next time I go for a visit.
I tried a bison chuck roast for the first time about 1 month ago. It was about 3 lbs, untrimmed. I had it on for about 11 hours at 225*. I could only get the internal temp up to about 176* in that time. My notes say it had good flavor, but was tough and dry (dry brined for 2 days and rubbed with BBBR). They also say I need to rethink bison. For one thing, I think I might inject the next one with beef broth.
If I had to reason this out (which doesn't always work), I'd figure bison is going to be even leaner than grass-fed beef. One thing I've learned with the latter is that it takes less time to get to done. And it probably won't be butter-probe-able, but still acceptably done. So, I'd take the same approach with the bison, and start checking around 175 if I were doing a straight-up smoke. The alternative likely to work best is probably SV-B-Q.
But I speculate!
It ought to taste great - has in the past when I've had different cuts.
You might want to try the chuck first - it's like to be a bit fattier (intramuscle) and more forgiving.
Thanks for sharing. I've done a little more research on the prospect of bison and it is a more lean meat than beef so all the problems getting a beef brisket to be tender and juicy will be amplified with the bison (that's how I see it anyways). Sounds like an interesting challenge if the price is right!
EdF, I think I will take your suggestion of trying the chuck first, should be a little cheaper as well.
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I've eaten some bison and elk steaks in Jackson Wyoming and the restaurant says they won't cook anything past medium rare due to the leaness of the meat. They say it gets too dry even at medium. I'd see what your butcher suggests.
I have heard the same thing about med-rare for a steak, but I would think a med rare brisket would be pretty tough. Not sure if cutting some small incisions and insert some fat could help. Good luck.
Injection is your friend with bison... and drop the smoke temp and buy extra beer for the wait.. it is worth the effort if you can buy it cheap.. otherwise, I prefer Angus. Carry on
FlaBouy - Do you inject with beef broth or something else? I have a beefalo brisket and think it might have the same challenges as straight buffalo. I don't usually inject my beef briskets so I'm in unfamiliar territory with this.
Well I picked up a bison chuck roast. They didn't have any brisket. I got this more out of curiosity than anything. It might be a couple of weeks before I get to it. I'll post back with results when I do. Sounds like I will be injecting this when I give it a go.
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