Recipe: Game Tips & Bison Steaks

AFS Education · September 2019

Let’s talk wild game, like venison and bison. It’s easy to substitute ground beef with venison in things like chili and taco meat. Venison stew is also wonderful, loaded with a bunch of vegetables full of rich flavors.

BENEFITS OF GAME MEAT

Game meat appeals to many because of its health benefits. The animals roam in their natural environment, eating food that they would naturally eat. Some of the benefits of wild game meat are:

It’s some of the leanest meat you’ll find.
Game meat has a better ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6 fatty acids. While both Omega 6 and Omega 3 are essential fats (we must consume them via our diet), we need a greater amount of Omega 3 fatty acids than Omega 6 fatty acids.
It’s high in protein, iron and zinc.
The animal has never been crowded on a factory farm, treated inhumanely, loaded with drugs and hormones or fed an unnatural diet. The meat is the textbook definition of organic in every way.

There are also notable environmental and sustainability benefits to choosing wild game.

BISON STEAK WITH CRANBERRY TOPPING

INGREDIENTS

· Bison steaks

· Seasonings for steak (your choice!)

· 1 cup Cranberries

· ½ cup Water

· 2 Pomegranates

· ½ tbsp. Whole Cloves (or ½ tsp. ground cloves as substitute)

· ½ tsp. Cumin

DIRECTIONS

1. Add the water and cranberries to a sauce pan and bring to boil. Turn heat down to med/low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. The cranberries will quickly burst open and begin to turn into a thick sauce.

2. While the cranberries are simmering, cut the pomegranates in half and squeeze the juice into a bowl (like squeezing a lemon). The seeds and some pulp will fall into the bowl too.

3. Strain the seeds into a bowl to remove the seeds and pulp.

4. Once the cranberries have thickened add the pomegranate juice, cloves and cumin.

5. Bring to a boil and simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes. The sauce will end up thick with chunks of cranberries still remaining.

6. While the sauce is cooking, prepare the steaks. Usually, with game meat, you don’t need to add much oil or other fat to the cooking.

Sprinkle the steaks with your seasonings to taste – good ones to use are salt, pepper, coriander, ginger, garlic salt, or others with a bold, strong flavor.