Portobello Bison Burgers with Celery Apple Slaw

(adapted from the Gourmet Today cookbook)

Burgers:
2 normal-sized shallots or in my case, 6 really small shallots, chopped
1 large portobello mushroom cap and half of stem, trimmed and quartered
2 TBSP + 2 tsp olive oil
1 pound ground bison

Celery Apple Slaw:
2 celery ribs
1/2 cored unpeeled apple
1 TBSP mayo
1 1/2 tsp cider vinegar
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp whole-grain mustard

Accompaniment: 4 English muffins, split and toasted
Equipment: 12-inch heavy skillet

Cook vegetables for burgers:
Finely chop shallots and mushrooms (you can use a food processor or do it by hand). Heat 2 tablespoons oil in skillet over medium heat until it shimmers. Add mushroom mixture, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to brown and liquid has evaporated, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and cool to warm, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make slaw:
Cut celery and apple into 2-inch-long thin julienne (either with an adjustable-blade slicer fitted with 1/8-inch julienne blade or by hand with a knife).

Whisk together mayo, vinegar, oil, mustard, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl. Add celery and apple, tossing to coat.

Cook burgers:
Mix ground bison into cooled mushroom mixture with hands until well combined. Form into 4 (4-inch) patties.

Heat remaining 2 teaspoons oil in skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Cook burgers approximately 4 minutes on each side for medium-rare.

Top burgers with slaw and serve on English muffins.

Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo

(Or a Herd of Confused Bison from Upstate New York)

"Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo." is a grammatically valid sentence in the English language, used as an example of how homonyms and homophones can be used to create complicated linguistic constructs.

Click here to read more on Wikipedia.

Bison Tenderloin with Bordelaise Sauce

Make Bordelaise Sauce:

2 cups red Bordeaux wine (or other dry red wine)
1/3 cup finely chopped shallots
1/2 cup chopped mushrooms
1 finely chopped carrot
2 fresh thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
10 black peppercorns
2 cups bison, beef or veal stock
4 teaspoons arrowroot
1 tablespoon dry Madeira or Marsala wine
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Combine wine, shallots, mushrooms, carrot, thyme, bay leaf and peppercorns in a 3-quart saucepan, bring to a boil and reduce to 1/2 cup. Add stock and return to boil. Pour sauce through fine-mesh sieve into clean saucepan, pressing on solids. Return sauce to heat and bring to a boil. Stir arrowroot into Madeira in a small cup until smooth and whisk into sauce. Simmer, whisking occasionally, until slightly thickened. Stir in salt and pepper. Remove from heat.

Roast Tenderloin:

1 (3-pound) trimmed bison tenderloin roast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 350F. Pat tenderloin dry and season with salt. Heat oil and butter in large iron skillet or roasting pan over moderately high heat until foam subsides. Brown tenderloin on all sides (no more than 10 minutes) and season with ground pepper. Transfer skillet to oven (middle rack) and roast until internal temperature registers 120F (25-30 minutes). Transfer tenderloin to a cutting board, tent with aluminum foil and let stand for 15 minutes.

Slice tenderloin (1/2 inch slices), spoon bordelaise sauce atop tenderloin slices and serve with peas and onions, roasted or mashed potatoes and leafy greens.

Press: Time Out New York, NY Times blog The Local

Ragged Butte Bison in Time Out NY: "Food markets' rising stars."

Also mentioned in The Local: http://fort-greene.thelocal.nytimes.com/2010/07/15/the-day-edible-and-drinkable-fort-greene-and-clinton-hill/

On Buttes

A butte (pronounced "byoot") is a conspicuous isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top. In some regions, such as the north central and northwestern United States, the word is used for any hill. The word "butte" comes from a French word meaning "small hill"; its use is prevalent in the western United States, including the southwest, where "mesa" is also used. Because of their distinctive shapes, buttes are frequently key landmarks in both plains and mountainous areas. (from Wikipedia)

Buttes of interest:

Butte, Montana (city)

Butte Montmartre (Paris, France)

Fossil Butte (National Monument in Wyoming)

White Butte (highest point in North Dakota)

and of course...

Ragged Butte

Press: Tasting Table New York

The Tasting Table Guide to the Brooklyn Flea:
http://www.tastingtable.com/entry_detail/nyc/1804/Your_definitive_guide_to_Brooklyn_Flea_food.htm

Buffalo Jerky Dip

4 oz cream cheese
1 tbsp mayo
2 tbsp lemon juice
2oz grated buffalo jerky (a microplane grater with plastic guard works really well for grating jerky)
salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

Great as veggie dip or serve sandwiched between slices of bread and toasted (a la grilled cheese). Or spread on slices of whole wheat bread (toasted or not) and top with thin slices of lemon, cucumber, cornichons or olives.

We're back at the Brooklyn Flea tomorrow with a fresh batch of jerky!

The Buffalo Commons revisited

...found this yesterday on the NY Times Dot Earth blog.

For us, it immediately brought to mind Frank J. Popper's controversial proposal of the Buffalo Commons.

Incidentally, Popper's Buffalo Commons was what first got us thinking (well, first it ticked us off, being cattle ranchers at the time, but after some time it got us thinking) about raising buffalo. And since we traded our cattle for bison, we've never looked back.

Oh, and with respect to some of the comments, which in our opinion are the most interesting part of the NY Times blog entry, fencing in bison is not as complicated an endeavor as it's made out to be. All you really need are young impressionable bison that haven't yet determined where "home" is and a double stranded electric fence...and a couple of teenaged offspring to help tie little orange flags on the electric fence to let the bison know it's there.

Big Day!

Last Saturday was momentous!

We made our debut at the Brooklyn Flea...



...and were part of a Design Week installation at Partners & Spade...



...all in the same day!

Yay, look at us!
(And look at the animal rights debate it spawned.)
Wonder if that means leather Prada bags are cruel too...

History

Photograph from the mid-1870s of a pile of American bison skulls waiting to be ground for fertilizer. Courtesy of the Burton Historical Collection, Detroit Public Library.