At JJ Bison, we love cooking, and more importantly, eating! We have some fantastic guidelines for you to help keep your bison juicy and delicious.
Cooking Beef Versus Bison
Bison and beef do have a similar taste and texture, however, they do need to be cooked differently. Bison is a much leaner meat than beef, so it will naturally take less time to cook and should be cooked at a much lower temperature. Due to the lower fat content, the more you cook bison, the tougher it will get at higher temperatures, so we do recommend eating grass-fed bison anywhere from rare to medium. Conventional meats such as beef traditionally do not get exercise, so bison who move frequently have more muscle, thus why we recommend medium as a max cooking temperature. Even people who enjoy a well-done beef steak enjoy a fantastic medium-rare bison steak!
The Right Temperature
Unlike beef which is usually recommended to cook until at least 145°F, grass-fed bison boasts of a temperature range of 120 - 135°F for rare - medium cooking temperature. This is again because grass-fed bison is leaner and we do want to make sure the meat is warm and juicy. To get this preferred temperature, we do suggest starting your bison at room temperature. This way it will take less time to reach the desired temperature below and avoid overcooking the outside of the meat.
Rare: 115-120 degrees Medium Rare: 121-129 degrees Medium: 129-135 degrees
Depending on the cut, pre-heating your grill or skillet to 400-500°F before putting the meat on the source, then turning it back down to 325°F will allow a beautiful sear to form on your bison before internally cooking the steak itself. The only exception for this rule is ground or burgers which should always have an internal temperature of 155-160°F
Dry your steak first before cooking
While a moist piece of uncooked meat looks tasty and inviting, it is recommended to blot the surface of the steak first before cooking. Any moisture on the steak can impact the caramelization process while cooking. Adding salt to the surface will draw moisture away from the surface of the protein itself, so pat your meat, season, and pat again if necessary! Try not to season your meat ahead of time as it can make the meat dense and chewy - instead, season it directly before cooking. Use a fat such as butter or olive oil on the pan to bring out that color and properly cook your meat.
Avoid Playing With Your Food
While cooking your bison, it may be easy to want to flip the steak repeatedly or poke it with a thermometer to test the temperature. Instead, we suggest avoiding playing with your food. Poking and moving the food allows the juices to escape which results in a dry piece of meat.
Resting Your Meat
After cooking your bison, we do suggest resting your protein in order to allow the juices to re-soak into the bison itself. By resting the bison for 5-10 minutes, you are allowing the protein to maintain the juices and internally cook a tad longer.
Bottom Line
The bottom line is that cooking bison is super easy and medium bison tastes just as good as a well-done steak.
To buy your bison, contact us today, email us at meat@jjbison.com, or call us at (443) 252 - 2099.