Buffalo the Original Red Meat.
I love steak my favorite steak is a big fat juicy ribeye grilled with just salt and pepper. My waist does not like that as much as my taste buds. I am a carnivore thru and thru so I need my meat fix but I wanted to find something healthier.
A few years ago I started to eat a Paleo diet. It is a diet loosely based on early man. There are all kinds of nay sayers and then there are those over the top. I can only speak to my results and they were fantastic. I call it a life style as it really is a way of living and eating vs a diet in the traditional sense. The way of eating is eating mainly meat and fish, fruits and veggies. You limit your intake of dairy and processed foods. If you think about it this is just good common sense. How far you take it is all up to you.
I have gone to eating grass-fed meats and trying to stay in the sustainable fish/seafood categories and away from farm raised fish. I could do 10 posts on the whys of this but to summarize grains and crud in the feed that feed lot 4 legged creatures get along with the hormones and antibiotics I feel are very bad for me as a human. The farm raised fish are much the same. Now with anything it does not mean all but my general rule is to avoid these products. This is a personal choice and I urge you to research and make the decision on your own.
The beef I like best is the one with all the fat and that does not help me keep my girlish figure. So back to the internet I went. I spent months looking at possible solutions I joined a monthly meat club of grass-fed beef it was great but it was not always cuts I liked or wanted I still have a few in the freezer gathering ice crystals waiting for me to make something.
I went to every store in the area and tried the grass-fed beef and compared prices. I found one store that carried some buffalo cuts roasts and steaks. I bought a steak it was great. I researched buffalo and decided maybe that was the way to go. It tasted good it is healthy for you. How healthy no one could tell me and the trusty google gave me a bunch of different answers. I jumped on the bandwagon and started eating buffalo. It was so good.
Can you hear the screeching halt coming? Eeeekkkkkkkk there it is. The store I was buying from stopped carrying all but ground Buffalo. Well a person can only eat so much ground meat. Try it you will see!
I was still eating healthy but I wanted more and that came unexpectedly in the shape of a visit from my mom and her knowledge of a friends love of buffalo. Wonder Twin Powers activate. I was back in the buffalo game. In the shape of an order from Wild Idea Buffalo (I wish I could tell you I am getting paid for this plug but nope its a freeB) The flavor is really awesome. I hope you read about the animal management practices and the ecosystem of the great plains. It is also just a healthier meat to eat lower in calories and fat than both fish and chicken and high in protein.
The photo is what I received in my first order and I have to say I have enjoyed every single thing in the order. I am down to my last few items. I left the ground buffalo with Italian seasoning to the end(remember I was tired of ground meat) I have tried to figure a way to make it that I could say was different and fun. The following is what I have come up with a mix between a meatball and a burger in the size of a slider.
Buffalo Meatball Slider
Ingredients
- 1# Ground Buffalo Meat w/Italian Spices
- 1 Tbsp Basil Pesto(Use store-bought if you do not make your own Costco’s is very good)
- 3 slices of fresh mozzarella torn into very small pieces.
Mix the above together and form into small slider size patties you should get about 12 patties
The following you will be putting in a pot to cook down to a jam like consistency.
- 1- 28oz can organic crushed tomatoes w/basil
- 1.5 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
- 2 crushed cloves of Garlic
- 2 Tbsp Beef Broth
- 2 Tbsp Course Parmesan Cheese
bring to a boil and then turn to simmer until it is a thick Jam consistency.
Grill your patties or pan fry top with a small slice of fresh mozzarella and the tomato jam serve open face on a slice of garlic bread I use the Alexia Baguette as it is the prefect size but you can make your own or buy another brand. If you grill your sliders just wrap the garlic bread in aluminum foil and throw it on the grill for 10 min or so. You will end of with these mouth-watering morsels
I have not entirely stopped eating beef I love it too much, but there is a warm place in my heart for buffalo and it truly is fun to cook with. The health and environmental benefits make me feel good about consuming it. Let me know if you try Buffalo and how you like it!