Here is a very interesting bit of trivia for you.
What is the difference between a Bison and a Buffalo?
The large beasts that used to roam freely here in the United States and provided food for the Native Americans were NOT Buffaloes. I know that many people refer to them as Buffaloes, but that is not correct. They are actually Bison.
Sometimes Bison are referred to as American Buffalos. True Buffalos are native to Asia and Africa and look a bit different then the Bison.
I found this image on Buzzle.com that clearly shows you that there is a big difference in appearance.
I have read that the French words for Beef is “Boeuf”. French explorers were said to call cattle or oxen “Les Boeufs”. The term soon evolved and resulted in many variations such as “buffler”, “boeffle” and “buffilo”.
When I was younger and still living at home with my parents I interned at a correctional facility (INTERNED…I wasn’t a resident – ha ha). Every time I went to my internships I would pass a farm that sold Buffalo meat. I heard their burgers were delicious but I could never bring myself to want to try them. Every now and then I would see the Buffalo (BISON!) in the field and think to myself “Why would I want to eat that poor animal?”. I always thought of Buffalo (BISON!) as being an endangered species.
Did you know that there are places that raise Bison just as you would cattle? The reason why is because Bison meat is actually a much healthier choice then meat from a cow.
Bison meat is naturally lean and lower in saturated fat than beef, chicken, pork, or even salmon. Bison is also low in cholesterol and sodium and is a great of iron. It also has a healthy dose of Omega 3 fatty acids.
There is a company called High Plains Bison that sells a variety of Bison products, from steaks to sausages and from burgers to hot dogs.
High Plains Bison has an interesting chart on their site that compared the various types of meats that people typically consume and how it compares to Bison meat.
As you can see the Bison meat is a much healthier option.
Out of curiosity I wanted to try the Bison meat. High Plains Bison sent me a few samples of their products to try out with my family including hot dogs, sausages and steak.
The first product we tried was High Plains Bison Hot Dogs. I didn’t want to tell my kids what they were eating. I figured if they knew they might not give it a try. I did tell my husband. He opted for regular hot dogs. When I told him it was Bison Hot Dogs he said “Eww… no way”.
My kids gobbled up the hot dogs as if they were the regular hot dogs we usually buy. To be honest we don’t eat hot dogs often since they are not really healthy for you. So for my kids it was a great treat to get hot dogs for dinner one night.
Afterwards I asked the kids how the hot dogs were and they said “Fine”. I asked if they noticed a difference from the other hot dogs we buy and they both said “No”. That works for me! If they don’t notice a difference they why even tell them its Bison. Let them think its regular hot dogs.
On another occasion I cooked up the sausages and the steaks. My husband doesn’t like sausages at all so I knew he wouldn’t take them. My kids love sausages so I figured I wouldn’t tell them it was Bison either. My kids had the sausages and my husband had the steak. I tried a few bites of each to see what it tasted like.
My daughter told me that the the sausage reminded her of PIZZA. Pizza? How? She when on to explain it reminded her of pepperoni pizza because the meat had a bit of a kick to it like pepperoni.
My son had an interesting description for the sausages. He said they tasted like “stale hot dogs and pepperoni”. Eww… that sounds gross!
I tried a bite of the sausage and I can see where the kids get the pepperoni taste from. There are some spices in it and it does have a pepperoni taste. I later went online to the High Plains Bison meat page and found out that they had sent us the Italian Sausage which is made with Italian herbs and spices, provolone cheese and pepperoncini peppers. That would explain the weird green pieces my daughter kept picking out of the sausage. I figured it was a pepper of some kind. My daughter LOVED the sausage but was “iffy” about eating the “green stuff” in it (pepperoncini peppers).
The sausages are very meaty and hearty. I can see that 1-2 sausages are more then enough to make a meal. They are “dense” and rather juicy too.
My husband did agree to try the Bison steak. My husband LOVES steak and has never been known to turn any steak down.
I waited to see what my husband thought of the Bison steak. He slowly cut off a piece and place it in his mouth to chew. He then made a gagging motion as if he was going to throw up – BUT he was JOKING! He’s a comedian.
I asked him what he REALLY thought of the steak and he said it tasted like steak. He said he saw no difference between the Bison steak and Beef steak as far as the taste was concerned.
I had to try for myself. WOW! He was 100% correct. I could not tell the difference between Bison steak and Beef steak. Not even in the slightest. They tasted identical!
Now that I have tried the Bison meat myself (except the hot dogs – I’m not a fan of hot dogs) I can tell you from my personal experience that there is not difference in the taste of the meat compared to similar beef products. The only difference is that the Bison meat is much healthier then the Beef products.
Because Bison meat has 25% more lean protein then Beef and 10% more then chicken it makes Bison meat an ideal source of protein for those who are into building muscle too. If you are training for an event or trying to lose weight, Bison meat is the best choice for your dietary needs.
As far as taste is concerned the Bison meat is great! I love that its a healthier alternative then other similar products. The only down side that I can see as far as ordering Bison meats from High Plains Bison is that it can be more expensive then buying beef products locally. I know there are other online gourmet meat companies and High Plains Bison’s prices are very competitive. When I mentioned price I was referring to purchasing meats from your local grocery store. Of course that will be less expensive, but you are also not getting the quality of meats like you would from High Plains Bison.
The Bison meat also cooks a lot faster then regular beef products (I learned that the hard way). Please refer to this page for cooking instructions, http://www.highplainsbison.com/HPB/CookingTips.jsp. The Bison meat cooks in about 1/3rd of the time compared to beef products.
To learn more about High Plains Bison please visit www.HighPlainsBison.com. You can also take advantage of a 20% discount using the code EATGOOD22. That is the biggest discount they ever offer. Please note that although you will add the code on the cart page, the discount does not show up until the Billing page.
There are also a lot of tasty recipes to be found on their official website as well as more information about the health benefits of eating Bison meats.
Kimberly
*I received free product samples in order to do this review. There was no other compensation. The opinions expressed are my own.
Katie says
I eat bison for dinner probably 5 nights a week. Next to elk it’s my favorite meat 🙂
VaBookworm87 says
lol Now I have a craving for something meaty! Ruby Tuesdays has Bison Burgers, which we’ve all tried. They really don’t taste any different… Kind of gives whole new meaning to Shia Leboeuf’s name, no? I read the meaning of it a while back and thought, “Hmmm… Shia the Beef!” lol
Lona W says
Very interesting. Now I am wanting to order some Bison!
~Lona